August 5 - “Return of Bambi”

52 degrees wake up call. Brrr. Speaking of wake-up calls, at Christi’s special request, DadDad got to sing the updated version of I’m a Nut. Verses for every day so far. AnnaGrace was less than happy with the rendition. I’m sure the problem couldn’t have been with the delivery.

 

Bambi came back to visit. Luke and AnnaGrace got to watch him munch on some culinary delights growing in the back yard. All from our bedroom window.

 

We headed back to the park to try some different hikes. And we saw some mule deer right off the bat. Good start to the day.

 

Next we found a really exciting waterfall hike. Zak and Caleb disappeared up what trail there was, as usual. Luke and DadDad even did some bouldering! 

 

Across the street we followed the course of a stream. We were watching some would-be fishermen when … AnnaGrace is going in!  She waded in the cold mountain stream. Meanwhile the boys looked downstream for the nonexistent fish that people were trying to catch. Aaaand … Luke’s going in! Just enough to get his feet wet. Still no fish.

 

We met the Priest clan. 50 or 60 of them from all over the U.S. were here for a reunion. All wearing matching shirts. Pictures galore.

 

We added a few more critters to our sighting log. A momma hawk and her baby. A flock of wild turkeys of all sizes and flavors (oops. That was a comment from Josh. He was hungry). We also looked for sheep. Nope. No sheep.  AnnaGrace made friends with a bevy of butterflies. She even frolicked with them, singing, “Wait up, little butterfly. I don’t have wings like you.”

 

Josh, Caleb, Chris and I took a hike through some burnt out trees and a meadow. It was only a mile or so, but it had a few tough grades to go up. After that one we stopped for lunch at a roadside picnic area with Chewy the Chipmunk. It was nice and cool in the shade. Caleb was going to eat in a tree, but the sap got to him, so he got down. And when he did, Luke went up. Back to the chipmunk. Caleb was off annoying him at one point and slipped on a rock and cried out. Christi asked, “Did you bite him?”  Hmm. Exactly who were you talking to, Christi?

 

We took a different route out of the park. Nani was able to get another stamp for her book. This so-called visitor center turned into just the souvenir shop we needed. The place was huge. Even had a downstairs full of stuff. There may or may not have been a few purchases made.

 

After some afternoon rest, we headed into town for some more fun. First up was a place called Mountain Coaster. Yep. An actual roller coaster up and down the mountain. Best part about this one? I finally felt accepted. AnnaGrace chose me to ride with her. Now I’m not supposed to do roller coasters with my back problems, but how could I resist?  By the way, this was a really fun ride.  They crank you up the mountain and then you have somewhat control over your speed as it plummets down.  AnnaGrace and I didn’t use the brakes until the ride was over and we had to.  She laughed and squealed the whole way. Guess since we have shared a harrowing experience together, we are bonded in some way.  She even sang a little “I’m a Nut” herself on the way home.

 

Next was pizza. Zak, Caleb, Luke, AnnaGrace chose to accept the challenge of a 36-inch pizza. And … the pizza officially won. One piece remained.  Us old dudes had our own tiny versions of pizza by comparison, and we still had leftovers of those. Good pizza. Kind of greasy. Well, very greasy. But good taste.

 

We were going to visit an old book store, but they were closed. The books are old, not necessarily the store. I don’t know how old that is. Instead, we went for another walk in the town, followed by a drive out to the YMCA of the Rockies, where Josh played a lot of national homeschool basketball tournament games in years past.

 

Matthew 5:44 says, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

 

Father, thank you for the family that loaned us this cabin. Bless them mightily for that. Amen.