A family visit and Rocky Mountain National Park

September 8th we arrived at St. Vrain State Park in Longmont Colorado. I recommend this park if you are in the area. Nice open sites and the price was right. We stopped here for two reasons. To visit Lynn's brother and his sons family and a visit with a Sheboyganite who now lives in the area. Oh, and Rocky Mountain National Park along with Estes Park.

Our view in St. Vrain Park

The Rockies in the distance.

Our first night in town we Tripadvisor'd local restaurants and found a gem. Not only good food and local brews but an interesting decor.

Wine bottle chandelier. 

And a spoon Chandelier. 

 The visits with family and friends were fabulous. It's great having local people who can show you around. It saves a lot of research for us. One of the highlights was the Leanin' Tree Museum and Sculpture Garden of Western Art. You may know them from their greeting cards.  The outdoor sculpture garden is magnificent.

The detail is amazing. 

The Museum consists of Bronze Sculptures and an art gallery.

After the Museum we went to Celestial Seasonings factory where you can take a tour and sample tea. No pictures as the aroma's were the highlights of the tour. Especially the peppermint storage room which they have to keep closed because of possible contamination with the other herbs. It's just down the block from the museum so it makes for a good twofer. 

The best part of our stay there, other then the friends and family of course, was Rocky Mountain National Park. Just start listing all of the superlatives that you can think of and you are describing this park. The vistas were unending, the mountains majestic, and the people were wonderful. 

People you say, well yes the people. You see we picked up some hitchhikers. WHAT? Well they had a sign that said "We promise we won't murder you." How can you not pick them up when they have a sign like that, enough said. They were three young men who were out hiking, got cut off by weather, and were trying to make it back to the other side of the mountain range so they could go home. Three really great young men on a grand adventure. If I were 20 years younger, yada yada yada. Enjoy. 

Panoramic view of the Rockies.

This is where the boys hiked. Just to the right of the pointy peak to the left of center they came down there past two lakes. Down the valley to the bottom. Then off to the left because of the storm. That's where we picked them up. 

The boys. 

An added bonus on our trip to the Rockies  is the town of Estes Park. A really nice town with your usual assortment of shops and restaurants, but the added bonus was the Stanley Hotel. It is interesting to us because of friend of ours is married to one of the ghost hunters on TAPS. It is, according to their posts, one of their favorite places. So it was kind of cool to visit it. Plus it is a cool looking hotel. 

The Stanley, one of the most haunted places in the US

 I love how the pictures at the top of the first landing reflect in the mirrors on the wall. Very eerie.

Nice architectural detail.

Yep that is a Stanley. 

Nice outdoor patio landscaping. 

Well that's it for Colorado. On our way out of town we passed Mile high stadium. So here is the obligatory pictures. 

Next stop, Bayfield Riverside RV Park. near Durango Co.