Summer Vacation Part 1

In early June we took a trip to Denver.  My sister was graduating from a Vet Tech school and my mom, dad, and hubby went out to see her and her husband.

It was awesome.  I'm glad we went.  My parents arrived on a Friday and we left the next day. The trip out there wasn't too eventful.  Lots of windmills in MN and Iowa.  Then nothing but boring road in Nebraska.  We did see a few CAFO's and that was sad.  I guess there use to be a lot more though, so it's good if they do not have as many now.  The drive was about 14 hours that day.  We went to see my sister shortly after we got there.  Then we went to the hotel and crashed.  

The next day we spent sight-seeing around Denver.  We had breakfast at Denny's (we ate there a lot on our trip b/c it was close to the hotel) and then went to downtown Denver.  They have a pedestrian shopping area called the 16th Street Mall along a whole street.  After that we went to the zoo.  We didn't stay there too long though b/c it was soooo hot.  In the 90's.  I felt like I was burning/melting and had to be careful about staying hydrated.  After that we went swimming in the hotel pool....sooo NICE.  It was the first time in 3 years that I had worn my swimsuit (besides the athletic one I wear to the gym).  Haha.  That night after dinner we went to a place called "Lookout Point".  We had to drive up a mountain (literally) to get there and it was kind of nerve wracking.  At the top there was a tourist shop and Buffalo Bill's grave and museum.

 

The next day we just hung around the hotel until it was time to go to my sister's graduation. She gave us a tour of her school, Bel-Rea, and took us to see all of the animals they have  there.  My sister graduated with honors, we were all so proud of her!  After the graduation we went to dinner and then back to her apartment for a while.  It was good to see her and get to know her husband a little more.  I wish we could have visited with her a little longer.

The day after that we started our trip home.  We decided to take a different route and go through Rocky Mountain National Park.  That was the best part of the trip (besides seeing my sister).  The park is awesome and sooo beautiful.  We were going to just drive through and then even try to drive up to Yellowstone in Wyoming, but we ended up staying at Rocky Mountain for most of the morning.  We entered the park at Estes Park, CO and drove on the Trail Ridge rode up to the Alpine Visitor Center.  This paved road takes you up to ~12,100 ft and is the highest altitude you can get to in a car in the US.  We passed through three climate zones.  On the bottom it was about 65 deg F. and at the top it was 35 deg F. and snowy.  We got to the top just before lunch was about to be served in the visitor center.  We all had chili and even though it was almost summer it seemed to be the perfect meal.  They had a gift shop at the visitor center (of course) and we got some t-shirts and a really pretty Christmas tree ornament.

 When we drove up it was really foggy and there were areas that we couldn't see.  So when we went back down it was like we were going through a whole new territory.

We only saw two kinds of wildlife:  some type of squirrel and elk.  There were areas that moose and beavers would have like...but we didn't see any this time.

My camera battery died right after I took pictures of the elk.  When we got back to Estes Park we luckily found a camera store with batteries.  We also had time to get a malt from one of the shops.  It was sooo good.  I still think about it from time to time.  Haha.  August and I already want to go back to the park! 

After our delicious malts we started heading home via Cheyenne, Wyoming and then across South Dakota.

Plateaus in Wyoming

We reached the edge of South Dakota around 9 pm and decided to go to Mount Rushmore b/c we were traveling right by it.

 That was actually more difficult to find than you would think.  It's kind of hidden back on some county roads.   We got a little lost and even had to ask for directions. We were only there for about 15 - 30 min. and then drove a little farther east, found a hotel in Wall, and slept a little.  Then on the last day we drove back to Rochester and my parents continued on home.

I can see why so many people I know live/are moving to Colorado.  It is so beautiful there.  I can't wait to go back!