So here's the short of it, 
We had a great side trip today!

And here's the long.

This morning we started out by meeting Dan for a fairly early breakfast at Lucile's - a well known establishment in Boulder. He had to go to work and we wanted to get on the road! They specialize in Creole cousine.  I had a great dish called Eggs Jennifer - vegetarian style Eggs Benedict dish.  Alan had something that came with a biscuit.  I've never seen such a large one - and it was square!  It made quite an impression on me!

After breakfast we headed up Highway 36 for Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was a great day!


We drove up the mountain and decided to drive to Bear Lake first.  We decided on Bear Lake because it was a trip that would only take a couple of hours. The Trail Ridge Road was something we thought would be very interesting, but it would have taken 4 hours or so and then we would have had to drive back.  Someday I might like to do that (or see lots of great pictures and read a book).  Apparently the road follows a trail that's been used for a long, long time by humans in their travels. The Ute were the last known group of people to use it before the Europeans came and took over this land.

Anyway, Bear Lake was perfect for us.  This is a picture taken by Alan's cell phone camera!  It was just a stunning view. There's a short trail around the lake and we just went to the first photo spot. There was a warning that the back side of the trail is steep and uneven - two things that I still am not up to speed on! So we didn't do that.

We headed back to Estes Park and ate lunch at a nice restaurant called Poppy's that was right on the river that flows through the town.




After lunch we spent some time walking around the little tourist town of Estes Park.  We found lots of things in the cute little shops.

By a little after 3, we were ready to head down the mountain again and get ready to meet Dan for our last dinner together.  He chose Zolo, a southwestern grill.  We had a great time and are a little sad that our time with Dan is coming to an end.

Tomorrow we head back to Chattanooga.  It will be good to be back home, but this has been a great trip.