Bear Lake and Alberta Falls

The trip diary is almost over :(

One of the best hikes we did was around Bear Lake and then to Alberta Falls. We decided to start with the Bear Lake trail because it was shorter and not hard. When I was in CO before, the trail was closed due to snow. So it was really awesome actually being able to walk around the lake.



The trail is pretty flat and there's always something to see. The lake is pretty high up so you're close to peaks. There were still piles of snow along the sides of the trail, melt made it kind of swampy at some points. We also came across a tin stream that went from the woods to the lake. This was where we got proof that there are actually trout in Colorado. (We'd had our doubts after little luck fishing)



After that hike, we were going to take the shuttle down the mountain a bit and go to a new trailhead for the hike to Alberta Falls. But, we discovered that we could take a trail to the new trail. So we did that trail down the mountain then hiked up another mountain to Alberta Falls.

This is actually a pretty short trail. We got really hot because of the afternoon temp and the slight incline, but it wasn't bad. I did almost hit a man and his children who didn't understand that if you're going to walk at a snails pace you should move over and let people pass you.

Anyway, through the woods we went and then up to the falls: which were amazing! We went off the trail a bit and moved further up to the top of the falls.





The last day of our trip was pretty uneventful. We went into Estes Park to do some souvenir shopping. Then, we went to RMNP for some final hiking. But, it had been cloudy all morning and mother nature didn't want us to hike. We went to the gold river to look for a few more rocks but it started raining so we went back to the car and then back to the cabin. This was especially disappointing because we were going to take one nice picture of us in front of a mountain, but never got the chance.

The day was pretty cloudy and rainy so we didn't do much besides sit in the cabin and read. It did clear up in the later afternoon so we did some fishing and hammocking. But we spent the later evening cleaning up the cabin.

And that was pretty much the end. It was a completely amazing trip. It will be nice when I can afford to go every summer. If that ever happens.

I will post once more on my homeward travels, because it was just crazy. But that's all the fun exciting stuff. Yay Colorado!

White Water Rafting

I have no proof that John and I went white water rafting while we were in Colorado. That's mostly because I left my water-proof camera in the car. I wouldn't really have had any chances to take any pictures anyway, but still. I probably could have gotten one with it. Oh well, we still went. You'll have to take my word on it.

And now I'm ready to go again. Really, the time goes by so fast because it's freaking awesome. So the trip was over long before I was ready to be off the water. Now, we did do a really easy trip and our guide did a lot of the work, so next time it might not be so leisurely. But I am certain that it will be awesome.

On this trip we rafted the Poudre River. We did one part and then got out to avoid some Class IV rapids, drove a ways down, and got back in again. There were two good rapids that could have easily bounced me out of the boat. Luckily our guide gave me good warning so I just leaned in and avoided joining the fishes.

John was a the front of the boat so he got hit quite a lot by the water. I hid in the very back but still got soaked. I just didn't have to paddle as much. hehe. The water felt great though, because it was like 85/90 degrees that afternoon. It probably wouldn't have felt as nice falling in, as it was pretty cold, but splashes were great. I highly recommend people raft.

Bad Karama

Dear Powers That Be,

I realize that yesterday I wasn't very nice for a few hours. I was all uncaring about my grandmother. And glad my step-dad had a family crisis to deal with. I wasn't really myself in all this negativity. You should know this.

I realize that you wanted me to stop having all these negative thoughts towards the people who were once my family. I get it.

That's no reason to send my mom to the hospital! I've learned my lesson. You can make her better now.

Thanks,
Melissa

Grandma's Stroke

So, apparently my Grandmother had a stroke. I have zero information other than that. She could be dead and I wouldn't know. That small amount of info came via my mom who got it from my little brothers. So she probably doesn't know much else either.

I should probably care more than I do right now. I mean, she was an ok grandmother once. Always remembered my birthday, which is a plus in my family. And she turned me on to strawberries on vanilla ice cream. Which is nice, considering I don't really like vanilla ice cream.

But, ever since Mom and Dad split up, she's pretended I don't exist. Which I'll never understand. Sure, we aren't blood related (this is actually my step dad's mom) but still, she's been around since I was 7. I would think it'd be hard to be a grandmother for so many years and then just stop. The family is pretty nuts-o though, so she probably can't figure out how she could/should acknowledge me as her granddaughter if her son doesn't treat me like his daughter anymore.

So yeah, I'm a little sad. I get sad if I hear a stranger had a stroke. It sucks. And I tend to have a heart so I sympathize. But that's just it, I sympathize as if she were a stranger instead of my grandmother. And that sucks.

And as for my Dad, I would like to feel bad for him. His mother is sick. But I don't.

This will probably end up a poem... whoever said I should write a book about my family relationships didn't know what they were asking for.

All I need is Tea and Mead

Saturday John and I drove down the mountain to Boulder to spend the day with my friend Stacy. We wandered around Pearl Street for awhile, just looking around at the stores and stuff. We were really just killing time until Stacy and her boyfriend showed up. But I showed John all kinds of fun things from the summer I lived there-my old office, the bookstore, where we watched Catch and Release being filmed, where there was a man in a wold costume dancing on the corner. It was really great remembering. But I also remembered that I never want to live there again because it can be really crowded. I need to be up in the mountains.

Stacy and Richard arrived and we waited around for a table at Lucille's. I don't know how many people told me I had to eat there, but it was at least 5. I never did, because the wait is usually 30 mins to an hour. But now I have! And it was as amazing as everyone says. So if you're in Boulder, go to Lucille's. Just get there an hour before you're going to be ready to eat.

After lunch, we wandered around Boulder some more. Saw the creek and just talked. Then we went to the Celestial Seasonings factory. Yet another place that I never went to when I was there. And Stacy, who lived there for years, hadn't been yet. The factory wasn't running since it was the weekend, but we still got free tea and a tour. It was pretty great. CS is the greatest tea ever!

Next was a short trip over to Redstone Meadery. Stacy's boyfriend knew of this super hidden place and it turned out to be amazing. We got to taste almost all of the mead they make there, most of which were great. And then we bought some of our own. It's really hard to find good mead, I've found, so this discovery made me very very happy.

That left us at a drive back up the mountain, and a lazy evening by the river.