Sunday Afternoon in the (Estes) Park

Bree and I often try to make a trip up to Estes Park every year some time around our anniversary. Rachel has been up there with us a couple of times, but this was Clayton's first visit. We always go to the YMCA which is where Bree and I were married, now over 6 years ago.

When I got up on Sunday morning I wasn't sure if we'd be able to go or not. Clayton and Rachel both were clearly not feeling well. After a couple of hours, though, they both seemed to have improved. After the decision was made, is sure took a long time to get out of the house. Motivating and organizing for a day out of the house with two kids is substantially more challenging than with just one.

It was a perfect autumn afternoon here in Colorado. Temperatures were close to 70 in Estes Park and needless to say, the sun was shining. Rachel seemed very interested in the fact that this was where Mommy and Daddy got married. This made such an impression on her that she was pretending to have her Clifford the Big Red Dog doll retell the story of our wedding after dinner last night.

On the way into town traffic was stopped for a herd of elk milling by the side of the road. We came across several more elk on the drive and then several deer on the grounds of the YMCA when we walked around. We spent quite a bit of time at the outdoor chapel where we had our ceremony. We also went over to the livery to let Rachel check out the horses. There were even three small ponies in their own separate stables. I reached out to pet one, but was quickly advised by my wife of the "Do not pet the ponies" sign posted nearby. I thought this was very unfair that these little ponies should be right there but we're not allowed to touch them.

I took a short hike to a place called Bible Point, while Bree took the kids back down to the playground.
"The short but steep hike takes you to the top of Bible Point (.6 mile from 8,130
to 8,650 feet). This vantage point offers outstanding views of YMCA of the Rockies, Glacier Basin, and the Front Range of Rocky Mountain National Park.


Originally known as Buena Vista, the name was changed to Bible Point as a result of the tragic death of Edwin Bradt. The adventurous young man had climbed several mountains, including Longs Peak, and had stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies in 1916 when he attended the YMCA Student Conference. Afterward, Edwin and his father worked exceedingly hard to build a cabin on land given to the family by A.A. Hyde, the man who invented mentholatum. The land is an inholding on YMCA of the Rockies property. Even water for cement was manually hauled up to the building site within the YMCA of the Rockies grounds.

When Edwin was killed in an automobile accident in Nebraska, on his way to his brother's wedding, his father requested the body be taken to Estes Park where the funeral was conducted. YMCA of the Rockies employees carried the casket from the Assembly Hall to the top of Buena Vista where Edwin was buried.

Near the grave, the Bradt family placed a mailbox containing a Bible and register for hikers. Over the years the old name faded away and was replaced with "Bible Point." When hikers visit the site it is traditional to place a cone from a nearby conifer on the grave.

The marker on Edwin Bradt's grave reads, "A normal life. He advanced in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. His chosen text: 'All things work together for good to them that love God.'".......Waymarking.com

Bible point offers a great vantage point for viewing into Rocky Mountain National Park as well as a birds eye view of the YMCA grounds. It was nice to have a few minutes to stretch my legs out and get a little hill climb in, also. After a few minutes of being winded on the climb, I started feeling great and really enjoyed the trail. For being so close to the Y, there were only a few other people on the path.

It was not a moment too soon that I arrived at the playground to meet up with Bree. She was not feeling well, and Rachel was starting to show signs of being very overtired. I pushed her on the tire swing for a time while Bree fed Clayton. Afterwards Bree told me she needed to get back to the lodge and asked if I would follow shortly with both kids. She took the stroller so I was carrying Clayton. I ended up having to carry Rachel most of the way at the same time, also, when she she flopped on the ground in tears unwilling to move. It comes with the territory, I guess. She was in good spirits again after sleeping the whole way back to Denver. We finished up with dinner at the Yard House and finally watching the Brewers lose game 6 of the NLCS. I was very sorry to see the Brewers lose, but overall it was a pretty nice day.

Clayton still seemed like he had his cold this morning when I got him up. He is a nose breather, and breathing through the nose was clearly causing him some serious problems. Rachel and I have been fighting colds ourselves for a few days. Hopefully he will not get it as bad as we did. I appreciate that Bree took care of him last night so I could get some sleep before coming back to work today. As usual, she has been great about that, which has helped to keep coming to work tolerable during this period.