The Crazy Man's Castle

Bishop's Castle Photo Album - Click here!

So we were thinking we would have another tame (and boring) weekend, when Brian's parents suggested a trip to Bishop Castle on Friday night. Our only commitment the following day was to take Nala to the groomer at 8am, and a quick call to Petsmart assured us that she could wait there until we returned from our adventure so we were set!

After dropping Nala off on Saturday morning, we headed on over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Brian and Lily were being rather goofy, jumping down the driveway and all, then it was time to go. We all stopped by Village Inn for a now-rather-late breakfast. One more stop to gather yummies for our planned picnic, then we were on the road for real. Lily watched a couple of Blue's Clues episodes on the iPod, by the time those finished we were only about 20 minutes away. Finally we pulled up in front of Bishop Castle.

Now, first a little background... Bishop Castle is a one-man project (or obsession...) by a man named Jim Bishop. It is still a work in progress, stairways that end abruptly, balconies with no railings, rooms with door-less openings to the ground several stories below. It is not a place for the faint of heart. Nothing is regulated, no large barriers keeping people out of places they shouldn't be. You are just expected to use your own good sense. And trust that the one-man architect-builder knows what he is doing.

We had heard he was a little eccentric, as the day progressed we would come to realize he was absolutely crazy. He has spent the vast majority of his life (the last 40 years) building this honest to goodness Medieval Castle - all by himself! He refuses to let anyone help. This alone makes him sound a bit odd, but it doesn't end there.

Jim Bishop is a very angry person, an extreme libertarian, almost bordering on anarchist. And a big 9-11 conspiracy theorist. He apparently hates all government and anyone with any fame, fortune, or power. He is certain the whole world is out to get him, and that he is the only worthy person anywhere. I suspect this Castle is the product of his life-long temper-tantrum about the rest of the world.

You ask me how I know all this, well you would know it all too if you spent but a few minutes touring his castle. He is always there working on it, and does not hesitate a bit to share his views with all his patrons. Whether they want to hear it or not. In fact he seems to spend more time shouting his paranoia's and rants to everyone within hearing distance than he does working. Except that sometimes he works while he is yelling about the current state of the world, which is even scarier. He seems like he could snap at any moment!

Later we looked up some stuff online and found that last year he was charged with assaulting and threatening a patron with a deadly weapon. That case is still pending. Probably best that we didn't realize quite all this when were on the high, more precarious parts of the castle!

So, back to our tour - after hearing a brief tirade about the government by Jim Bishop as we came in, we started by climbing the very tall and narrow staircase that went up the outside of the Castle. All I can say is that I am very glad there were rails. That led us to the main room, which was very impressive indeed! The walls and ceiling were vaulted and there were stained glass windows covering the front and back. From there we headed up one of

the towers that led to more outer areas with balconies. Those wrought iron walkways really freaked me out - it was like walking on air - nothing below you at all! I am not usually so afraid of heights, but I found myself uselessly gripping onto the wall as I walked nonetheless, and was very glad when my feet reached the rock and concrete part again! I found myself remembering that this was all just built by one guy - an anti-government guy who would never allow any kind of safety inspectors on his property. What was his training again? I seriously d oubted it was anything to do with engineering... this was a medieval style project - probably along the lines of trial and error more than mathematical modeling.

We started to head up the highest tower, but Lily go scared so we went back down to the main room and crossed to the other side, where there was another, slightly shorter tower. The top of this one, though more easily reached, was still quite precarious. At one point Brian and Lily walked out onto a wrought iron bridge connecting to another tower. When some other guests walked onto it with them to take pictures, Brian became a little panicked wondering how much load that flimsy looking bridge could take! The other end wasn't finished so there was no where else to go. Once again the thought was in our heads - no engineers, no inspections, no insurance, just a crazy guy with some rocks and metal...I am amazed we survived at all in hindsight.

We headed back down and explored the lower parts of the Castle a bit. There was more nice stained glass at the bottom. The girls went for a quick walk through the gift shop once we had seen the Castle, while Brian waited outside at a picnic table with his dad. This was when they got a real earful of Jim Bishops political viewpoints. And it was then that Brian began to realize that this man's mental state went a little beyond odd. On our way out he was still raving mad about something, and we worried for a second that he was about to run us over in his concrete mixer truck! Time to be moving on...

We drove a few minutes back to the San Isabel National Forest, and found a nice recreation area by the lake for our picnic. We hauled everything (including the leisure table) down to the lake, only to find that there was already a nice picnic table in the shade available. It was turning out to be a rather warm day - the shade and breeze were sure nice! Couldn't have asked for a better spot. After lunch we took the stuff back to the car, then went back down to the lake for a walk. We had seen several people in row boats on the lake and were hoping we could find a place to rent them- sure enough we found it around the other end of the lake.

