Tuesday, September 02, 2008

On the road...



It was a warm May day that we left Grand Junction on. I quietly cried for a good portion of the drive through Rifle. I had quit my job, pulled Darcy out of gymnastics and left my friends. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.

We got to Rocky Mountain National Park in the evening. We drove through Moraine Park and up the road to our house, it was chilly and damp. I don't remember much about unpacking but I do remember going down the hill behind our house to the road below to look around and the first thing I saw was a very large coyote (or it seemed to me) on the road below us. It scared me, something that I got over quickly because of the sheer volume of coyotes I saw in the park this summer.

The next day Dan had to go to work. We woke up to the house sitting at 54 degrees and 2 small space heaters were not going to change that much. I drove Dan to work, then came home and attempted to keep the kids busy. It was the tail-end of winter in RMNP and it snowed all day, wet, end of cold season snow.

The kids ventured outside in the afternoon and started exploring their yard (ever mindful of the coyote they saw the day before). We had 10 long hours to fill as Dan was working as a Volunteer coordinator with the National Park Service for 4 ten hour days a week. And believe me when I tell you that 10 hours is a long time to fill given that we had no television or computer. The adjustment was a long and painful one those first few weeks.

Monday, September 01, 2008

Rocky Mountain Days...


I wish I were a great writer, a conveyor of what I see and think.

Ever since we left Estes Park for home I've had ideas for a blog. A blog that would be life altering and put some perspective on my experiences living in Rocky Mountain National Park for summer. For it was a multi-sided experience. Sheer frustration, great joy, loneliness, awe inspiring beauty, pride in my children and husband, a new appreciation for nature and the majesty of the mountains of Colorado. I cannot do justice to,with my limited writing ability, the experiences I've had this summer. Though I will try.

My ideas are clear, I just wish I could put them down on these pages so that you would understand how this experience has changed me.

I will give it my best shot.