Estes Park & Lily Lake

Recently, we decided to take a couple of days and get out of town--before the start of school and our leaving on our long planned Trip to Italy.







Our destination:  Rocky Mountain National Park and environs.

We invited our friends, John and Martha Birney--actually it was their idea & they were happy when we proposed bringing Charlie, our grandson, along. 


And one of our favorite spots in the Park is Lily Lake--a small lake with a very doable, but fun one mile long walk around the shore.










While Sue and Martha strolled along the shoreline, taking time to rest and relax on the conveniently placed benches, the boys (John, Opa and Charlie) explored the rocks and trails above the Lake.

For Charlie, there are always new things to explore; a long dead fallen tree trunk or a rock formation to climb and then slide down. He seems to be part mountain goat.

And, of course, the mountains teem with aliens who have to be destroyed--note the "space gun" in his hand in several of the photos.

Every view of the Lake seems to be more beautiful than the next. We had a beautiful day for our hike and visit.

Unlike much of the rest of the park, Lily Lake is quiet and relatively unvisited, so you don't have to fight the hordes of summer visitors to take a walk, pause for a rest, snap a photo or just enjoy being out in nature. It proved the perfect outing for all of us.

On our way up to the Park, we stopped in Lyons to visit with a lovely woman, Annie, that we met a couple of years ago.

She was our server at Osker Blues, a good barbecue restaurant in Lyons, CO. At their first meeting, she and Charlie instantly bonded, so whenever we visit the Park, we have to visit with Annie as well. This time she invited us to her lovely home along the river.

Charlie had never gone river tubing, but with Annie as his guide and tube companion, he took to the sport with great enthusiasm.

Opa was along to share the excitement, but Annie was the best part of the trip for Charlie.

This is not how we made the trip to the Park, but it is certainly how Charlie would have chosen to go, had he had a say!.

Summers in Denver can be so much fun!