Day 15: Homeward Bound (July 11, 2015)

We got a late start. Partly because we went to bed at like 1:00 am, partly because everyone slept until 8:45, partly because no one really hurried, but none the less we didn’t leave Amarillo until about 11:00.  However, the littles were somewhat pleased with the wildlife in Amarillo, which consisted of toads and rabbits.

We were roughly 20 minutes from Cadillac Ranch and Hawkeye declared that if we do not go now, we will never go. So we went. Cadillac Ranch consists of 10 Cadillacs half sticking up out of the ground that were moved to a new location in 1997 further outside of town. It is considered a community art project.  We were horrified at the attraction and it was a complete disrespectful mess with the majority of visitors spray painting names and profanity everywhere. And by everywhere we mean the actual cars, fence lining the road, dirt (yes, spray painting dirt),  dumpsters to put empty cans in, and grass surrounding the actual cars. The field was littered with empty spray paint cans, lids, and plastic bags. There was even a dead spray painted mouse. Maybe it was just such a shock having come from such natural beauty of the Bad Lands and RMNP, but it just seemed so disrespectful from just about every angle.

Onward we went. The drive somehow erupted into a massive verbal fight between Hawkeye and Black Widow. This started with Hawkeye’s comment about how it took forever to leave this morning and Black Widow taking this as a personal attack. The truth is, it did take forever. Iron Man sat in the trailer brushing her hair for fifteen minutes, Captain and Thor ran around in the bathroom locking stalls and then crawling underneath, and well, no one really hurried anyone. The fight was vicious as a result of everyone being tired and stuck in the car for two days. Only two acting first born individuals could sustain this level of intensity.

We had discussed stopping at the Washita Battlefield for one last hurrah and Junior Ranger badge. We decided against this due to the temperature outside and overall tiredness of people. It would actually make for a fun weekend trip with a KOA located nearby.

Well, eventually we made it home. Roughly 30 seconds before arriving at the house, Hawkeye and Black Widow couldn’t remember why or how the fight started. They made up and all is well (who ever said the Avengers don’t fight?). The littles were happy and somehow destroyed the playroom in less than an hour. We just don’t understand because the playroom was not like that before they got home. We ordered pizza for dinner and laughed and smiled over the great memories.

Already itching to get the Corp of Discovery out again. Next summer Yellowstone and Grand Tetons?

Day 14: The Water Springs Up (July 10, 2015)

We woke up and Hawkeye made some oatmeal. The littles all ran next door for some last minute climbing trees and playing cards with the neighbors. Hawkeye and Black Widow took down the Corp of Discovery and hitched everything together.  We pulled out around 10:00.  Saying goodbye to the mountains is always a little bitter sweet, but we figured we will make it back soon enough.

The decision was made to take the longer (about one hour longer) drive through Colorado Springs to get some spring water. The littles all insisted this was important. But first, we drove through Boulder. We drove around a bit looking at both the university and trying to find any satellites as several space-oriented devices are monitored through Boulder including the current satellite taking all the recent pictures of Pluto. It is a fun town with so much to see and do right at your fingertips.  While driving around the university we came upon a secured campus entrance with guard. He looked like the typical college student and his face went into total confusion upon seeing our car. Hawkeye said he just needed to flip the car around and would be on our way.

We drove on to Colorado Springs. Navigating the town with a trailer was a bit more difficult and it would be impossible to park and walk around. The littles were not happy about not getting out but there were few options. Hawkeye drove to our favorite spring (decided last year when we walked around and tasted all springs) and Black Widow hopped out and filled several water bottles. The favored spring was on a narrow road uphill which provided little room to navigate and turn around. Hawkeye finally found a spot. Black Widow was expecting the car to arrive from the other direction and totally missed Hawkeye honking the horn at her. There were a couple of crazy people who asked Black Widow if she loved the water and if her friends thought she was crazy for drinking the water. When she got back into the car the littles were all eager to try the water. A bottle was passed back and four children supposedly took a drink. The bottle was only missing about one ounce of water. Go figure.

We stopped at Panda Express in Pueblo for lunch/dinner. It would be the last real meal for the day. The littles were all excited, but the meal actually tasted lacking.

We now settled in for the remainder of the drive to Amarillo. Driving the Raton Pass was fun and the littles had fun seeing who could spot Mt. Capulin first.  We all reminisced about last summer when Hawkeye and Captain hiked the rim earning Captain a Junior Ranger patch. There is a KOA in Raton, which we should remember for future trips. Amarillo still seemed far and we were all getting tired.

We finally pulled into the KOA around midnight. Hawkeye and Black Widow set up the Corp of Discovery for the last time on this trip. Everyone was pleased that the trailer was backed into a narrow spot in pitch black with sleeping campers on both sides. The littles were transferred in and the majority just slept in their clothes.

Tomorrow will bring the arrival of home.

Day 13: Firefighting in the Forrest (July 9, 2015)

It did not rain all night! We woke up to a blue sky; so ready for today.