We couldn't all fit in one boat, so Brian and I got a row boat and his parents rented a paddle boat. Lily wanted to go with them first, so we set about the somewhat tedious task of getting them into their boat, and then their boat clear of the dock. With them

finally on their way, we headed out in our row boat. The lake is not very big, so we were almost always within shouting distance of each other. Lily thought it was fun to try to race us sometimes! I didthe rowing for a few minutes, but Brian was much better than meso he ended up doing

most of the work. After about 30 minutes Grandma and Grandpa headed back to the dock,we met them there so Lily could come with us for a while. She liked that in the row boat she could lean over and stick her hand in the water! Finally our hour was up, we turned in the life jackets. Brian later realized though that he had forgotten to turnin the key for the dock lock! We'll have to mail it back now.

Once back in the car Lily was asleep almost instantly. she woke up as we were almost back to their house. We took off right away in our car since we needed to get Nala, who had been at the Petsmart groomer since early that morning. After collecting her, we went home for game and pizza night! We played a round of Blokus - which I won for what was probably the first time, and Lily made a much better showing than she ever has before. We were, needless to say, a little bit tired by the time we drug ourselves upstairs to bed!

The Rain Made me Happy...

Just a quick update about our week...the most exciting part is that we have a new ticker - we are going on a camping trip to the Royal Gorge over Labor Day weekend! We will leave on Saturday morning and spend the day at the Royal Gorge Bridge park, then check in to the KOA that night. On Sunday morning we have 9:30am reservations for the Vista Dome Car on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad! We will spend the rest of the Day in town, maybe visit the Dinosaur Depot. On our way out of town on Monday I am hoping to check out the Canyon City Riverwalk. So a spur of the moment trip, but hopefully it will be fun.

The weather has finally cooled down, it has been raining and storming like crazy the last few days, mostly at night. Although it rained much of the day today, and was still cool and raining when I walked home from school. Normally I suppose that would have been unpleasant, but something about it made me really happy. Maybe it was just that it was a change. Maybe it was that I knew how badly we had needed the rain all summer. Or maybe it was just that I am so so so so so so so so so so TIRED of being hot! But mostly I just like the changing of the seasons, and the excitement that comes with it. And it definitely felt like summer was starting to give way to fall today. Though I'm sure we still have plenty more hot and dry days before it happens for real :)

The rest of the week has been fairly uneventful, school is as busy as ever, especially with teaching two subjects now. We are "in-between" extra-curricular activities. Swimming is done and soccer won't start for a week or two at least. Lily also wants to do ice-skating but that session is a couple of weeks away as well. So we have had a break in the afternoons. Although I had open house at school on Tuesday night, so that alone made it seem like a long week. Lily got her first visit to the ice cream truck on Wednesday, we had told her she earned it last week (can't remember what for) but we had been having trouble tracking it down. We heard it coming during dinner and ran out just in time! She got a rainbow snow cone. And we went to Old Chicago's again last night, we have gotten into the habit of that on Thursdays - Lily likes it because the balloon twisty lady is there :)

Well I am going to try to do the smart thing this weekend and actually get some work done at home - no big plans. But plenty of laundry and dirty dishes waiting for some attention...

Water World

Click here for the Water World Photo Album

I have been feeling so restless lately, maybe its just from the end of summer break, but I have a constant urge to go, go, go! See new things, have new adventures. Anything but the normal daily routine. And with almost two months before our next mini-vacation I have had to resort to nearby weekend destinations. So I suggested a Saturday outing to Water World in Denver. We had loved Blizzard Beach, and Water World is one of the biggest water parks in the US. And I had never been, so it seemed like a perfect diversion for the weekend! It was supposed to be a hot day in Denver, with only a small chance of storms. Even better.

We got going plenty early Saturday morning, and made an out-of-the way trip to Chick-fil-a. Then we hit the highway. The drive was uneventful as usual. Lily watched Dora Fairy-tale Land on the iPod for about the 40th time, and we stopped somewhere for fuel. And then straight on the WW! It was still about 20 minutes until opening time when we pulled in, but by the time we got up to the line they were starting to let people in to the ticket counter area.

I got our tickets, and purchased "Splash Cash" cards for Brian and I so we wouldn't have to go back to the locker for wallets every time we wanted something to eat or drink. After a short line at the turnstiles, we were in! Getting a locker was a bit more of an ordeal than I would have liked, but soon enough we were all sun-screened and ready to go. After getting burned at Blizzard Beach I wasn't taking any chances and decided to wear my shirt over my swimming suit today. No more sunburned shoulders for me! On the way in we had passed Wally World, and Lily wanted to do that first.

Wally World is an area for younger kids, with several small slides and waterfalls. Lily played there for quite a while before deciding to go on to one of the bigger attractions. I knew the lines would only get longer as the day progressed and was hoping to beat some of the rush since we were there early. I had brought my old camera in its water proof case to record the day's adventure, I have gotten so spoiled to my new G9 but a non-waterproof camera is pretty useless at a waterpark.

So it was on to "Lost River of the Pharaohs", a family tube ride (similar to Teamboat Springs @ BB) There was a short line to pick up our 4-person tube, and then we had to haul it up a rather long hill to get to the loading bay! That tube felt pretty heavy by the end. We loaded and were off!

