Travel day
From the mountains to the plains. East out of Estes Park on Highway 34, down the Big Thompson Canyon to Loveland, north on Interstate 25 past Fort Collins, into Wyoming, Past Cheyenne, past Chugwater (home of Chugwater Chile), to Wheatland. One hundred fifty miles. Three hours. We’re here to visit with Bill and Marge for a few days. We’ve stayed at this small town RV Park before. Full hookups, fifty amps, only a few sites, right off the interstate, surrounded by farm fields. Super friendly hosts. It has its charm.
Estes park
A walk at 12,000 feet didn’t produce any of the target birds. We did get some white crowned sparrows, horned larks, and American pipits. We also got some really cool elk. They graze the tundra all summer then move down to the valleys in the fall. We saw several herds of cows and calves, and a couple bulls. Backcountry etiquette requires that if there is a trail on the tundra you stay on it. You don’t want to create any new ones. If there is no trail, you spread out so, again, you don’t create any new ones. Don’t create any new trails and allow any other critters you encounter a wide berth so you don’t disturb them. Apparently our elk didn’t read the handbook. He grazed his way along a course intersecting our path. We stayed on the trail as long as we could, but when he lay down next to it we had to improvise our way across the open ground. In spite of the irresponsible behavior of the elk, the balance of the backcountry was not disturbed. None of us were unduly alarmed.
Estes Park
We’re gone from the Front Range. We traveled Sunday, all of thirty-five miles, but well uphill, and are now in Estes Park right on the outskirts of Rocky Mountain National Park. Elevation: 7,500 feet. Cooler weather; highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s. Birds on the feeder so far: magpies and hummingbirds. Birds on the ground: bluebirds, robins, and ravens. Birds in the air: tree swallows and violet green swallows. There are three target birds here for us; all high altitude: white tailed ptarmigan, brown capped rosy finch, and pine grosbeak. The ptarmigan is essentially always above timberline on the tundra. The rosy finch is all over this area in the winter, but moves to high altitude cliffs and snowfields in the summer. The pine grosbeak is high forests in the summer. We’re going to need a trip to the top of Trail Ridge Road. The view from our windshield. That’s the backside of Longs Peak in front of us. It’s 14,259 feet high; one of 54 “fourteeners” in Colorado.
Grandparent’s revenge
Remember how you were sick all the time when you had little kids? It happens when they get to school age. Those rotten little buggers go hang around a bunch of other unsanitary rotten little buggers who are sick and they bring every virus on the planet home to you! You can’t help but get sick all the time. We, Judy and I, are so far beyond that. We hang out with a bunch of responsible adults all winter. We can go so long without getting sick that we forget when the last time was. So, after not being sick for years, we show up to visit the grandkids; watching for signs of sickness. None. We’re in the clear. Then, from out of nowhere, both Judy and I get sick. Head cold. Fever. Sore throat. Cough. Exploding sinuses. Totally charming. Know what? Not a sick kid to be found. No-one to blame it one. Have to figure out another angle, and here it is. Grandparent’s revenge. We’re going to be the rotten buggers and leave our germs all over both our kids houses. We’ll be long gone and totally well while they struggle through what we’ve done to them before they could do it to us. If it really were Grandparent’s Revenge that’s how it would be. The problem with that theory though, is that no-one else is sick. I am slowly getting better. Judy is slowly getting worse. We took her to a clinic today and asked if they could please either cure her or shoot her. Her cold appears to have degenerated into a sinus infection and bronchitis, something they can treat, so they chose to start with drugs instead of the gun. We’re still open to either option though.