Our family decided to have a reunion in
Estes Park, CO. I had never been to Colorado and was really looking forward to going. All 6 of us siblings came with our spouses, and all of Ruth's, Carol's and Jon's kids and grandkids were able to come. There were 32 adults and 12 kids, all under 9. We selected
Glacier Lodge as the place that we would stay and rented several cabins on the property. Ruth and her family rented Timber Lodge which was the biggest lodge and gave us the space for gathering altogether for meals. Each of us arrived at different times on Sunday the 22nd. We had planned meals ahead of time and a few of us had gone to Costco to get groceries on our way to the campsite. Dinner that night was prepared by Ruth's family. Robin had made spaghetti sauce ahead of time so that along with garlic bread and salad became our first meal. The weather was hot and after dinner several of the cousins got together and played football on the property or just walked around the grounds exploring. Monday: We purposely decided to not structure specific things during the day, however several people went for drives through
Rocky Mountain National Park, went hiking, or horseback riding on the property, went to town, or just stayed around the area to visit. There was a pool on the property and several people went swimming during the day, including the little kids. Late in the afternoon on Monday Uncle Wilbur showed up from Oklahoma. He had written earlier that he would like to join us and we were all anxious to see him. Wilbur is our father's oldest living sibling at 84, and still managing to drive across country every year, and stay active with his woodworking and teaching reading twice a week during the school year.
That evening Jon and his family prepared our meal of hotdogs and hamburgers and we had a nice time visiting during and after dinner. That evening Wilbur brought out several wooden cars that he had made and gave them to the kids. Also, Ruth had brought tee-shirts for us siblings to wear with our pictures and we showed a slide show that I created from old pictures, set to music.
Tuesday: After breakfast I led several of the kids and parents (4 carloads) on a
geocaching trek. This was the first time for all of them so it was fun to share the experiences. We found 3 different caches and the kids were able to trade several things that I had brought along, taking some of the trinkets that were in the caches. Charlotte (3) spotted one of the caches so here is her picture. We also found 2
geocoins that I will be passing on back in Washington.
Later in the day Wilbur, Ruth, Dave and I went to town and toured the
Stanley Hotel. Several others came too and met us there. The Stanley is an old hotel, up on the hillside in Estes Park. Stephen King stayed there and it was the inspiration for the book " The Shining" although it wasn't filmed there. The lobby has a
Stanley Steamer in it, and the grounds are beautiful as well as the view of the Rocky Mountains. That evening Carol and her family made a mexican meal for us with fajitas, tacos, salad, beans, etc. After dinner Wilbur did a magic show for the kids. I remember as a child watching him entertain us with his magic tricks. It was such a special treat to see it again.
Wednesday: Several of us had arranged to go on a
Rocky Mountain "Top of the World" Tour so we went downtown about 8:45. Our guide, Rene' took us up in the mountains to the top of one of the peaks. Along the way we saw elk and other wildlife. The Colorado mountains are so pretty and different than we see in Washington. We really enjoyed the tour and learning about the area.
.JPG)
In the afternoon I went swimming and just spent time enjoying family time. We were in charge of dinner so Doug had been slow cooking a pork shoulder all day for pulled pork sandwiches. That evening was to be our last together so we gathered one more time for dinner and had the sandwiches, along with some trout that the kids had caught that day, and several salads. We still had lots of food that either needed to be eaten or it would have to go home with Josh and Robin. After dinner we spent our last evening visiting and taking group pictures. Thursday: In the morning Doug and I packed the car then went to town for one last look around before we needed to leave. We got back to the campsite close to 10:30, then had to check out. Several of us were planning to stop in Boulder for lunch before those who needed to get to the airport had to leave. I found Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains majestic and I look forward to going back someday. It is a beautiful area and several of us agreed it was a great place for a reunion. To see more pictures, click below. Be sure to read my next entry which is the next few days of the trip including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and Red Rocks.