The first part of the ride was pretty typical rafting type stuff, dips and curves, and swooshes up the side of the slide. Then we came to the Pyramid, where there was mist pouring out! Once inside, it actually felt very Disney-world-ish. We were still in the raft of course, but now we were slowly meandering our way through a very dark and realistic looking Pharoh's tomb! Not the kind of ride I was used to getting at an ordinary water park! Nice to see that someone else has figured out that there is more to a cool ride than just going fast. Although that's fun too :)

Well we finally picked up speed and came hurtling out of the Pyramid. Lily had been a little scared during parts, but liked the part where she saw the "king".

There were a couple of other themed tube ride in that part of the park, though we had some trouble finding them. It turned out we needed to go around the Thunder Bay Wave pool. Brian and Lily thought we might as well go in for a quick dip on the way around...

Thunder Bay is not a typical wave pool - it stores up energy for several minutes then releases one gigantic wave! I followed them in as best I could, though they were a little ways ahead of me and with it so crowded (and bright!) I couldn't always keep them in sight. It was only a minute or so before it came. We were a ways back in the pool, so it took what seemed like a long time for the wave to reach us. I was just standing there snapping pictures, noticing a tube filled with girls right in front of me...and had the thought that the wave looked like a wall of water filled with bodies.

And then it hit me (figuratively, at this moment.) That wall of bodies was headed straight for me! The wave was well over my head and not slowing down a bit! And it broke just a little bit in front of me... what followed next was a moment of shear terror, though I didn't have much time to absorb the thought before the wall hit me (for real).

The next few terrifying moments went by in a blur. The tube of girls in front of me was picked up by the wave and smashed into me like a semi-truck running over a fly. I was vaguely aware of something smacking my head and then being under water. Tossed and turned, pushed, kicked, bumped along, hitting the floor, it was all happening so fast I couldn't even keep my bearings about which way was up, only that I was still under water and moving very quickly. When I finally tried to surface I found another tube, (or person, not sure which) on top of me and had a brief panic that I was trapped. Eventually things calmed down enough to get my head above water, and there were a few moments of utter confusion. I was so disoriented by now I couldn't figure out where I was in the pool. And where were Brian and Lily??? I knew that had Lily been with me there was no way I could have held on to her through all that. Had the same thing happened to Brian? Was she now lost in the pool somewhere? Fortunately, within seconds I saw them walking towards me, looking mostly unfazed, but clearly having been recently dunked!

When Brian saw the size of the wave, and realized that it was going to break right where they were, he had clutched Lily to his chest and held her as tight as could. Fortunately he didn't get waylaid by any shore-bound tubes and had managed to stay on his feet while the wave went over their heads. He too experienced the moment of terror right before it hit, though! Later we were shocked to see that one of the pictures I snapped had him in it picking Lily up split-seconds before the wave hit! Perhaps this was not the wave pool for little ones... time to move on for sure! And be grateful that we were all still in one piece, though my arm was very sore from being nailed by a foot, head, who knows...and I later realized that I had been wearing my sunglasses when I went in the pool. Needless to say they were not still with me when I left.

We headed on over the "Voyage to the Center of the Earth" tube ride. It had a very long wait but since we were here we though we might as well go ahead and do it. The line was in a covered building so at least we were out of the sun. It was getting very toasty outside! Finally we got to the front, and picked up our tube for another long climb. There was a photographer at the top, and we got our picture made in front of the waterfall!


The ride itself is very similar to "Pharohs" except that it has a dinosaur theme. Lily was more scared on this one even, but said she really liked the part where we got to see the "plant-eating dinosaurs". They really do some cosmic rides here! Taking lessons from Disney indeed...After a quick potty break we went to "Storm" which was right next to "Voyage". The line was much shorter, but another climb up the hill with that tube! You definitely get a work out here. "Storm" was a lot of fun, most of it is in a completely dark tube, very similar to the other raft rides except you can't see anything! Lily kept her eyes closed the whole time, not like it mattered. She always seems a little scared, but we can tell afterwards from the way she talks about it that she really was having a good time.

Well it was time for lunch, so we went back towards the entrance and split up to find food. Brian found a nice spot in the grass under a tree to eat, and after scarfing down our food we were ready to go again. We headed over to River Country for some more rafting fun!

The line for the "Cimarron and Thunder Rivers" wasn't too long, but moved rather slowly. Another raft, another hill. 'Nough said. It was a fun one though, and there was another photographer there so we got another picture. The exit was right next to the tube pick up for the "Ragin'Colorado River" so we did that one too. Ditto to everything about the last ride!

By now we were ready for something a little more relaxing so we headed over to Calypso Cove, a water play area for kids. This ended up being one of Lily's favorite parts of the day. There was a large structure with several slides coming off, one of which Lily absolutely loved. She must have gone down it a dozen times! At some point we took a break for some gatorade at the nearby Cafe, and me and Lily shared a Brownie. The afternoon was slipping away, and Lily finally decided she wanted to go to the Normal Wave pool (not the crazy one) before it was time to go.

