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Mom and I know how to have adventures. We love to camp and I’m always trying to get her to come to Colorado. I had never been to Estes Park and the Sisters on the Fly were putting on an event on Memorial Day weekend. So we decided to meet in the middle—between Durango in Southwest Colorado and Leavenworth in Northeast Kansas.
We stayed at Estes Park Campground East Portal. An easy drive from town and if you have ever been, the views in and around Estes Park are spectacular.
There were 12 of us sisters. For four of us, it was our first event and we had a “Sister on the Try.” Which means if you are a member, you can bring a friend to see if she wants to join.
Shortly after arriving to camp and getting setup and settling in, we met up to decide what activities we wanted to participate in.
Eggs, bacon, avocado and strawberries on our favorite plates given to us by my mom’s friend Pam.
Saturday morning I got up and made mom eggs and bacon for breakfast. We kayaked on Lake Estes, went out to dinner at the fabulous Jim & Bird (early settlers in the area) and took wonderful afternoon naps everyday.
Kayaking on Lake Estes. There was a fly fishing class and we discovered the “Mica Flats,” a famous spot for Kayakers to get high-centered.
Although on Day 2 the wind gusts took out our canopy: broke and bent in 3 places, it didn’t stop us from having fun. Hanging out with mom means adventures and non-stop laughing.
We had tacos, checked out the art market, and drove around Estes—which reminded me of different parts of Europe I’ve visited.
Saturday at 5pm I logged on to reserved timed entrance tickets to get into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). PRO TIP: make sure you are logged in and have your credit card ready because the slots fill up fast. We missed the 8am and 10am times in a matter of minutes and by the time I secured our 12pm reservation, there were just a few left.
We stayed up late that night around the campfire telling and listening to stories with other sisters.
Prior to our trip we both got pedicures and discovered we have the same taste in nail polish.
Sunday morning we didn’t feel like setting up the kitchen without a canopy and it was cold so we went out for breakfast. Then we headed for the RMNP. The line getting in was long and once we were in it reminded us of Yellowstone, bumper to bumper parade through the park. We didn’t see much wildlife because it was raining. The higher we went, the more space we had between vehicles. By the time we reached the highest point, 12,831 feet, it was snowing and the park rangers were turning people away.
We took literally a minute to take this photo at the highest point at RMNP, 12,831” it was 30 degrees and a complete whiteout.
We hopped out for a quick photo at the peak, but it was a complete whiteout.
The tundra above treeline was spectacular.
Another afternoon nap and then we headed off for a cello recital at the YMCA camp down the road from us. It was cold our final night so we snuggled in early and watch as much of we could of “My Fair Lady” on mom’s iPad before falling asleep.
We spied a 5-point elk in a field as we were leaving camp.
We woke up to snow on Monday. But that didn’t deter us from packing up, hooking up Flo, and leaving camp in less than an hour.
On our way out, we stopped to check our hitch and spotted a 5-point elk then 7 more large bulls right in camp! We watched as they hopped the fence then made our way down the mountain, spotting another 11 mile deer before leaving town. A great send off to a wonderful weekend.
We’ll be back! And I’m looking forward to another Sister’s on the Fly event.
Tagged camping, Colorado, Estes Park, mom
Wandering Westward and Upward
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