May 14
9:31-- Left hotel for Rocky Mountain National Park
We spent some time at the visitor center so we could watch the film and collect Junior Ranger workbooks.

10:57-- Arrived at Bear Lake (15 miles)
Photos we'd seen of Bear Lake showed it reflecting the mountains to the west. It was snowing when we got there, and we saw the lake frozen over and covered in snow. We couldn't even see the mountains in the background. The elevation was 9,250 feet, so we lowlanders felt the low oxygen level in the air. After a few photos near the lake shore we headed down toward US 34. We saw elk and deer by the side of the road, so the kids were happy.

12:30 PM or so-- Stopped by Fall River Visitor Center
The girls got their Junior Ranger badges after waiting patiently behind travelers with an unusually large repertoire of questions for the sole ranger on duty.

1:59-- Lunch at Carl's Jr. in Loveland (50 miles from Bear Lake)
Because US 36 was under construction we took US 34 back out of the park. We called my relatives in Denver after having our late lunch to discover they wanted us to come over for dinner.

3:45 or so-- Arrived at my relatives' place in Denver (60 miles)
It's sinking in to my thick-skulled noggin that my relatives aren't going to be around forever. My grandmother's youngest sister is already 92, and it had been about 35 years since I'd last visited her and my great uncle in Denver (we usually see them in California). Denver has changed quite a bit since 1979. We left their home around 6:30.

7:35-- Arrived at our friends' home in Colorado Springs (59 miles)