While Brian and Lily headed in, I went to pick up the pictures we had gotten taken earlier. Once those were back in the locker, I joined them in the pool for a while before we went back to Wally World. The chance of storms had held off so far, but some dark clouds moved in, cooling it off dramatically. Almost too much sometimes! But a nice change still.

Wally World was another one of Lily's favorites. It consists of three levels, with a slide going from top to bottom, one going from the top to the middle, and one going from the middle to the bottom. As well as stairs connecting all the levels and a couple of waterfalls. The water all starts at the top and flows toward the bottom any way it can - over waterfalls, down slides, down stairs, it just goes. Lily spent most of the time running as fast as she could from one slide to another, sometimes taking a break to play on the tire swing or under a waterfall. It was very difficult to keep up with her here - we would see her on a slide and go down the stairs to meet her, by that time she had come down and gone to a different slide on a different level, so we would change course and head there... but invariably she was navigating the area faster than us and it was often a game of cat and mouse! But she became very confident of her skills on the slides, almost to the point of being reckless!

With only about 30 minutes left until closing time Lily decided she really wanted to ride the "Pharohs" ride again, I suspected by now there would not be much wait since so many people were leaving and I was right! So we made one last trip up the big hill with our raft, and took the ride through the Pyramid one more time. Lily was definitely less scared than the first time, but still closed her eyes in some parts.

Finally time to leave, we headed back to change clothes and go to dinner. There was a whole section of the park we didn't even get to see - this place is Huge! We though going through Denver at Dinner time would make a good excuse to stop at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We had been to the one in Denver a couple of times, but not since Lily was a baby. The one in Atlanta was such a part of our college years, I wanted Lily to at least have an idea what it was like. We called for directions, and it wasn't more than about 20 minutes away.

On the way into downtown (Where OSF is located) we passed the baseball stadium, it looked a like a game was about to start. We found a parking lot a couple of blocks away and walked the rest. Lily had recently become interested in tall building and "downtowns" so it was really cool to walk around in one for a bit!

There was only a short wait for a table, we were all tired and hungry (and thirsty!) During dinner we got a special surprise - a Balloon twister was there! He made Lily a Ladybug bracelet, and made me an apple. After dinner we all felt much more relaxed, but still pretty wiped out! Once again, we had had quite a day!

Maybe we should take it easy next weekend. Why does that just not sound like any fun???

Kindergarten Open House

Well first a little about my week...

I knew it would be a busy week before it even began! School started on Monday, although 7th and 8th grade students didn't start until Tuesday so we had one extra day to prepare. My room was all moved and set up, and I at least had a vague idea of what I was doing in both subjects. I have never taught Math or 7th grade before, and although I have taught high school astronomy, I suspect 7th grade Earth Science will feel like a whole new ballgame as well. But all in all, things were shaping up pretty well. 

Tuesday was absolute chaos - there was a plan to have all of the kids do scantron testing on the first day of school and we had a special schedule to accommodate for it. Unfortunately many of the computers (including the set alloted to my class) did not work. They began shuffling around kids and schedules, and well it was all pretty much a wash after that. Wednesday was better though, and as the week wore on we all started to settle into more of a routine, though I don't think anyone (me or the kids!) is completely settled yet.

Tuesday was also our 8th Anniversary! We celebrated by going to Guiseppe's Restaurant in downtown by the Railroad tracks. We got to see a few trains go by, and the food was excellent. It was especially nice to relax after the hectic day I had had at school. 

Wednesday Lily's Minnie Mouse Halloween costume came, and she was excited to prance around in it a bit, but I had an RE meeting at church in the evening. Finally had a free afternoon on Thursday and pretty much collapsed on the couch when I got home. The first week of school is always so draining. 

Friday afternoon was the Kindergarten Open House at Lily's new school. We had to skip swimming lessons to go, but I definitely didn't want to miss it. Oh, I have worried so much that we had made a poor choice moving her there. I hadn't noticed anything particularly wrong with the place and I actually really like the kindergarten teacher, but it just didn't have the same feel. When I walk in the door they don't make me feel like Lily is the most prized possession in the whole school, I guess I had gotten spoiled to that before. Everything seemed more unorganized and disjointed, and it had bugged me for weeks that she hadn't been given a cubby, and it was weeks before they even made her a folder! The room always seemed to small and cramped, and not "cheery" like I would expect. I had also been assuming they did online payments like the Kindercare website claimed and had been annoyed when I found out they didn't. I guess the whole thing had that "just a number feel" to it. So I hadn't been overflowing with confidence about this choice. Maybe we should have tried for Full Day Kindergarten at Ridgeview. But deep down I think I have really felt that we just plain sold out. Sacrificed too much for a closer location and cheaper tuition. It kept going through my mind over and over. It wouldn't have been like this at Primrose. We should have left her there. 

So I was hoping this orientation would change my perspective a little bit. As soon as I walked in the front door one of the directors waved me down and asked if I would be interested in doing online payments, that they were starting it next week! Well this was certainly a good start. I had already received the Discover card I ordered before I knew I couldn't use it (Kindercare onle accepts Discover) so hopefully we will be good to go with it soon. I was a little irked though that they didn't have a sign about where the open house was, and I went into Lily's room before learning it was somewhere else. I was glad she didn't get upset that I was leaving without her anyway...