We got ready more quickly than we have been in order to make it to a Junior Ranger Program at 10:00. This would give the littles an opportunity to earn a firefighting junior ranger patch in the park. The program involved the RMNP fire department and the firefighters brought the booster along. The program was interesting. The firefighters talked about the equipment they used and showed with matches how thinning the trees helps to control forest fires. Each child then got to spray the hose. The littles received their patches and we also got our final junior ranger badge for the trip (#7). Hawkeye was amused with the booster and priming the pump returned lots of memories.

We took a short hike around the Junior Ranger Headquarters and learned there used to be a ski report inside the park until the early 1990s. This was very surprising to us.  It seems that a ski resort would be such a direct violation of everything the national park stands for. The park is currently trying to allow this area to restore to its natural state. During this hike the littles took the shoes off and sat on the side of the stream. We closed our eyes and listened to the stream waters, birds signing, and other noises.  

We went back to the campsite for lunch. We ate sandwiches and fruit. The littles ran around and climbed the trees that were beginning to dry out.

After this, we went for a short hike around Sprague Lake. We decided to go somewhere new and the littles were adamant about not wanting a large hike. Plus, the clouds were growing grey again and we were all a little afraid of getting caught in another rainstorm.  In line with the way things were going in RMNP, it rained almost the entire short hike. We paused several times to hang out under trees until the rain became light enough to progress further. Eventually we finished the trail and immediately upon getting to the car the rain stopped for good.

Captain visited with a man about fly-fishing right before the hike. There was also a group of individuals fly-fishing in the middle of the lake. It was interesting to watch and we realized the water was only about thigh deep. The depth only holds true to half the lake, so be prepared to go swimming if you enter from the other side.

It was then time to return to the campsite and get ready for dinner. Black Widow had been craving lentil tacos since getting to RMNP and was determined to cook them for dinner. Success! The rain stayed away and dinner proceeded.

We had a semi-party for our last night with our camping neighbors. We cooked the last bag of jiffy pop and make s’mores. It was fun for the kids to get to roast marshmallows one last time.  The neighbors even busted out with “meat” hotdogs to the delight of our littles and Iron Man, Captain, and Thor each had one. The best part was that Captain had just told Black Widow earlier in the day he was “thinking” about becoming vegetarian. Well, he either didn’t “think” long enough or hard enough or the temptation of a “meat” hotdog was more than he could handle.

While the kids had fun around the campfire, the interaction of adults was a little strange. We decided to chock this up to personality differences between Texas (south) and the northeast (Maryland).

We cleaned up and went to bed. Tomorrow the drive home begins.

Day 12: Rain, Rain and even more Rain (July 8, 2015)

More rain. Again it rained all night and we woke up to our third day of rain. It did however stop raining long enough to make breakfast and eat outside. A fun family is staying in the campsite next door and the littles have made fast friends with some girls. The family is returning from a year-long trip in which the father, a professor at the Naval Academy, has been on sabbatical. All the kids ran around and climbed either trees or a rock formation behind the campsites. This made it nice because they were so happily playing while Hawkeye and Black Widow were getting ready for the day.

We really had nothing planned for the day and were not really excited about another rain day. There was a special Centennial video that Black Widow wanted to see. We tried yet another new visitors center which had an art area for kids. The littles colored a picture and drew on the windows using special markers. The different ranger station was nice but did not have the movie. The quickest way to the main ranger station was through Estes Park.

We stopped at the visitors center in Estes Park to see if there was anything indoors to do in town. No luck as we were told this was an outside community and we could go bowling or to a movie.  We ate lunch on the picnic tables outside the visitors center. The river flowing through town was high and fast and we could tell a massive difference from last year. The river was up to the sidewalk and bank in several places. It was a little unnerving with the kids because if anyone got to close and slipped in – well, lets not go there.

We now headed toward the ranger station for the centennial film. We arrived just in time for a Junior Ranger program on Mountain Lions. This was a GREAT program. It was interesting to us since mountain lions were all the rage at Big Bend National Park but never even brought up at RMNP. This is because mountain lions are the animal to be careful of at Big Bend as black bears are at RMNP. The ranger said mountain lion sighting are extremely rare in RMNP. Mountain lions are now the only natural predator of the elk in the park. The weight of a male lion is around 200lbs and a female 150lbs. They can jump 18ft up and 40 ft forward. If ever attacked fight with everything you have in you.

After this, we finally watched the film! There were two films so we stayed for each. The films told the general history of the park, but we did learn there used to be a giant swimming pool in the middle of the Morraine meadow. It was shocking that people put a pool in the middle of what was to be protected.

The time was now pushing 5:00, so we decided to go back to the campsite and attempt to cook dinner. Hawkeye was not feeling well, so he rested. Black Widow prepped macaroni and cheese, hotdogs, and a vegetable. The littles played with out camping neighbors while dinner was cooked. Dinner tasted good and everyone gobbled it up except Hawkeye. The rain came back as we began eating.  

Eventually the rain became was too much to stay outside, but we didn’t want seven wet bodies inside the Corp of Discovery.  There was too much time to do nothing. We drove into Estes for a hot chocolate and hot tea. Hawkeye again did not want anything.

