Our Family Trip to Colorado (Part 1)

Yesterday marked the midpoint of our family trip to the Rockies in Colorado. We were in Estes Park for 5 nights. Thus far, this trip has been a wonderful opportunity to experience different topography than we Michiganders typically enjoy. We arrived Friday night, picking up Luke from this week at a Freedom Academy I, sponsored by the Foundation Economic Education. Saturday through Monday, we spent our sightseeing hours in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Before lunch on Saturday, we enjoyed a pleasant walk around Sprague Lake.

After lunch, we drove through the park on Trail Ridge Road, learning about the three different ecosystems in the park: montane, subalpine, and alpine tundra. Entering from near Estes Park, we turned around after reaching the Alpine Visitor Center.

On Sunday, we hiked to Emerald Lake via Dream Lake and Nymph Lake. What a beautiful hike!

On Monday, we drove to a different park entrance and hiked from the Wild Basin Trailhead to Ouzel Falls. At the Ouzel Falls, the kids and I extended the hike by climbing to the top of the falls. We would highly recommend each of these outings for others. The drive and the two hikes were each a 4-hour outing, including lots of stops for snacks, drinks, and photographs.

On Tuesday, we went on a whitewater rafting trip. The bus ride was long, about 80 minutes each way, but the rafting was fun. Luke came the closest to flying out of the boat, but the other three family members immediately grabbed him when he was first launched outward from his position on the front right of the raft. Leah was sore on Wednesday morning; she paddled hard.