So the meeting started, Brian got there soon after. They explained that they are doing something different with the class this year- combining it with the younger kids in the PreK class and moving into the bigger classroom where they will have both the K and PreK teachers. This alone brightened my mood immensely. Not only would they have a better classroom, but I really like the PreK teacher who had been with Lily's class a few times in the afternoons when I came. Things were looking up! 

Then they went through the curriculum and explained the structure of the day. Apparently things will be much different that they were in the summer, I was glad to see that their schedule looked very similar to what she was used to at Primrose. And the curriculum looked satisfactory enough. There was some confusion about what would happen next year, many of the kids in that class don't really make the age cutoff so there was a lot of discussion about "how to get your kids into first grade next year" but we confirmed that that didn't apply to us since Lily makes the cutoff, and Kindergarten isn't required anyway. But the teachers explained that it is run exactly like D49 Kindergarten, right down to the report cards and "Thursday Homework Folders".

So by the end of the meeting I was feeling much better. We will see how it goes after a few weeks, but I have hope now, and a lot more confidence. I think it was just tough coming in during the summer when everything is so chaotic. It's still not Primrose and I may never feel as good about it, nothing will ever be the same. But I think it will be okay, and for now that's good enough. 

Reflections on the TVCUU tragedy

Link to one of the many articles...Click here

Our hearts are breaking for our fellow UUs of the Tennessee Valley UU Church. The acts of one can affect so many. The needless waste of lives, the suffering brought to innocent families, and the trauma of the precious children who will forever carry the burden of this memory. Who could do such a thing? 

And who could defend it? I am amazed, though I suppose I shouldn't be, by the overwhelming backlash against our faith. Those who, instead of mourning the tragedy, claim that our UU churches deserved this, or brought it on ourselves. Because we believe that every person has worth, that Love you Neighbor means ALL your neighbors? Because we believe in a search for truth that does not dictate, demand or lay guilt? Because we believe that peace is worth working for? If this is the so-called "liberal movement" that the shooter referred to, I fail to see how it makes us worthy of a slaughter. 

Our beliefs may be different, but our congregations are filled with loving, open minded people who give so much of themselves to their families and to the community. Hate has no place in our churches, and the fact that hate would therefore be directed at us is more than ironic, it is a sign of a deep-rooted problem in our society. If you don't like our message, go to a different church. Or stay home. But don't resort to violence against innocent people to let us know that you disagree. And don't condone those who do - there is no excuse on this green earth that can justify it. 

Our Day @ Rocky Mountain

RMNP Photo Album - Click here

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of our very favorite places, and we try to make sure we get up there at least once every summer. So we drug ourselves out of bed as early as we could on Saturday morning (which of course wasn't as early as we had planned) and quickly tried to gather everything we thought we might need for the day's hiking adventure. We realized just down the street that we had forgotten the sunscreen and went back for it, then made a quick stop by Carl's Jr.s to pick up some breakfast for the road. The drive up to Estes Park was fairly uneventful, with almost no traffic. Lily watched one Backyardigans episode on the iPod, other than that we all just enjoyed the scenery and each other's company.

As we were nearing the gate to the Park, we came to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and decided to stop for a quick potty break. Just as we were getting back into the car Lily asked for some water - so we opened up the back of the car to get a bottle out of our packs. Except that the water pack wasn't there! Somehow in our rush to leave we must have left it si

tting on the kitchen table. I had one bottle in my daypack, but we knew that wouldn't be nearly enough even with the water filter, unless we wanted to be stopping every half hour on the trail to fill it up again. So we headed back inside hoping to find some vending machines where we could get a few more bottles.

We didn't find any machines, but the gift shop sold large re-usuable sport bottles so we bought one of those. And Lily spent some allowance on a small stuffed Eagle fingerpuppet. I was glad she had asked for water while we were there - finding another bottle once in the park would have been much more difficult! This meant however that ALL of the water was going to be in the daypack making it heavier than usual.

We drove on into the park - the line at the entrance gate was the longest I think I have seen, but it moved pretty fast. It was a little after 10:00am when we entered. Our National Parks Annual Pass we got last summer was still good at least. We will need a new one before we go to Moab in October though. We had already picked out our first destination - we wanted to do the Mills Lake hike, which was off of the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. It is in the same area of the park as the Bear Lake Trailhead which we have started from many times, and knew well enough that the lots would be full by now so we went ahead to the Shuttle lot and waited for a bus. Lily always gets a kick out of riding the shuttle anyway.

It was extremely busy in the parking lot and we had to wait for a second shuttle. I was glad to see though that almost no one else got off at Glacier Gorge, apparently everyone was heading for Bear Lake. The trail was still a bit crowded at first, not unbearable but there were always other people within sight. It was only a short walk on the trail to Alberta Falls, and I suspected that much of the crowds would dissipate after that.

