Cozy and Cold in Charming Estes Park

Tuesday, jan. 27th.

We drove into Estes Park today, as we wanted to take a side trip.

I went to camp here oh so many years ago, and have loved it. I have been here with

Jason a few years ago to revisit it, but was so happy to return with Dan.

We found a really cute little cabin in the woods to stay in, pictured above.

We then drove into Rocky Mountain National Park. It was absolutely gorgeous! Part of it was closed in the winter, but we did see a lot. It is so interesting to see a National Park in the winter, with all the snow and wind. We didn't see a lot of wildlife, though we saw a herd of elk in the park and then later. The weather, however, was incredibly cold! It was so cold there was no way we wanted to take a hike, plus the paths were totally snow covered. I got windburn just taking some pictures. Magnificent, but freezing.

Later, we drove around Estes Park, went to the Stanley Hotel which advertised itself as being the inspiration for the hotel in The Shining. Stephen King stayed there and credited it in the movie. We saw a herd of wild elk on the grounds of the hotel. Gus was growling, but fairly well behaved. We had been told at our cabin that he had to be on a leash, and if there were Elk around, he couldn't be outside. The cabins we stayed in also had wild turkey trotting around, and it reminded me of the ones I saw last year in Novato.

We had a really cozy night in Estes Park. There was a hot tub in the cabin, and it was wonderful. We had take-out food from the Safeway, and some wine from home.

The wind, however, was howling, especially the next day, and Gus is apparently afraid of wind, so he was quite anxious and ready to leave. So we hit the road back to Wyoming.
Pat