Waterfalls and Sangria
Thursday – 7/10
We headed into Estes Park this morning to do some shopping, get some lunch and then head out for a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Someone had told us that Estes was an interesting town. A t-shirt shop, then an ice cream shop, then a t-shirt shop, etc. This could not have been truer. In a 3 block area, there are 20 t-shirt shops and 7 or 8 ice cream shops.
We walked around some of the shops and then stopped at a spot for lunch called Local’s Grill. It was an old diner with a menu that suited our family well.
We did a little more shopping, and then headed out to the park to do some hiking. We stopped at the info center and talked to a ranger about hikes. They suggested Emerald Lake which was a 1.8 mile one way trip. Only downside is that parking at the trailhead might be full. We decide to try the parking and find that there are spots available. It is mid afternoon, and we decide that a 3.6 mile hike might be too much, so we opt for a short loop around Bear Lake.
This is a small loop around a lake at the trailhead. Charlotte and I pick up a booklet that is keyed to numbers along the trail. We start to read at each stop, but find that some of the info (2-3 pages) is a little too long. Nevertheless, we do learn how to tell a fir from a spruce and some other interesting facts.
We stop at a small stream that is feeding into the lake, and a ranger is pointing out some cutthroat trout that are spawning. I talked to her about my fishing in Jackson, and she is amazed that I caught 3 cutthroats in that area, especially one as large as the 15 incher that I caught. Guess the guide was not just trying to pump up my ego.
On around the lake, and we let the kids climb on some of the rocks along the side. We also climb out on some boulders that are in the lake and Charlotte spots some leeches that are swimming in the water. She catches them with a stick and plays around on the rocks. This all takes up about 30 minutes, but the kids are having fun exploring
We finish out this hike and then head to Alberta Falls from the same trailhead. This would be a 1.8 mile hike up and back down to the parking lot at a different trailhead where we can catch the shuttle back to the car.
The kids are complaining a bit about another hike (without the ability to climb rocks and just explore), but we push on up to the falls. Once we get there, the view is spectacular. Well worth the hike.
We get to the parking lot just as a bus is pulling up and we head back to the car. On the drive back to town, we decide to eat dinner out. We drive around and I see a restaurant named the Smiling Elk that has rooftop seating. We decide to give it a try, only to find out that it has gone out of business and is now Vega Tapas. They had a pretty good kids menu, so rather than getting into the car, we give it a try.
I enjoyed sangria while Wendy had a margarita. The kids took some quarters and fed the trout that were in a pond along the stairs that led to the rooftop. Food was good, a little pricey for the tapas that we ordered for an appetizer. The view from the rooftop was great. We watched the sun set and the colors change over the mountains to the east and west.
Back to the campground, and we hit the sack to get rested for another day.
We headed into Estes Park this morning to do some shopping, get some lunch and then head out for a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Someone had told us that Estes was an interesting town. A t-shirt shop, then an ice cream shop, then a t-shirt shop, etc. This could not have been truer. In a 3 block area, there are 20 t-shirt shops and 7 or 8 ice cream shops.
We walked around some of the shops and then stopped at a spot for lunch called Local’s Grill. It was an old diner with a menu that suited our family well.
We did a little more shopping, and then headed out to the park to do some hiking. We stopped at the info center and talked to a ranger about hikes. They suggested Emerald Lake which was a 1.8 mile one way trip. Only downside is that parking at the trailhead might be full. We decide to try the parking and find that there are spots available. It is mid afternoon, and we decide that a 3.6 mile hike might be too much, so we opt for a short loop around Bear Lake.
This is a small loop around a lake at the trailhead. Charlotte and I pick up a booklet that is keyed to numbers along the trail. We start to read at each stop, but find that some of the info (2-3 pages) is a little too long. Nevertheless, we do learn how to tell a fir from a spruce and some other interesting facts.
We stop at a small stream that is feeding into the lake, and a ranger is pointing out some cutthroat trout that are spawning. I talked to her about my fishing in Jackson, and she is amazed that I caught 3 cutthroats in that area, especially one as large as the 15 incher that I caught. Guess the guide was not just trying to pump up my ego.
On around the lake, and we let the kids climb on some of the rocks along the side. We also climb out on some boulders that are in the lake and Charlotte spots some leeches that are swimming in the water. She catches them with a stick and plays around on the rocks. This all takes up about 30 minutes, but the kids are having fun exploring
We finish out this hike and then head to Alberta Falls from the same trailhead. This would be a 1.8 mile hike up and back down to the parking lot at a different trailhead where we can catch the shuttle back to the car.
The kids are complaining a bit about another hike (without the ability to climb rocks and just explore), but we push on up to the falls. Once we get there, the view is spectacular. Well worth the hike.
We get to the parking lot just as a bus is pulling up and we head back to the car. On the drive back to town, we decide to eat dinner out. We drive around and I see a restaurant named the Smiling Elk that has rooftop seating. We decide to give it a try, only to find out that it has gone out of business and is now Vega Tapas. They had a pretty good kids menu, so rather than getting into the car, we give it a try.
I enjoyed sangria while Wendy had a margarita. The kids took some quarters and fed the trout that were in a pond along the stairs that led to the rooftop. Food was good, a little pricey for the tapas that we ordered for an appetizer. The view from the rooftop was great. We watched the sun set and the colors change over the mountains to the east and west.
Back to the campground, and we hit the sack to get rested for another day.