It was shaping up to be a very pleasant day - warm and sunny, but not excruciatingly hot as it had been lately in the Springs. And even with the crowds it seemed peaceful and cheery. It wasn't long before we came to the falls, after following Glacier Creek for about a half-mile. It was certainly a popular destination. We got a few pictures by the falls and were heading on down the trail when Lily spotted the rocky area that went up beside the falls. Lots of large flat boulders gently sloping upwards - it wasn't really part of the trail but it didn't look all that treacherous and plenty of others (many with small children) had gone up there already so we decided to be adventures and go explore. There were some really neat nooks right beside the falls where we could watch the water rushing past (at a safe distance away of course). One spot was shaped just so that the falls reminded me of a waterslide...not one I would want to ride though! We carefully made our way back down and picked up the trail towards Mills Lake again.

As I had suspected, it was much less crowded now, though there was still a fairly regular trickle of hikers. One stopped and showed us a spot up on the hill where he insisted he had seen aGrizzly Bear earlier in the day...he was sure it

was a Grizzly because it was light brown. Brian and I tried not to laugh too much until he was out of earshot - Grizzlies have long been extinct in this region though black bears are still quite plentiful. A common misconception is that black bears are always black, in fact they can be just about any color, including light brown. I don't doubt that he saw a bear, but the chances that a lone Grizzly suddenly found itself in the middle of Rocky Mountain National Park are pretty much zero. I was still a little jealous though, I've never even glimpsed a bear in the wild before. Not that I'd want to get too close (even to a black bear), but an unexpected view of one in the distance would be really cool.

The weather was still beautiful, but we noticed with some worry the dark puffy clouds forming above us. Hopefully the rain would hold out a few more hours, but I was starting to doubt it.It was then that I realized I hadn't packed the raincoats! Or a dry change of clothes. We had extra sweatshirts in the car, but that was it. It wasn't the first thing we realized we forgot, and it wouldn't be the last.

Before long we were getting hungry for lunch so we found a nice rocky ledge on the side of the trail to sit and enjoy our peanut butter and jelly picnic that we had packed. A very ambitious chipmunk refused to leave us alone, apparently someone has been feeding the wildlife. Of course we didn't give him anything - I'm not sure why people seem to think they are doing these creatures a favor by increasing their dependance on us. It will not serve them well one day. With our hunger abated we headed on down the trail. The scenery was simply stunning, with views of the mountains and valley in between. And the rushing sounds of the creek were never far away. As much as we love traveling and seeing new places, I thought nothing would ever be able to compare to this right here.

By this time we were almost out of water and found a good place near the creek to fill up again. Lily has learned how to help Brian with the water filter so they quickly set about their task. While they were working, I felt the first raindrop hit my head. By the time they were done, it was definitely raining, though not too hard yet. We continued on to another bridge and ran into some people we know from church. It wasn't more than a few minutes before we felt the raindrops turn to hail. It was coming down hard and we were getting pelted pretty good, I knew we had to find some sort of shelter and escape this beating. We dove under the nearest tree, which helped some but there wasn't really enough room for all of us to fit. And being the tallest tree around, it was likely to become a lightning magnet. We needed to move. So we went a little deeper into the trees where we could spread out, but the hail was still coming through pretty hard. Not knowing what else to do we decided to head on down the trail, might as well make some progress or look for better shelter while getting pounded.

It must have been coming down harder then I realized, once in the open I don't remember much except continually shouting "OWW!" and within moments Brian

yelling from somewhere

ahead that he had found a much better spot. All I cared was that it was close. He lead us up the bank to a shallow cave, with just enough overhang to block the unceasing onslaught outside. We cuddled inside, grateful at last for a real shelter. I couldn't believe no one was in here already! That was a very lucky find indeed. It was actually very

peaceful watching the hail, which eventually turned to rain, fall over the valley from inside the protection of our little cave. Many other hikers came by and complimented us on our find when they saw us tucked inside, we offered to let them come inside too, but no one took us up on it. A couple came by later that thought we looked so cute they wanted to take our picture for us!

We wondered how long we would have to wait this out. We didn't want to put ourselves in danger of being out past dark-no flashlights! We had forgotten the flashlights. Was there anything we DIDN'T forget??? I did happen to have a towel in the backpack, I had grabbed it out of the car at the last minute thinking it would be useful for our picnic, but it came in even more handy now, as Lily was a little bit cold from being wet. We weren't soaked fortunately, but damp enough to create a chill in the rain-cooled air.

Finally, after about 40 minutes the rain subsided, though the storm didn't appear to be completely over. We took advantage of the break in the weather and headed out. We knew we were

close to the lake by now and were not going to turn back without at least seeing it, rain or not. It was only a very light drizzle by now anyway, hopefully the skies wouldn't open up again any time soon. The trail had really cleared out, we only occasionally passed anyone now. The sky still looked very foreboding though the rain had stopped, there was a strange grey, foggy quiet blanketing the whole valley. It was creepy, but kind of cool at the same time.

