June 24

This was a special day.  There were 10 people from our church that wanted to be baptized.  One of them was Dwight.  Since it was warm, they all preferred the outdoor setting at our pond over the indoor baptistery.  Thankful for kids that are choosing the ways of Jesus!

His friends, Ryan & Austin, were also baptized.

Mt. Evans

On our last day in Colorado, we drove up Mt. Evans Scenic Byway.  If you ever have a chance to drive this, do it.  It is west of Denver just off of  I-70.  This road boasts that it is the highest paved road in North America.  The road is actually quite terrifying and not for the faint of heart.  I'm not sure that I, Jolene, would not have been able to drive it.  However, it was really neat and very amazing to be up so high.

The one edge is shear drop offs.

The driver really needs to keep eyes on the road at all times!

It was neat to drive through the different ecological systems. 

They say some of these bristle cone pine are more then 1500 yrs. old.

Summit Lake, above the tree line.

It's hard to see, but there are people fishing in the water.

The alpine plants were fascinating!

Bighorn sheep grazing near Summit Lake.

Looking down from Summit Lake to two more lakes.

These two were in a group of mountain goats near the top.

More goats at the top.  Note the elevation.

The structure in the background used to be a restaurant years ago.

They seemed very used to people.

This is what we climbed to get to the very top.  

There was a path that zig zagged it's way up the side.

Hard to read, but this marker says 14,258 ft.

Summit Lake below.

On top of the world 

We were thankful for a beautiful clear day!

Can you pick out the road?

They blend in so well.  This was a bachelor group.

We also saw a huge herd of elk (hundreds) "playing" down (way down) in a snowy field.  They were pretty small specks.  Unfortunately, they were at a spot where there was no where to pull off and zoom them in with the binoculars.

As cool as it was, it felt pretty good to get back down to lower elevation and a normal road!!  If you have vertigo issues and a fear of heights, you may need to close your eyes at times (unless you're driving!)  Ha!

Winter Park/Fraser, CO

The last three nights in Colorado, we rented a condo in Fraser, near Winter Park, which is a ski resort area west of Denver.  We had to cross this Continental Divide to get there.

Since is was the off season, it was very reasonable.  The place wasn't fancy but did have 3 bedrooms and 3 baths and was perfect for the 8 of us.  Over the roof tops, this was the view from our deck.

The altitude here was around 8500 ft. and the first night Lyn struggled with altitude insomnia.  It's not fun.  All of us were feeling tired and needed to chill the first day.  We did play some racket ball, enjoyed the pool & hot tub in the clubhouse, and enjoyed a bit of fishing.

The 2nd day there, we felt up for another hike.  We went on the Jim Creek Trail until the snow blocked the trail.

And on our last morning, we had an unexpected surprise stroll through the parking lot past our condo.

Just out looking for breakfast, I guess.

Cousin Time

By the 3rd day, this gang from sea level and flat terrain was ready for a day of rest.  We found some great yard sales, played some frisbee golf, and had time for just hanging out and playing games.  I failed to get a picture of the Perplexus ball which seemed to always be in someone's hands.

We drove to Loveland to check out a discount grocery store and another store named Scheels which was the largest sporting goods store we have ever seen.  It had a Ferris Wheel inside (which a bunch of us rode on) and a very cool fish tank.

This was only one end.  It had 2 arches/3 pillars.

We met Elena's furry (??) friend, Berry, and let him (her?) enjoy a few moments of freedom.  

So adorable!

Thanks so much, Freed's, for letting us crash in on you for a few days!  We really enjoyed seeing where you live and where you go to church and spending time with you!

Joy & Shaun

Elena, Landis, Greta

Rocky Mountain National Park

We also were able to spend a day in Rocky Mountain National Park.  This is just over an hour from Joy's house.

The first hike was to Alberta Falls

From there, we hiked to Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake.

An elk close to the trail.

The chipmunks were very tame at Emerald Lake.

Sisters..... the water wasn't very "emerald" on this day.

More sisters....

After the hike and a packed lunch, we drove along the Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center.  This was a road that kinda made you queasy at times but the views were amazing.

The visitor center sits at 11,796 ft. above sea level.  Devan hiked a short distance up higher to be at the very top.  The temps went down to 53* at this spot. 

The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament shows his handiwork!  The mountains and the hills will break forth with singing.

Boulder, CO

Our family was able to take a trip to Colorado in June to see Jolene's sister, Joy, and her family. She lives in the rural town of Mead, CO, between Denver & Loveland.  The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed some beautiful sights as well.

The first day was spent in Boulder.  We hiked up between the Flat Irons to the Royal Arch.  It was a workout for some of us, but the view was great.

The rocks look like "Flat Irons"

At the top by the Royal Arch.  Town of Boulder below.

Royal Arch

From the other side

After our hike, and some ice cream cones, we went to the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory.  This is a free tour and a neat place to stop if you are ever near Boulder.  We couldn't take pictures during the tour, but we were able to try samples of tea while we were waiting for the tour to begin.