Last day in Estes

You have to know that it has been years since I took a relaxing vacation. Years. And even though I spent a lot of time with the Soul Seekers, doing church stuff and even though I work at the church, let's just say, this was a wonderful vacation.

Max and I took off on Wednesday morning and headed back up into RMNP. Have I said lately that I have a wonderful husband? I do. We went back up Trail Ridge Road. I was feeling much better and this time I was facing things I had already seen. I watched as my husband hugged the yellow line in the middle of the road so that I wouldn't be terrified of going over the edge. Hmmm, I think he did that on Monday, but I was too irrational to recognize it! However, this time I was able to actually look out the window and see the beauty of the mountains and valleys.

We didn't have time to go to the top of the mountain - we wanted to get back down to Estes to meet up with the SS. But, we got past the treeline. again. Absolutely beautiful. All of the snow was melting and rushing down the hillsides. There were many, many flowing 'streams' of water coming down to the roadside. I caught a few of them as we drove past:




The Big Horn sheep is the state animal of Colorado. I hadn't seen any and was feeling a little sad about that, but I also know that it is quite random to see them, so I was fine with that. However, I had asked God if it would be possible to see them. We rounded a bend and here they were! So, Max stopped on the road and I snapped a quick picture. I was so excited! Then, around the next bend was the viewing area for the sheep and there were several park rangers and many tourists snapping away. Max and I pulled in and he got some pictures. I listened as one of the rangers explained that they felt fortunate to have seen the sheep moving down the mountainside and were able to call enough rangers in to stop traffic so they could easily cross the road into the pasture. The sheep are skittish and also tend to stress a lot. If they are stressed, their hearts begin beating blood into their heads and they will have an aneurism. Whoa! So, I felt even more fortunate to just be able to see them!



We got back to Estes Park and did a little shopping. Then, we waited for the SS to show up for their afternoon of shopping. We took Cody and Jen off the bus and drove back into RMNP. They had a lot of fun shooting with Max and I hope he was able to teach them a few things about photography. He certainly had a good time.

We had to be back at Performance Park in Estes at 5:15 for a 6:00 concert. As we were setting up in the ampitheater, I caught a few pictures. This is Mike Carmody holding on to Leica. She's such a social little thing.



This next photo is one of my favorites. Jen is always working with the kids to get them to open up their mouths and sing well! Put your hands on your checks and draw down. Open that mouth to an 'o'!



A bunch of the women from the Harvest Home (Tuesday evening's concert) showed up to encourage us and worship with us one more time. Worshipping in Estes Park, amidst the beauty of the mountains. Wow ... pretty cool!



Cody hasn't had a lot of luck getting photos up to the Faith-Westwood website. One at a time with intermittent internet access is difficult. He did get a bunch of them sent up to his google account. Check them out here!