We left the peach orchards of Palisade and drove over to Granby, CO where we parked the Busse Bus at Sun Outdoors Rocky Mountain for the next twelve days. We parked it because we planned on staying at our townhome in Winter Park during that time. It was costly to park there, but Katrina could not find another place where we could stayed plugged in to keep the batteries and refrigerators running. It took us three hours to pack up food, clothes, and other necessities that we would need while we were away.
We got to the townhome (which we purchased last year) and had enough time to get unpacked before friends stopped by. Cub and Marge Steward (from Myakka) were staying at Sun Outdoors and our trips overlapped so they came by for a drink to see our place. Larry and Bouraine Smith (also from Myakka) were staying in their place in Fraser and joined in on the fun. Great seeing them all again!
The following morning Ari and Rylan came to visit. After they got unpacked we headed out for a late lunch at Deno’s Mountain Bistro.
For an eleven month old, Rylan sure can eat! Next we stopped at Murdock’s to pick up a baby gate to keep Rylan from crawling down the stairs. I had some fun with Rylan pushing him up the ramp and letting the stroller bring him back down to me. He enjoyed the “ride”.
Back at the townhouse we got to play with Rylan.
Not only can the kid eat, he can play for a long time too! To have that kind of energy!
The following day we headed into the ski area of Winter Park where we took the gondola up to the peak. Rylan loved this ride more than my stroller one:
On the peak we enjoyed a drink and letting Rylan play in the astroturf area:
Back at the base we found plenty to do to keep Rylan interested:
We got to see a hummingbird up close while we enjoyed a snack:
We headed back to the townhouse to relax and work on a jigsaw puzzle.
It only took us that evening to complete the Utah Big Five National Parks!
We started the next day with a local hike on the Two Bridges Trail.
After returning and getting cleaned up we headed over to the Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa to have dinner at the Ranch House. Katrina and I were celebrating our 37th Wedding Anniversary.
Wonderful meal! It was so nice spending our special day with Ari and Rylan! Happy anniversary Babe!
On the drive back we stopped in downtown Winter Park to enjoy the free concert and adjacent farmer’s market. Cub & Marge and Bouraine & Larry were already there so they got to see Rylan and Ari again. We got to grab some cookies from a local vendor:
After that we headed home and got in the hot tub.
On Friday we headed into the Rocky Mountains National Park and we had to be there before 9am because we didn’t have a scheduled time (new since Covid).
Rylan’s first National Park!
Our first stop was all the way to the top – the Alpine Visitor Center.
We stopped in the building and got some warm tea and coffee because we were a bit chilled. We also got Rylan his first Official Junior Ranger book, pin and National Park Passport book (along with stamp).
On the drive back down we stopped at Lake Irene for a small hike:
Nice little hike to see this tarn!
Continuing down the mountains until we pulled over to see a moose:
Ari was so excited to see her first moose! Too bad Rylan was napping and missed it.
We stopped at the Grand Lake Lodge for a late lunch on our way back to Winter Park.
We decided on having leftovers for dinner. That gave us time to read to Rylan while Ari started packing up because they were leaving early the next morning.
Ari and Rylan left us about 6:30am the next morning. It was so sad to see them leave and Katrina and I felt like the townhouse was sure quiet afterwards. Katrina filled the void by going and playing pickleball back up in Grand Lake. I took Bear for a long walk.
Once we got back together we headed over to Bouraine’s and Larry’s to meet up with them and Cub and Marge. We got to watch a little football and have a drink before Cub and Marge had to leave to pack up their coach as they were heading out the next morning starting their trek back to Pennsylvania.
Katrina and I went out for dinner at a place called Adventures Decanted, a wine bar. We had a wonderful meal – wine, a charcuterie board, bruschetta and a low country boil.
On Sunday Katrina picked up Larry to play some pickleball up in Grand Lake. While they were gone, Bear and I were able to take a local hike. Once Katrina returned we went to The Ditch on 40 for green hatch chili burgers. Boy, they were good! We spent the remainder of the day relaxing – it was much needed.
The following day Katrina went to play pickleball while I worked on replacing the water pump on the Busse Bus.
It had been acting up over the past few months so it was time. Then Katrina and I stopped at the Smith’s to wish them farewell as they planned on heading out the next morning to start their Greek Cruise adventure. After letting Bear out, Katrina and I went for dinner at the Terrain Taco & Unravel Cafe + Bar. Great tacos! Will, our bartender, remembered us from our first visit to our place last November so we chatted for a while. We also talked with Bob who ordered the tacos that we recommended. Turns out that he is building a RV Park east of Denver where we may keep the Busse Bus during our visit next summer. Excellent!
By the way – Will pours a wicked Expresso Martini!
We decided not to do anything the following day besides TV, games, Bear walks, and workouts. I did have lunch at the Fraser Valley Hot Dog because I wanted to see if their “Chicago Dog” was authentic. It was! I’ll have to go back when I get the urge. We spent the remainder of the day doing nuttin!
The next day we dint do nuttin neither. I guess after months on the road it’s good to relax. We did head out for dinner at a new-to-us place called Fontenot’s Seafood & Grill where we sat at the bar. Sue, our bartender / server was absolutely wonderful! She mixed up a tasty Ranch Water. Katrina had the cod and I had the Redfish special. Both really good! We will definitely go back to Fontenot’s!
On Thursday we needed to pack up the townhouse and move back to the Busse Bus because we planned on leaving somewhat early on Friday. It took us the entire morning to pack up the truck and close down the townhome. It then took us another three hours to unpack the truck and pack up the Busse Bus. We decided to try another new-to-us restaurant in Granby called Brickhouse 40. Again, good drinks and food. I had a burger and Katrina the Chicken Avo-rado. We would definitely go back here too. We were very excited to find a couple of restaurants to head back to in the future!
I guess we really were relaxing because neither one of us took any pictures. Oh well, something to do next time!
We left a little later than we anticipated the next morning because it was 31 degrees when we got up at 7am! After letting it warm up to a balmy 46 degrees we headed out for our next adventure!
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