Guest Post: Commander Mouse
Yes, Amy was kind enough to allow me to go for a hike with some folks at the Y while she assisted the kids with crafts and a Junior Explorer class. It was a glorious day to spend a couple of hours hiking and eating lunch at the top of one of the mountains, 9876 feet above sea level and high above the YMCA retreat center. On our return drive back, about ½ mile outside the park entrance we stopped near a bed a breakfast since about 50 people had gathered in the area. We saw a 2 year old brown bear sitting on the roof of the house. A few minutes later he decided he was hungry so he climbed down the tree onto the wraparound porch and tried to get in the side door. When that didn’t work, he proceeded to rip the screen for the small window next to the door and kitchen sink with his teeth in an attempt to get into the house. The elderly lady inside the house started making a bunch of noise to try to scare the bear off, but he didn’t seem to mind the noise.
Now here’s the funny part. Picture a lady, probably in her 70’s, with wild white hair, coming out from the back of the wraparound porch, banging two pots together, probably 5-8 feet away from the bear. Initially, that got the bear’s attention and he promptly climbed the 8 feet back up the tree to her roof. She continues to bang away with her pots and the bear just sits there looking at her, while all us bystanders are roaring with laughter at the site of this lady with the wild white hair, totally unfazed by the bear. Eventually, the bear decides he has had enough, comes back down the tree, off the porch and promptly goes to the neighbor’s trash can to find something interesting to eat. One of the senior Y volunteers that hiked with us that day was happy to see a bear on his 6th day of working at the Y this year while the rest of us will never forget the site of the lady with the pots banging away 5 feet from the bear. What a site to see!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park
This was our third stay at the YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park and this place never disappoints. I love it because this place is whatever you need and want to make of it. This time, we needed rest, relaxation, and some fun after 3 days of packing (2 went til midnight) and the sadness of having to leave our beloved friends in Colorado.
Back to the Y. We stayed in the brand new Peaks Lodge, the nicest lodge accommodations on the property. That said, families, I'd recommend staying at the Alpen Inn on property as it is closer, rooms are bigger, but not as fancy and you get a balcony. For this trip to the Y, we slept a lot, ate a lot (they have wonderful, healthy meals on the meal plan which we did, and played. Mouse went for a hike and the girls hit the craft building and painted til they dropped.
We played at the park, went roller skating did a junior explorer class to learn about hiking safely and played putt putt.
I am going to miss this place but know I'll be back.
Back to the Y. We stayed in the brand new Peaks Lodge, the nicest lodge accommodations on the property. That said, families, I'd recommend staying at the Alpen Inn on property as it is closer, rooms are bigger, but not as fancy and you get a balcony. For this trip to the Y, we slept a lot, ate a lot (they have wonderful, healthy meals on the meal plan which we did, and played. Mouse went for a hike and the girls hit the craft building and painted til they dropped.
We played at the park, went roller skating did a junior explorer class to learn about hiking safely and played putt putt.
I am going to miss this place but know I'll be back.
The Ice Cream Man
Guest Post: Commander Mouse
Remember the days when the Good Humor truck used to come around the neighborhood playing his oh so familiar musical melodies? When I was a kid, we would all go running for our money or beg our parents for an ice cream treat. At some point in time, I believe when I was a teenager, the parents decided they had enough of this wonderful or annoying sound (depending upon your perspective) and passed an ordinance, banning the music being piped from the Good Humor Ice cream truck, essentially putting him out of business in my township.
In Colorado, he doesn’t come around quite as frequently and we had avoided up to this point, explaining to our kids about the ice cream man. Of course, that all change during moving week when I decided it would be a great treat to buy them ice cream during packing night #2.
Fortunately our lawn chairs had not yet been packed so while Mom was kind enough to be inside with the movers, the three of us thoroughly enjoyed our ice cream or popsicles on the front sidewalk, lounging about in our lawn chairs and talking about the next time the ice cream truck might drive by our house. It will be interesting to see if we have a musical ice cream truck in our new neighborhood, because I fear I’ll be buying a lot more ice cream/popsicles if he does.
Remember the days when the Good Humor truck used to come around the neighborhood playing his oh so familiar musical melodies? When I was a kid, we would all go running for our money or beg our parents for an ice cream treat. At some point in time, I believe when I was a teenager, the parents decided they had enough of this wonderful or annoying sound (depending upon your perspective) and passed an ordinance, banning the music being piped from the Good Humor Ice cream truck, essentially putting him out of business in my township.
In Colorado, he doesn’t come around quite as frequently and we had avoided up to this point, explaining to our kids about the ice cream man. Of course, that all change during moving week when I decided it would be a great treat to buy them ice cream during packing night #2.
Fortunately our lawn chairs had not yet been packed so while Mom was kind enough to be inside with the movers, the three of us thoroughly enjoyed our ice cream or popsicles on the front sidewalk, lounging about in our lawn chairs and talking about the next time the ice cream truck might drive by our house. It will be interesting to see if we have a musical ice cream truck in our new neighborhood, because I fear I’ll be buying a lot more ice cream/popsicles if he does.
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