We reached the lake - only a handful of others were scattered out along the banks. A gloomy peace, but very pretty nonetheless. We walked on around the lake, intending to take the trail on to nearby Jewel lake since the weather was holding out. I think we were off the trail for a while, but stumbled onto it again and found our way to the second lake. After Jewel lake, the trail continues to Black Lake, but having lost so much time in the storm I was afraid we wouldn't make it

back in time. So after a while we turned to head back, and found a semi-private area up a hill to use the "facilities".

We had to carefully navigate much of the trail back, as the rocky terrain was quite slick in places, and going down is always harder than going up! By the time we got back to Mills Lake the sun was out, and it had warmed up quite a bit. We sat by the lake for a few minutes enjoying the view and the peaceful surroundings.

It was already after 4pm, and no big surprise, Lily started getting cranky. This no-naps thing is still presenting a bit of a challenge most days. We didn't have any major meltdowns, but there were a few difficult moments. She is a very intense, emotional person. Which are not bad traits, most of the time :) But when she gets tired those values get magnified to the point that she cannot control them. But we eventually made it back not too much worse for the wear, with Lily doing a fair amount of puddle stomping on the way! She and Brian actually ran the last part of the trail, just for fun.

We made it back to the bus stop, while waiting for the shuttle Lily took our picture! The shuttle dropped us off back at the parking lot, at one point earlier I had fully expected that we would be soaked to the bone by now! Thanks to our impromptu shelter, and some good luck with the weather we were completely dry, but tired. We had planned to drive up Trail Ridge Road and explore a little bit up there, but it was after 6pm, and we were hungry for dinner. And Lily was practically sleepwalking by now. So we headed out of the park back towards Estes, but Lily was asleep by the time we got there. So we kept going, thinking there was no way we would keep her awake long enough to eat right then.

As we were coming into Denver we saw a sign for Cracker Barrel, we couldn't remember the last time we had eaten at one so decided to go there. Cracker Barrel is one of those places that always sounds better than it ends up being, but I never remember that until I am eating there. Oh well, it was food anyway and soon we were back on the road heading for home. Lily managed to walk inside the house, but collapsed on the living room floor. It had been a long day!

New Vacation Tickers

So many places to see, so little time... or so it seems! We actually have the next few years planned out pretty well as far as our travels. Of course nothing past next summer is official, but its in the plans anyway! I made tickers for all of our known (or hoped for) trips... there is a link to them at the top but here is where we stand as of today:

Moab, UT, Fall Break 2009 (Oct 4-7) - 2 months, 1 week, 3 days

Magic Kingdom & Sea World, Christmas Break 2009 - 4 months, 3 weeks, 6 days

Skiing @ Keystone, Jan 24-26 - 6 months

Glacier National Park, Summer Vacation 2009 - 11 months, 2 weeks, 3 days

The rest are tentative...

Chicago via Amtrak, Fall Break 2009 - 14 months, 1 week

DisneyLand, Summer Vacation 2010 - 1 year, 10 months, 6 days

Costa Rica via Adventures by Disney, Summer Vacation 2011 - 2 years, 10 months, 1 week

Those last few seem so far away! But at least I have some incentive now to budget carefully, which will be a must if we are going to be able to afford the Costa Rica trip! That of course is my pick, which should have come in 2010, but after crunching the numbers there was just no way. By switching with Lily we will have an extra year to save up. Makes sense anyway, might as well do DisneyLand when she is a year younger, and our big adventure trip when she is a year older!

Okay, now time to get back to work and stop fantasizing about vacation...

Lily's Fun Day

Fun Day Photo Album - Click here

The day had come. Once a quarter, on each of my breaks, Lily gets a "fun day", where she gets to basically do whatever she wants for a whole day. Within reason of course :) For her Summer Fun Day, we had picked this day, Friday July 11. It was the last weekday before starting her new school! She had decided that she wanted to go to the North Pole, mostly because now that she had finally gotten over her fear of characters she was looking forward to an early visit with Santa! She had seen him once at school, but I wasn't there to see it, and in the picture she looked totally terrified. She would never go near him at the mall. We hadn't been to the North Pole since she was 2, and she had seemed so much younger then!

At 5:45am she bounced into my room, waking me up and proudly showing me that she was all dressed and ready to go! Unfortunately the North Pole didn't open for another 4 hours. She finally managed to drag me out of bed. We hung around the house for a while, then headed out for breakfast at Chick-fil-a. She usually gets an egg and cheese biscuit there, but decided to try it with sausage this time, and after tasting it couldn't figure out why she had never wanted it that way before! The lady at the register told us it was "Dress like a Cow Day" and encouraged us to come back for dinner. We didn't have any cow costumes, but I thought it might be fun to come back anyway. After eating she played on the playground there for a while and then we were off to see the elves!

