It's nice to see that the YMCA has embraced the Village People. |
YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park
It is fun to stay
at the Y-M-C-A. We had originally
planned on doing another day trip into Rocky Mountain National Park with the
kids, but there’s so much that they want to do here that we quickly abandoned
the plan. This interval was intended for
us all to get a little down time, and it’s been pretty relaxing.
Nadia was happy because she finally got what she’s been
waiting for the whole trip: a horseback ride.
We’ve been holding out for here, because unlike most places Lanie was
allowed to ride with me so we could all go together. Unfortunately this was only allowed on the shortest,
most beginner-level ride, which was not really what Nadia had in mind – so she
decided to spend all of her remaining trip money on an additional two-hour,
more advanced ride for herself.
Ready to ride |
(After going on the one-hour ride with Lanie, I was very
thankful we hadn’t been allowed on the two-hour. Those saddles are not meant for two people,
even two relatively small people. Also,
it was a big mistake to have had Lanie wear a helmet – I was expecting to find
my chin was black and blue from the constant bumping. Lanie wasn’t very comfortable either, and
showed the most excitement when the stable came into sight on the return trip.)
Planning the tie dye... |
...and the end result |
Lanie was happy because there was a pool. She’s been swimming every day, sometimes
while the older girls have been at other activities that she’s too young
for. This pool is especially thrilling
because she’s allowed to go down the water slide with her life jacket on,
unlike most places where you have to pass a swim test. Bob and I are somewhat waterlogged, eagerly
awaiting the day when she can go into the pool by herself.
Zoe was happy with the vast array of activities that she could
sign up for. The possibilities are so
exciting! She told me early on that she
might spend the rest of her trip money in the craft center, but she ran out of
time after merely making a tie-dyed bandana and a mosaic. She also did archery, and she and I
participated in a rousing game of Capture the Flag. (Three days later, we both still have sore
legs from this endeavor. I’m used to
running, but not stop-and-go sprinting.
I’ve found it takes a lot out of you when you’re forty. But I like to think that I helped our team to
victory, even though I was about 25 years older than the average age of the
participants. When I got that
thirteen-year-old with braces out of jail, I think I really earned some
respect.)
Bob and I were happy to have plenty of time to relax, in
between dropping the kids off at various activities. (You may have noticed that this resulted in a
flurry of blog entries.) We did plenty
of things together too – family adventure games, mini golf, more bingo (our
second night resulted in four prizes – and we all chose the gift certificate
for a free brownie. Score!)
***
From Bob:
We’re feeling laid back here at the Y, and it might be the
mountain vibe or the family atmosphere.
More likely it’s the two all-you-can-eat meals back-to-back that have
had let me towards food catatonia. I
looked at breakfast yesterday morning and saw a bowl of yogurt with granola,
which closely resembled my typical trip breakfast. This occupied a tiny corner of my tray,
balancing a plate of two pancakes magically rolled around blueberries, two
sausages, and a pile of potatoes. Also
there was some fruit and several small cartons of milk (really cold milk seems
like a supreme luxury). If anything, my
dinner tray the night before was even more heavily loaded.
So I’m
a little stretched in the middle, which made me a liability in the life raft
portion of the Family Adventure (no real life raft included, thankfully). Babe the horse also suffered – although I
showed excellent horsemanship – under my added weight. Sorry, Babe.
By
night number three, we were back in the direction of our normal eating
habits. The notable exception is the
addition of chicken to our Minute Rice dinner.
Our fridge let us extend our list of ingredients.
Good old
Tonkawa Cabin is an oasis of comfort. Once
we moved over from the hotel – itself pretty plush with its bed clothes,
towels, sink and shower – the girls were especially excited. Nadia burst into the place and was in full
discovery mode. “There’s a utility
closet!” she yelled. Lanie checked out
the full kitchen and exclaimed, “We have a BLENDER!” She was only slightly less gleeful when she
was told that what she spied on the counter was a coffee maker, not a blender.
There
hadn’t been such rejoicing in the family since I found my missing deodorant
back in Yellowstone. Happiest of all might
have been the van, which one day only drove a mile to pick up Nadia at the
livery after her two-mile ride.
Laid
back with a little excitement is a nice way to spend your time. Add to it the beautiful mountain scenery that
surrounds this place, and it comes out to a pretty nice stop on the trail.
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