Our family decided to have a reunion in Estes Park, CO. I had never been to Colorado and was really looking forward to going. All 6 of us siblings came with our spouses, and all of Ruth's, Carol's and Jon's kids and grandkids were able to come. There were 32 adults and 12 kids, all under 9. We selected Glacier Lodge as the place that we would stay and rented several cabins on the property. Ruth and her family rented Timber Lodge which was the biggest lodge and gave us the space for gathering altogether for meals. Each of us arrived at different times on Sunday the 22nd. We had planned meals ahead of time and a few of us had gone to Costco to get groceries on our way to the campsite. Dinner that night was prepared by Ruth's family. Robin had made spaghetti sauce ahead of time so that along with garlic bread and salad became our first meal. The weather was hot and after dinner several of the cousins got together and played football on the property or just walked around the grounds exploring. Monday: We purposely decided to not structure specific things during the day, however several people went for drives through Rocky Mountain National Park, went hiking, or horseback riding on the property, went to town, or just stayed around the area to visit. There was a pool on the property and several people went swimming during the day, including the little kids. Late in the afternoon on Monday Uncle Wilbur showed up from Oklahoma. He had written earlier that he would like to join us and we were all anxious to see him. Wilbur is our father's oldest living sibling at 84, and still managing to drive across country every year, and stay active with his woodworking and teaching reading twice a week during the school year. 
That evening Jon and his family prepared our meal of hotdogs and hamburgers and we had a nice time visiting during and after dinner. That evening Wilbur brought out several wooden cars that he had made and gave them to the kids. Also, Ruth had brought tee-shirts for us siblings to wear with our pictures and we showed a slide show that I created from old pictures, set to music. 
Tuesday: After breakfast I led several of the kids and parents (4 carloads) on a geocaching trek. This was the first time for all of them so it was fun to share the experiences. We found 3 different caches and the kids were able to trade several things that I had brought along, taking some of the trinkets that were in the caches. Charlotte (3) spotted one of the caches so here is her picture. We also found 2geocoins that I will be passing on back in Washington. 
Later in the day Wilbur, Ruth, Dave and I went to town and toured the Stanley Hotel. Several others came too and met us there. The Stanley is an old hotel, up on the hillside in Estes Park. Stephen King stayed there and it was the inspiration for the book " The Shining" although it wasn't filmed there. The lobby has a Stanley Steamer in it, and the grounds are beautiful as well as the view of the Rocky Mountains. That evening Carol and her family made a mexican meal for us with fajitas, tacos, salad, beans, etc. After dinner Wilbur did a magic show for the kids. I remember as a child watching him entertain us with his magic tricks. It was such a special treat to see it again. 
Wednesday: Several of us had arranged to go on a Rocky Mountain "Top of the World" Tour so we went downtown about 8:45. Our guide, Rene' took us up in the mountains to the top of one of the peaks. Along the way we saw elk and other wildlife. The Colorado mountains are so pretty and different than we see in Washington. We really enjoyed the tour and learning about the area. .JPG)
In the afternoon I went swimming and just spent time enjoying family time. We were in charge of dinner so Doug had been slow cooking a pork shoulder all day for pulled pork sandwiches. That evening was to be our last together so we gathered one more time for dinner and had the sandwiches, along with some trout that the kids had caught that day, and several salads. We still had lots of food that either needed to be eaten or it would have to go home with Josh and Robin. After dinner we spent our last evening visiting and taking group pictures. Thursday: In the morning Doug and I packed the car then went to town for one last look around before we needed to leave. We got back to the campsite close to 10:30, then had to check out. Several of us were planning to stop in Boulder for lunch before those who needed to get to the airport had to leave. I found Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains majestic and I look forward to going back someday. It is a beautiful area and several of us agreed it was a great place for a reunion. To see more pictures, click below. Be sure to read my next entry which is the next few days of the trip including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and Red Rocks.