Where did the summer Go!?

It is crazy how fast this summer went by... A lot has happened and a lot has changed suddenly and I think it has thrown me off a bit.  I can't keep time straight. 


Since May we have been hiking, camping, enjoyed the town's many festivals, attended ranger programs and movie nights. We have been exploring and learning about RMNP as much as we can and still haven't made a dent on the many areas we have yet to explore.  Good thing we are going to be staying for awhile!

Since June we have gotten more visitors than any other place we have ventured off to.  Both parents came for a visit, my cousins from Oregon made a stop, (our wedding was the last time we saw them!) and we got to see the Scholl's for a quick hello.

Since July we realized we were prequalified for a loan and thought "why rent if we don't have to?" and so the house hunting began! 

August marked the date where we found a house we fell in love with and the sellers accepted our very first offer!  I also got to visit my sweet sweet niece and got to go home to Nebraska for a few days and celebrate Dad's retirement.

September is upon us and we just got done celebrating 5 wonderful, crazy, adventurous, (and sometimes stressful) years of being married.  Our big gift to mark the date was the little white house on Fawn Lane :)  We are officially moved in, have internet for the first time in years (expect more blogs), and are already tackling on house projects and renovations...let the adventures of home ownership begin!

 

Check out our new blog "Home-Sweet-Renos" where you can check out all the happenings of our first home!  http://home-sweet-renos.blogspot.com/

 

Estes Park Visitors

Picnic Lunch in Beaver Meadows

 

Jesse's parents came up for a visit at the beginning of August.  We ate nearly every meal outside (Bratwurst at Sprague, donuts at Bear Lake, Picnic at Beaver Meadows, Enchiladas outside on the picnic table, another picnic at Hidden Valley and Hamburgers by the river in downtown Estes) watched the elk, saw an abert's squirrel, shopped around downtown, and enjoyed each other's company.  We are excited for the next time they can come and visit!  Thanks for the good memories!!

We were all up early enough to watch the sunrise over Bear Lake

Look who came for a visit!

I have been a bit behind in blogging lately...time to play some catch up!  

A few week ago mom and dad Barry came to  beautiful Colorado for a vacation and to visit Jesse and I.  We had a great time and it went by far too quickly!  We wish they could still be here enjoying the nice weather and mountain scenery.

The time spent was full of eating good food, fishing, and some hiking.  Of course mom had to get in her share of shopping in downtown Estes.  For me, one of my favorite parts was going to the other side of the park and seeing a mama moose with two babies right next to the road and eating a picnic lunch at Holzwarth historic ranch in the middle of a brief hail storm. 



Picnic Dinner where Dad "made fire!"

Fishing for trout at Dream Lake

Cat nap

A walk around Sprague Lake before bratwurst, beans, chips and Capri suns

Picnic during/after the hail storm.  What a great spot!

Mom roping cattle "I am a cowgirl...yee-haw!"
The video is pretty great too :)  You are
pretty entertaining mom!  Thanks for visiting us!!

 



 

Retired Ranger

Can you tell we both worked for the park service?

My time as a park ranger has been short lived...(never even got a chance to post pictures of me in my awesome uniform!)  It didn't take long for Jesse and I to realize that 1.  We really like Estes Park   and 2.  We are finally ready to settle down!    ...For a little while at least :)

We came across a job opening for a full-time and permanent activities assistant at Prospect Living Center in Estes park and lo and behold they offered it to me!  Now I get to spend my days hanging out with the elderly playing games, watching the mountains, singing songs, taking them on tours of the park (along with a wide variety of other things) and working with what seems to me to be a really incredible and dedicated staff. 

Jesse is still Ranger Williams and we are excited to see where that path continues to take him.  It is a good fit for him and boy does he look handsome in his uniform...AND now I have a job that is a good fit for me as well.  Yay!  Life is good!  Thanks God!

Welcome to the Rockies

Bandelier National Monument

So long New Mexico…HELLO Rocky Mountains!

Surfing the Dunes

We are finally done with our time in New Mexico.  Not that there was anything wrong with 1,000 year old inscriptions and petroglyphs on a really cool questa out in the middle of the dessert,  but we had hiked the 2 mile trail more times than we could count and were ready for a place with a little more going on.    

We said farewell to New Mexico by visiting Bandelier National Monument.  If you are ever in the Santa Fe area this little monument is a must.  It was like a giant playground filled with cliff dwellings, wooden ladders, and lots of rocks …a kid’s paradise.

Had to leave Teresa behind...

With a continuing passion to visit more of our country’s national wonders, our first stop in Colorado was Great Sand Dune National Park.    No longer do we have a need to visit the Sahara Desert…who knew we could pretend to get lost and caught in a sand storm in the middle of Colorado?  The only thing that was missing was a camel ride.  We climbed to the top of a 700 foot sand dune and rolled down the other side…it was marvelous. 

After our venture in the dessert, we drove right into a snow storm and 18 inches of snow welcomed us to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Just like The Grand Tetons we are falling in love with this park’s wonderful mountains, winding trails, aspens, and elk around every corner :)

“The mountains are calling, and I must go.”  -John Muir 

Auntie in Alabama

For me (Teresa) by far the highlight of this spring in New Mexico was leaving New Mexico J and getting to see my sister, Andrew, and Miss Emma.   Alabama was beautiful, wonderful, and full of green goodness.  Even better than all the grass was getting to spend some good quality time with my adorable new niece. 

We went on walks together, planted flowers, cooked up some yummy meals that are going into my recipe book, watched Disney’s Frozen, went to church, had a photo shoot, fed Emma rice cereal, shopped while trying not to make too much of a scene, had drinks at Barnes and Noble, and enjoyed each other’s company thoroughly. 

I hate being so far from my sister and her growing family and it tears me apart having to leave them each time, but for an entire week we got to make the most of it.  I am happy that my schedule allowed me the freedom to go and visit them.  I will be looking forward to the next time we can be together!

Caves and Red Rocks

It has been awhile since our last blog, but for those who are interested in what there is to do around New Mexico, here is what we have been up to over the last month:

Red Rock State Park:

This is an awesome park just outside of Gallup, with some of the best hiking we have found in the area.  The whole time it felt like we were walking through the Desert Dome at the Omaha zoo.  It was also a good spot

for an exciting cliff picnic!

Zuni Pueblo:

Just a half hour away from us is the old town of Zuni.  This marks the point of first contact between the Spaniards and Pueblo people.  It also has a strong connection to El Morro National Monument because the ancestors of the Zuni people that lived on top of the monument hundreds of years ago. 

 

Caving Madness!

This year is destined to be another year of epic caving! Four months into the year and we’ve hit four caves... so far-all of them lava tubes.  The last three have been in El Malpais Nat. Monument just 30 minutes down the road from us.  The Big Tubes were fairly remote, requiring a long drive down a rutted dirt-road, a hike across the lava fields to get to the entrance, and then down climb of about 50 feet to get into the cave itself.  Junction cave was much tamer (which Teresa appreciated).  We were able to see a few bats along the way and celebrate the end with some Easter beef jerky J