We arrived around 9:30, about a half hour before they opened. There were already some people hanging out in the parking lot but I figured we might as well go stand at the entrance - we were the first in line! It was a bit of a wait, but soon there were lots of others there as well and we chatted a bit with some of them to pass the time. Finally the doors opened, we paid, and made a beeline for Santa's house (the only thing at North Pole that can have exceptionally long waits) Of course we were the first to arrive, and she went right up to him and sat in his lap! She didn't have any idea what she wanted for Christmas yet, but we got a nice picture. Something I had been waiting over 3 years for! Afterwards we talked about his outfit, and decided that must be his "summer wardrobe."

Lily wanted to ride the Paratroopers ride first - this was the ride she loved last time but I was nervous the whole time because she was so little then I was afraid she was going to fall out! I still can't believe how relaxed their height requirements are. This time I felt much more confident. And Lily squealed with delight throughout the whole ride! next we did the Sky Ride, a chairlift-like ride that makes a loop along the outer edge of one side of the the park. It made me think of the upcoming ski season...still a little ways off I know!

We did the Himalaya next, a ride that takes you very rapidly in a circle, first forwards, then backwards. This was Lily's first ever "thrill ride" when we came last time. We weren't ready for the Tilt-a-whirl yet, and the Peppermint Slide was still closed so we headed toward the back of the park, stopping for a drink at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard along the way. I couldn't believe how hot it was already! It was going to be a scorcher. We climbed the massive hill to the Dive Bomber and Space Shuttle - the Dive Bomber was completely empty so we did that one first and got a solo ride. It swings you in a circle - and your pod has a sail that you can move to catch the wind just right. We made some pretty cool moves.

She wanted to do the Space Shuttle, which is one of those rocking things - a lot of amusement parks have the same thing as a pirate ship, or dragon. Last time we came it made her tummy hurt, but I figured we would give it a try since we were here. It's really just a giant swing, and we all know how much she loves swings! I think this actually ended up being her favorite thing there - she screamed (happily) and laughed the whole time - said it made her "sizzle"! Then we went to the Farris Wheel. This is the world's highest Farris Wheel at around 7400 ft above sea level. And it is not a Farris Wheel for the faint hearted - perched on the side of the mountain, instead of a cage you are in a seat with a small bar across your lap, and it launches you with breathtaking speed into the air overlooking the landscape below.

There was a magic show starting soon so we walked over to the Showhouse Building to watch, and saw some pretty cool tricks and illusions. Afterwards we rode the Dive Bomber and Space Shuttle again, and Lily did some of the kid's rides in the Enchanted Forest section, including the kid's Farris Wheel (much tamer than the big one) and the Candy Cane Coaster. We had thought we would do Tilt-a-whirl on the way out, but decided that we should do it BEFORE eating lunch, so we headed back to the front of the park. On the way we decided to do the Paratroopers again, and by now the Peppermint Slide was open so we climbed the tower and sailed down on our flour sacks! Lily went two more times by herself, then finally it was time to get dizzy. After stumbling our way off of the Tilt-a-whirl we went back towards the Enchanted Forest for lunch at Miss. Muffet's. The seating was outdoors, but mostly covered and we got a table right by the stage where Rudolph was doing a show! After lunch we finished the Enchanted Forest, and then it was time to be heading out. We had agreed to meet Brian back at home at 2:00 and it was already 1:30. We stopped for some ice cream on the way and picked up her Santa picture before leaving.

Once home, we were so hot, and with a cold front moving in that night it seemed like the perfect excuse to go swimming! So we changed into swimming suits, grabbed the towels and headed to Wilson Ranch Pool! Brian was home from work so he came along. Once there it took us a few minutes to get our stuff situated and get everyone sunscreened - finally Brian and Lily jumped in the water. I snapped a few pictures and made a stop by the restroom - I was on my way to put the camera back and join them when they announced a 10 minute break. Rats - and I hadn't even gotten wet yet! Lily sat in my lap to cool me off for a while since she was soaked already! Shortly after the water was open again it started to get cloudy and noticeably cooler - that front must have been moving in already. Oh well. It still felt nice to not be melting.

After a couple of hours Brian and I were starting to feel like we had had enough, especially with it cooling down so quickly. Lily agreed to go ahead and leave if we could still make it to the 7:10 showing of Wall-E. It would be close, but I figured we could if we hurried. It was now around 5:00. We hurried home and changed clothes to make ourselves more presentable, and I bought our movie tickets online. We still needed dinner, and I remembered that it was Cow Day, so we stopped by Chick-fil-a. So many people were dressed in their cow atire, I felt bad that we weren't but it was fun to see anyway. Not only did Lily get a free stuffed cow, but it turned out to be s surprise Character meal - the Cow himself was there! Wow, with rides and characters it almost felt like we were back at Disney World....almost.

We munched down our food quickly after meeting the Cow and headed for the theater. Even though we had just eaten, it isn't a move without popcorn and candy so we had to stop and the concession stand. We actually ended up having plenty of time, and the theater wasn't very crowded at all when we went in. We sat on the top row! It ended up being pretty full by the time it started, I was glad we got there early enough to get good seats. The movie was very cute - Lily wanted to know if the robots were going to marry afterwards! She was pretty worn out and of course fell asleep on the way home. Who could blame her, we had had quite a day!