Lair O' the Bear Park

Last Sunday we hiked Lair O' the Bear Park. We drove through Morrison on the way, which was a super cute Mountain town, and saw lots of references to dinosaurs, which we'll have to investigate.

So, back to the hike. Despite some exhaustion from movie night the previous evening, we set out bright and pretty early. It ranks high on my list of great places to go. There was a rushing stream, snow, mountains, and we passed Red Rocks on the way (which, by the way, we simply have to see a show there sans child, it is an awesome space). The water was a great love of mine, Betsy and Ripley's--and likely Jeff's too.










Unfortunately, we somehow managed to not take a lot of pictures. This means a repeat visit--for sure! And it also means each week we are learning more and more what we should do and bring during our hikes. Betsy got pretty tired and hungry this hike, despite the break for snack time. I see many picnics in the future!

Idaho Springs~Peak to Peak Scenic Byway~Estes Park

Week 3 in Denver included a majestic trip to Casa Bonita with granny!
What could be better!Well, okay, maybe the food. But if you have a two year old, this is where you want to take them.

We concluded week 3 and my mom's visit with a trip to Idaho Springs from some BeauJo's Pizza. It's apparently true Colorado pizza...served with honey on the table to dip your crust. Jeff said the honey on crust was totally delish. I declined.




It was St. Patrick's Day and Betsy was dressed for the part, complete with a magic Irish Fairy Wand provided by grannie.

Peak to Peak scenic byway was exactly as advertised...very scenic. So scenic we forgot to take pictures. Ripley was a great traveler. We put her bed in the back of the car, which looked like the perfect place for a Betsy/Ripley snugglefest. Not so sure Ripley agrees with that assessment.





Our final destination, and real purpose of the trip, was a stop at The Stanley Hotel. Many pictures were taken, but we unfortunately didn't catch any ghosts...this time!

Greetings to you, Mr. Elk!

Rather imposing.

Gorgeous view from the Stanley front porch. Ghosts or not, it's worth it.

The mountains are calling and I must go. ~John Muir

It didn't take long for us to decide we needed to head into the mountains.

Approximately 48 hours after arriving in Denver we departed for our first excursion. It certainly helped that the only furniture we possessed was a pack-n-play and an air mattress we purchased the day of our arrival. We used a few boxes on the floor as a makeshift table. Betsy was very excited about the picnics we had--Mommy and Daddy were a little less enthused. Spending an evening at the Days Inn sounded like a brilliant plan.

Garden of the Gods

Located just outside of Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods was a great first hike for us. I visited in 1993 with my family, but Jeff had never been. The park has a variety of hiking and climbing opportunities.

Betsy helped Jeff climb some rocks. She was really proud to be climbing the Rocky Mountains. Yes, yes, you go ahead and crush a two year old's spirit with technicalities.










There were many, many great photos to be taken. In fact, I'd say Garden of the Gods is very forgiving of poor photography skills. That is, if you bring the right lens. It's a learning process, and we'll certainly be back with our camera in hand with a more appropriate lens. But this red rock formation against the clear skies of Colorado looks great regardless.




After our first hike Saturday morning we drove to Manitou Springs to find some grub for lunch. We still haven't figured out how to pronounce Manitou. We ended up eating in the car to accommodate nap time, which lasted all the way through our drive to Cripple Creek. Cripple Creek was an old mining town, turned ghost town, turned tourist trap full of casinos. Turns out we took zero pictures. Oops!

Sunday morning we welcomed another trip to the Garden for a hike before returning to Denver. All in all a great first trip. Betsy has proven herself an avid hiker. She survived her first hiking injury and couldn't wait for the next trip.

And...goodbye sweet house

On Saturday, we lingered longer than normal, not wishing to begin to dismantle what was left of our lives at 3102 Walter. Nearly a month after closing, it's still hard to believe we won't magically wake up one morning back there, at our first home. How quickly we could transition back into our old lives. These are a few of my favorite small glimpses of our house. Little spots, little memories.

The bathroom shelf we installed, holding a vase of my Grandma Adams' below a framed picture of Jeff's research. A fish loofa, a Christmas gift from years past, I held on to waiting for that perfect moment when I knew I should hang it on that shower curtain hook. (This is why one must keep everything.) An old band-aid tin I bought at the Webster Groves Schnucks when we first moved back to Saint Louis.



The flower hooks we hung in Betsy's closet.
Always a nice sunny surprise!

Finally, the coat rack with all our gear. We wised up and installed this about four years after moving in. We were nice and left it up for the next owners.

Ripley resting in her domain.








Betsy playing in the backyard with Daddy and Ripley.





Goodbye old house. You treated us well. You were a happy place.

First, A Farewell

Our last month in St. Louis was a whirlwind of activity: Betsy's birthday, a contract on the house, Jeff's birthday, then my birthday plus farewell dinners with many of our friends and trying to fit in as much family time as possible.




For my birthday, Ranya and Abhoud were gracious enough to host our family at one of their restaurants, Ranoush in Kirkwood. The food, as always, was amazing. And the hospitality, as always, was overwhelming.

Sahar was clearly comfortable at the restaurant--running around telling everyone hello! A golden table was brought out filled with skewers and skewers of kefta, chicken, beef and shrimp. All the lights were turned out as a birthday cake baked by my dear sister was brought out with candles lit, the entire restaurant singing. There is no other way I would have wished to spend my last Friday night in Saint Louis.



Looking great pops!

Oh, sweet sister,

how I miss you so!

Golden Table of Meat!

Hello Dear Friends

Well, the time has come for us to get this here blog started.

I just began uploading pictures from our camera from February 24th through March 24th and realized, holy crap (!), it's been quite a month. A farewell to Saint Louis and our first home, the trek to our new home in Denver and the beginning of our adventures in our new city.

We hope to catalog what we are up to here in what Betsy affectionately refers to as the "Rock-E Mountains." I'm not sure any other place could have comforted my sorrow at leaving behind such a wonderful group of family and friends quite like Denver has. Each weekend we discover another awe-inspiring locale, each weekday the outdoors are calling us to come play, and each glance at the mountains leaves me yearning to turn the car in their direction and just go.

Colorado is satisfying my wanderlust and for this I am grateful.