We had a slow morning with the objective of being in Estes Park, a drive west of a little more than an hour, around 11:30. We drove through a beautiful, narrow canyon with perpendicular rock walls and the odd, very tenacious evergreen that somehow managed to get a toehold in all the rock. The highway parallels a small, determined river. Once we were through the canyon we got our first sight of the beautiful mountain range which, until then, had been a bit shrouded in haze. The leaves are changing with large patches of lemon yellow …aspens showing off… that popped from the sea of green.

Our reason for being in Estes Park was to visit mother’s friend of 20 years, Lori. She is less than two years older than Cyd and struggles with three chronic illnesses. We arranged to arrive late in the morning to give Lori ample time to get her day started. Mother woke up not feeling herself, so it ended up being a reunion of two pals not feeling so great. Cyd and I kept the ball rolling during the visit and lunch at a nice restaurant in the cute downtown.

On our way into Estes Park there were signs warning of wild animals that often take the liberty of roaming around town. We took it seriously when we spotted three moose having a drink in the river and a dozen bull elk grazing right along the road. One bold dude decided to step out in traffic and cross the road which was somehow exciting to us. Lori told us that elk have come right up to her living room window seemingly interested in what’s going on inside,

After lunch both Lori and Mother decided they needed to rest, so we said our goodbyes and headed south toward Arvada, the suburb of Denver where Mother lived for 30+ years. We stopped for a few minutes in Golden, home of Coors, to see if the feed mill that Mother’s older brother (our Uncle Myrl) owned and ran for years and years was still there. How fun to find it still up and running.

We settled into our hotel room late in the afternoon, insisted Mother rest, and then ran to the drugstore for a few meds that Deb suggested for Mother’s tummy. Dinner nearby and then back to the room to make calls confirming tomorrow’s visit before Mother turned in at 8:00. She is determined to feel better tomorrow!