Thankful on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving day and a day of leisure for me. I was supposed to work, but somebody offered to work for me (thank you Connie!) so I all have to do today is fix a little tiny Cornish game hen for my sweetie. We considered driving to Lubbock for the day to be with family, but decided that since he has been sick with a cold, and slow to recover, and is working on Friday, it might be better for him to rest today so we will be thankful together today at home alone!
I finished my Rocky Mountain album yesterday. I will be forcing everyone to look at it and looking for some big compliments. Meanwhile, I have a few leftovers to show you. Here is one for those of you who thought those rocks look familiar: In 1977, it took 3 sisters to hold up that rock that M was holding up all by himself.

Basil and M made it all the way to Emerald Lake. This is one of my favorite photos from near the end of the hike. This is Hatlett's Peak for those of you who like names.

I made it to Nymph Lake and was very proud of myself and was rewarded with beautiful views. My Fugifilm 6000 and I hung around there a long time trying to capture some of God's best.

Royal Gorge at Canon City, Colorado was our first stop on the trip.

The train trip through the canyon was a new feature and was too tempting to resist. There is also a helicopter trip into the canyon and their big red helicopter buzzed us while we were on the train! We also saw fishermen, rafters and the water system built by convicts for the city while on the train.Skyline Drive is a very old and scary road in Canon City. We had been on it before but it had lost none of it's drama.

Those river rocks are kind of slippery

Paradise RV Park: Our home while we visited Rocky Mountain National Park Dear Mom, This is where I fell in the river.

Unlike some places we have been, it was just like it's internet pictures. The Big Thompson River, with it's slippery rocks, was inches from our deck.
Our cabin was new manufactured housing.

Our living room with it's electric fireplace.

The kitchen where I learned I never want black appliances. They do not look clean, even when they are.

We were there on Basil's birthday. M made him an omlet for breakfast and I made him a microwave cake later. M was able to buy candles at Safeway without him knowing.


I was very happy to find this going on when I returned from my solitary shopping trip to Estes Park one afternoon.

They were delicious.

Colorado

Near Leadville We found this great place to spend our first night on the way home. We drove until almost dark then looked in our Frommer's guide, called this place and they had a vacancy. Mt. Princeton is one of the 14ers (Colorado has 14 mountains that are over 14,ooo ft) and their hot springs was really hot.

There was a wedding here during our visit and almost everyone else staying here was there for the wedding. Everyone knew each other and it was kind of fun to listen to their conversations. We found out more about the bride and groom than anyone should know.A lot of our information came from a group of ladies that ate breakfast at the same time as we did. I think they were the groom's aunts. We named this the bridge to nowhere.

A wild orchid growing under the bridge. Downstream from the hot springs. M said the springs in the river were too hot to be comfortable. I didn't venture into the springs in the creek, but stayed in the pool talking to some more aunts of the newlyweds. They were a very friendly and informative family.The wedding chapel

Old Fall Creek Road (back in the park) If you are thinking I have lost my mind, skipping from the trip home, back into the park, you could be right.

The boys were always looking for a place to practice their slingshot skills.

If you can see those tall sticks on each side of the road, they are to guide the snow plows.Sunset on Fall Creek RoadWe came upon this view rounding a switchback on the way home. I gasped, Basil applied the brakes, we all piled out with cameras in hand and my batteries fell out on the road. The lights are Estes Park.

Bear Lake

We arrived at Bear Lake just in time for me to go on the ranger
hike. M and Basil wanted to go on to Emerald Lake and I knew I probably wouldn’t make it that far so we parted ways for a few hours. At the first of the hike, I was the only participant, so I enjoyed talking to Don Irwin and asking some questions. I have to admit I have a very high opinion of park rangers. I tried to get Basil to go into that field, but he just laughed at me. I still think he would make a good park ranger. I even asked Ranger Irwin if he had read my favorite author, Nevada Barr and he said, "Yes" so we talked about her books. She is a former park ranger and writes mysteries set in national parks. He talked about the trees, rocks, fish and birds and also some of his experiences in the park. He explained the different kinds of park rangers which I had not understood before. At the end of the hike he stood by a 400 year old tree and recited a children’s book called, "The Grandpa Tree". This is a very sweet book and he did a great job reciting it. It was made even more touching because he knew the author who lived near the park.

M on the trail to Dream Lake

Rocky Mountain National Park

Our days in the park usually involved at least one hike and usually a visit to some destination on Trail Ridge Road. Alberta Falls was one of our favorite hikes.M is climbing across the river at Alberta Falls on rocks and logs. He did this at every fall. He never fell in. He chased every squirrel.

He climbed over every boulder on every trail.

The Pool

Cub Lake

Elk Rutting Season in RMNP

Fall is Elk Rutting season and we learned a lot about elk and how they reproduce. This is the Beaver Meadows Ranger Station. The flag is half mast...it is September 11. All of the national parks have a junior ranger program. M earned this badge by going to ranger talks and completing studies in a book that included knowing the names of animals and plants he found and answering questions about the environment and the different life zones in the park. One of the ranger programs we attended was an extensive education about elk rutting procedures. I was surprised to learn that about 90% of the female elk in RMNP give birth every year. They are becoming over populated and are beginning a very controversial program to try to correct that problem. Ranger Sue is explaining how to tell how old a male elk is by his "rack" in the photo. M's rack is 2 years old. The elk shed their rack and grow new ones every year.Bugling is the sound of RMNP in the fall. The cows and calves begin to gather into herds with herd bulls at this time, with one or more other bulls hanging around the edges of the herd. The herd bulls bugle frequently during this phase as they try to drive off other bulls.The other bulls bugle in response as they challenge the herd bull for breeding rights and try to attract cows that are willing to leave the herd and join them. The cows are attracted to the big bulls with big racks and an attractive bugle.

The cows come into "Estrus" about every 3 weeks during rutting season. Here you can see the bull "sniffing" her because he can smell when she is in estrus and may be receptive to him.

These bulls are fighting for dominance in a herd. They often break antlers and even kill each other. At the end of rutting season the bulls are worn out, hungry and may be too weak to make it through the winter. They look for a place to rest and some high quality food. The bulls and the cows do not hang out together at any other time of the year. The cows have a "lead cow" for each herd. Gestation is about 9 months and the calves are born in the spring. The calf will stay with his mother and the rest of her herd until she is ready to mate again, then she will push him away.