June 6 - United States: Estes Park, Colorado
Run through Denver Neighborhood
This morning, we got out of bed and ran through the neighborhood behind the Motel 6. Since we were right next to the freeway, it wasn't a particularly nice neighborhood, but it wasn't bad either. It had hills. I hate hills. The run took us through this neighborhood and near John Elway Chevrolet.
Then, after showering and checking out of the Motel 6, we went to a nearby Wal-Mart to have the oil changed. Again. This is oil change #3 for us on this trip, and is completely understandable because we've put about 10,000 miles on the car. Because we had an hour wait for the oil change, we wandered through Wal-Mart and into Best Buy, where Jon drooled over all the electronic toys.
Boulder, CO
Not far from Denver is beautiful Boulder, Colorado. We couldn't decide which place we loved more. Boulder is certainly smaller and more quaint, but Denver is more realistic for getting jobs. At any rate, we played phone tag with our friend Lisa (from our Tibet trip) who lives in Boulder, but she wasn't in town to meet us for lunch. So we headed into the university area to have lunch at a place called Illegal Pete's.
Illegal Pete's is a noisy little dive with a few tables and a huge counter on which they make made-to-order burritos. Absolutely delicious, and a great recommendation from Lonely Planet! After lunch, we walked around the area surrounding Colorado University and then into the campus itself.
The Quad of Colorado University
The campus was beautiful, and very quiet today as summer school is barely in session. It was a nice place to walk around and to burn off some of the burrito calories. Afterwards, we drove the last 45 miles to Estes Park, just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Estes Park
Estes Park is a wonderful, precious little town! We were completely charmed by the little late, picturesque views, and small hotels and motels perched on the banks of the small river flowing into the lake. We drove through, checking out the sites and the adorable shops until we came to Garth's Glassworks.
We have a weakness for arts and crafts. And we have an even bigger weakness for arts and crafts that are demonstrated in front of us. So as soon as we walked in, we were toast. A screened area with benches separated the store from the furnace and glassworks area. A guy named Jerry was working the pontil and the furnaces, and was talking through the process he went through as a glass blower.
I was completely oblivious to the pretty colors and glassworks in the shop, and I sat and watched Jerry for a good hour.
Jerry Creates An Oil Lamp
Who knew? Who knew that these things required such heat and manipulation and care? It was amazing to watch. And - as is the case with any demonstration - we had a much greater appreciation for the work that goes into a glass piece. So we walked around the store and suddenly found ourselves impressed enough that we wanted to buy everything on display. But not so impressed that we could bring ourselves to pay $200 for a water pitcher, no matter how gorgeous the pieces were.
After a good two hours in the Glassworks Shop, we drove to the Estes Visitor's Center. There, the sweetest old man (an "Estes Ambassador") gave us a map with all the local campgrounds on it.
National Parks Retreat
We chose the National Parks Retreats campground (www.nationalparkretreats.com) because it was only four miles from Rocky Mountain National Park. The campgrounds in the park don't have running water, and we're quite partial to our showers thankyouverymuch. So we found a campsite that pleased us and set up the tent, hammock, and campstove.
The Tent and a Lovely View Beyond the Trees
Dinner was pasta, which I'm really getting tired of but we still have it in the trunk and so it must be eaten. After that, we showered and then settled in to read until it got too cold to be outside anymore. And I have to say again, thank god we bought those cheapo fleece sleeping bag liners. They've made all the difference in these cold camping trips!
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