My most favorite place...in the U.S.

My family started vacationing in Estes Park in 1987. I was 7 years old. Each summer we would get up at 4:00am and take off on the long 12-hour drive for our week in Colorado.

I can vividly remember the stops we would take for breakfast, our lunch stop, and...well that's all I remember of the drive until we hit the canyon with enormous rock walls as we neared Estes Park. I would sleep pretty much the entire drive, sprawling across my sisters and getting as comfortable as possible while still technically wearing a seatbelt. 

For many years we rented a cabin at the YMCA in Estes Park. During the week we would pick a few days and us kids would attend the day camp offered. We'd go horseback riding, mini golfing, take some hikes, learn camp songs, and make new friends. As a family we'd spent countless hours in Rocky Mountain National Park, searching for elk, deer, and bighorn sheep. 

A while back, my parents got a time share in Estes Park and in our adult years we would stay just outside of RMNP. However, on each visit, we would still spend a lot of time at the YMCA - reliving our memories getting ice cream at the administration building, and going horseback riding through the Y camp on tours that took us through RMNP. 

When David and I started dating and then were married, he gladly jumped into family vacations in Colorado. Each year we continued to reminisce our old memories, and David added to the family by pointing out birds on the trail (and the bear that we all would have walked by without seeing).

This fall, David had the opportunity to attend an American Ornithological Union conference and present his research. Once we found out the conference would be held at the YMCA in Estes Park, we were all excited. While the kids and I didn't HAVE to go with him to the conference...it seemed like a no-brainer that we would join him. As a bonus, my parents have been using their time share week in September in recent years, and had conveniently already booked their week in Colorado for the SAME TIME we were planning on being there. 

So last week, we spent 4 full days in Estes Park. While David attended presentation after presentation about ornithology, the kids and I joined my parents (and my Uncle Mark for half the time!) as we re-lived some of my favorite memories growing up.

The kids enjoyed some Daddy time when he was finished for the day!

Henry walking around the YMCA with Grandma and Grandpa

Having two little kids with us was sort of like starting over in life. Rather than planning our days around which long hikes we were going to do, we planned our activities around the kids.

Instead of taking a couple hour horseback ride through Rocky Mountain National Park, we took the kids on pony rides and I was reminded of my younger sisters when they would ride the infamous pony Minnie.

Adele riding the pony Strawberry, led by my Uncle Mark

Flashback to my sister Rachel, riding Minnie

Instead of taking hours to peruse the shops in downtown Estes Park, we quickly went in a couple of places and instead spent hours playing on the playground inside the YMCA.

Instead of long day hikes, we "hiked" the 0.8 miles around Bear Lake, and the kids climbed almost every rock along the short trail.

But some things never change. The views inside Rocky Mountain National Park are stunning, the herds of elk are impressive, and the cinnamon rolls at Glen Haven are delicious.

The view from up at Rainbow Curve, inside Rocky Mountain National Park

And being there in the fall is truly unforgettable. The stark contrast of the yellow and orange leaves on the aspen trees against the dark green forest. The male elk that bugle loudly to attract the female elk, while they gather them in a harem and fight off other interested males. The beautiful weather.

And nature that is enthralling for kids and adults alike - the ability to see elk and deer 5 feet outside the cabin window, the walks around the YMCA collecting wildflowers, and seeing mountains from every view.

This male elk and his harem of about 18 females 

liked to hang out around our cabin!