Trav's Travels: Post Covid Quarantine in Estes Park

5/14/20 End of the Quarantine

On this day we were able to go upstairs in the house and hang out with my parents.

Mother's day had already passed, but we had waited until we were done with quarantine to celebrate it. We (including Zach and MNugz) got mom an outside gas fireplace. So we did some sitting outside by the fire and making smores from time to time

We continued taking hikes and such.

Here again are our highlights:

-Hiked Eagle Cliff Peak

-Hiked Triangle Peak (this time in the sunshine) with the parents.

-Hiked Deer Ridge with the parents for a mountain view and flower picnic

-Hiked up Crosier Mountain with Brian Cheyne (college buddy who's a Doctor in Denver) and his dog Ritter

-Joined in on a zoom hangout for the last Bedtime Stories ever. Bedtime stories are where Dr. Jasper LiCalzi and Dr. Steve Maughan from the College of Idaho would several times per semester get drunk and visit a dorm where they would read bedtime stories in a politically incorrect manner. Since Jasper is retiring and this May was his last month teaching, they did a last one over zoom. It brought back really good memories of how amazing the C of I community was b/c even so many years ago, they still knew what all my friends (Sherms, Yosh, McClean, myself, etc were up to). Fun times!

-Went golfing on the lake Estes 9 hole. I did surprisingly well for not having golfed in a long time. 3-5-6-6-4-3-5-4-5 for a total of 41 on the par 31 course

-Climbed Mount Olympus. There didn't use to be a trail up to it, but now there is a social trail, which makes it easier. It has a great view across the Estes valley and beyond to the continental divide.

-We went as a family to watch (and poke fun of) the mask protests in Estes. It was like maybe a couple vehicles. Estes is mostly pro-mask. They want tourism in the town but also want to stay protected.

-Elisha and I biked to Glen Haven and then were picked up by the parents and then we did a hike out of Glen Haven.

-For a birthday excursion we did a backpacking trip to Indian Peaks Wilderness with Brian. It was super deep snow almost the whole way to camp, so glad we had our snowshoes. Even still, we didn't get as far as I would have liked. It got really cold at night (water in our pots froze pretty quickly), but we stayed warm with hot food and good sleeping bags. In the morning we hiked up to Betty and Bob lakes. They were frozen of course, but the white expanse was beautiful.

-5/27 My birthday!

We hiked up in the snow to Loch Vale, Lake of Glass, Sky Pond, and Mills Lake. When we returned we had White Russians and artichoke dip on the deck for happy hour. THen we did take-out Indian/Nepalese and Thai food for my birthday dinner. Of course the night ended with cookie dough cake!

-Hiked up to Emerald and Dream lake with the parents (mom and dad made it as far as Emerald but no farther b/c of the snow)

-Elisha and I had dinner with Ginny and her partner Anita. Ginny worked as a shuttle driver our first year in Antarctica. She lives in the "neighborhood" across from my parents'. Anita and Ginny are probably in their 60's, and so they have great stories of all the exploration around Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park. They're still at it though. Ginny skins up and skis flattop every winter and just recently she climbed Aconcagua (the tallest peak in South America at 22,800 feet). They've both recently climbed Kilimanjaro and Ginny the Grand Teton. Anyways, it was a fun dinner and they made super delicious salmon

-We hiked up Flattop Mountain and climbed to the top of Hallet Peak. Along the way we saw a couple day old newborn elk calf that was left hidden in the rocks while mom and the herd went looking for food.

-Hiked with Lisa Foster, the INFAMOUS Lisa Foster of Longs Peak fame. We climbed up Twin Sisters Peak

-Hiked up Estes Cone with great views of Longs Peak and Mount Meeker. Also went past the old Eugenia Mine.