We came back to the campsite and got ready for bed. The decision was made that if it is raining in the morning, we would leave a day early and camp somewhere else for a night, possibly Sand Dunes National Park.

Day 11: Walking in the Clouds (July 7, 2015)

It rained all night. It stopped raining just long enough to eat breakfast. Or rather it was only drizzly as opposed to large raindrops.

We decided to do Trail Ridge Road since that involved lots of driving and less time outdoors. Hopefully the weather would cooperate and we would get to hike up Huffer’s Hill. Last year Hawkeye attempted the hill with Iron Man, Captain, and Thor but only made it half way up do to lightening. Black Widow, who was eight months pregnant with A7, stayed below with Hulk.

The drive up was easy. It was very foggy and we could not take full advantage of the amazing view we knew was right outside the car. We enjoyed watching the temperature drop on the car roughly 15 degrees and it even sleeted on us for a few miles. We then pulled over and waited for our July winter weather to pass.

When we got to the top, we kept going to visit the only ranger station on the west side of the park. Apparently everyone had the same idea of driving Trail Ridge Road today due to the rain as the parking lot was completely full and there was a line of cars waiting for a spot to open. Shortly after passing the top we saw a meadow with roughly a dozen moose. It was a fun site.

There are different points on the other side of the park that included the continental divide and a 1920s dude ranch. We made it to the west side visitors’ center and stamped the passport book. A ranger program titled “Behind the Scenes” was just starting and we watched three short videos about the pine beetle, elk, and bears. Each was interesting. The pine beetle has received a lot of attention in the past 15 years or so because they are estimated to have killed like 99% of the large trees on the west side of the park. This is a natural part of the ecosystem but has become too numerous in recent years. The only way to end the devastation is a hard arctic freeze (7 straight days of below zero degrees), a massive fire, or to virtually run out of trees which is what has happened on the west side. The pine beetle does not always kill a host tree but due to lack of rain the larger trees are more stressed. Add the additional stress of the beetle and you have a perfect storm.

The video on the Elk was equally interesting as it talked about the need to control the elk population. Natural predators of the elk were eradicated (grizzly bear and wolf) early on as they were seen as undesirable animals. This has resulted in numerous elk for the size of the park and overgrazing the meadows. This overgrazing affects other animals like the beaver. The presentation and video did a nice job of presenting how the forest lives in a balance and the removal of an animal, in this case the top predator, has created devastation in other area.

The final video was on the black bear. It was not as interesting as it consisting of a ranger going around asking people if they had seen a bear and general bear safety. The video actually contained like no bear footage.

Hawkeye found a nice hike to a falls after leaving the station but we became terribly twisted around as one had to actually leave the park and drive through the downtown of a small town to arrive at the trail head. That information would have been nice. Not being successful in finding the trailhead, we decided to head back up Trail Ridge Road.

Success, we made it back up to the top again. We went into the ranger station quickly, but the goal was the top of Huffer’s Hill. Hawkeye had promised hot chocolate to those who finished the hike. For this Hawkeye bought a coffee and hot chocolate and stuck them in the car. Iron Man and Captain made it up with hill first. Thor kept going at a steady pace and Hulk was not pleased with the mission. He made it about 100 steps and then informed Black Widow, in a way only Hulk could with his head cocked to the side and his finger pointing that it was too smoky (work used for fog and cloud cover) and he was going back. He then turned around and very independently began returning to the ranger station. Black Window attempted to coerce him which resulted in another 100 steps. Finally Hawkeye picked him up and began onward. Eventually Hulk decided the “smoke” was acceptable and walked on his own. Well, all the Avengers made it to the top. We took a couple pictures and it was time to head back. At the top Black Widow announced she wanted a mocha and one hot chocolate was not sufficient for five people (everyone minus Hawkeye and A7). She hurried down to buy a mocha and additional hot chocolate before the lodge closed at 6:00. We made it down at about 5:57 and were the last to buy hot drinks for the day. Everyone enjoyed their well deserved drink.

We drove back down Trail Ridge and it rained the entire time.

There was no use in going to the campsite as we would not be able to cook dinner in the rain and did not want to cook inside due to bears. We decided to go out for dinner again.  Hawkeye searched online for the top ten restaurant reviews in Estes Park. From this we chose the pizza place, Cheesy Lee’s, which received good reviews. The restaurant was located in an old lodge built in the 1800s that looked half dilapidated and was definitely off the beaten path. The inside of the restaurant had a broken down piano, large dessert display case with nothing inside, and the strangest play area for children we have ever seen.  The play area had a carpet mat, a large wooden train area, a Barbie doll castle and 3-4 tents. The pizza was great and everyone enjoyed it!

Captain got a headache after dinner. He has migraines from time to time and we suspect it was just a busy day and we didn’t encourage enough water drinking. We asked all littles to be quiet on the way back to the campsite which resulted in tears from Iron Man who insisted it wasn’t fair to make her be quiet and we were in some way ruining her life. Hawkeye through down the law and said fairness was out the window this time and his law was to be quiet. Quiet whimpering pursued all the way back to the campsite. We stopped at the “comfort station”, brushed teeth and then scuttled everyone to bed. Hoping for no rain tomorrow!