Today's activity was a short walk to the Alluvial Fan and Falls just inside the Fall River entrance of the park. An easy stroll up to a neat little spot along the river strewn with large and small boulders deposited after a large flood. The kids had a great time just throwing rocks in the river and I think Sophie could have stayed there half the day putting leaves in to watch them find their way down the rapids. We also made a stop at the Visitor Center for Sophie to turn in her Junior Ranger booklet and earn her last badge of the trip. She was really only good about saying the pledge once and has been shy about it every other time. I liked the book they had here since it was geared for kids 5 and under but I didn't feel like it taught her much about the park, more of just "what do you see/hear" kind of stuff. Still good though and a good experience all around. Kudos to you National Park Service.
Once we got back, it was time for lunch, playground, pool, just hanging out at the campsite. Sophie did trip on a speed bump and skin her elbow up so that kind of set the tone for her afternoon. After much crying about everything, I did get her to lay down and take a nap, so that was an added bonus for all of us, especially her (more on that later). We also managed to enjoy some showers today - it's nice to have the facilities here and our campsite (76) is in a prime position to access the store, showers, laundry, putt-putt, and little playground. Mentioning the store reminded me that Sophie participated in the Scavenger Hunt today and won a little prize for completing it.
After we roused Sophie from her slumber, we headed to town for dinner at the Big Horn. Did a little research online and Trip Advisor did not let me down: a good little place, just outside of the main set of shops/restaurants in downtown Estes. Food was good, everyone was hungry, and kids did good there. The waiter did get their food out first, which was a big help since they were "starving" again. We had to make a quick grocery stop for butter and mayo but it turns out that there is only one grocery store in Estes. Even though I only needed the two items, I was delayed in finding the butter (it's over on an endcap in the floral section), deciding on the mayonnaise (wanted Helmann's and the logo looked the same but it was called Best Foods...read the back and in small print it said "Known as Helmann's east of the Rockies...interesting), and waiting in the enormous lines. Only store, touristy town, some locals trying to get groceries=too busy for my taste.
Groceries procured, it was time to head back to camp and Sophie was so excited because I told her we could go up and play the friends she made yesterday (they had invited her to their campsite and were going to be leaving tomorrow. Also, since she took a nap, I figured it was the perfect day to stay up late and play with glow sticks and take some to share with her new friends. As soon as we got back, Max wanted to go too but I made the executive decision that he just go to bed (since I had to bribe him with Tom's phone on the way to dinner to keep him awake, I figured he could use the sleep). Once Tom and I got him settled, I set off with Sophie but we didn't have to go far since one of the girls was down here at the little playset. The girls played back and forth between the playsets and the swings before heading up to campsite number 5 for marshmallows over the fire. The glow sticks were a hit, her new friends were super hospitable, and Sophie had a GREAT time. She even got to see some stars on the way back. After chattering excitedly to her dad about her evening adventures, she declared herself tired and was ready to hit the hay. So that's where we are, I'm typing the day's recap sitting at the foot of glow stick-lit bed and she's settling in for the night. I forgot to mention that we saw a nice bull elk about a mile before camp (same place as last night) and another 4 together just a half mile or so past that. I'm sure that seeing elk could get as routine as seeing buffalo, but it's always fun to look at the racks and get a little excited when you see a big one.
Plan for tomorrow is to head off for our last hike and foray into the National Park. We plan to depart around 8 or so for Bear Lake since you have to be past the road construction point before 9 or you are relegated to the shuttle. If you are in the zone, you can move about and out after 9, so we should be fine. I've heard that it is a nice hike - if it looks too ambitious in the morning, I've got a couple of back up hikes planned. After that, it's more camp time on the agenda - probably park, pool, and putt putt. I think Candy Bar Bingo is tomorrow night and I just saw that the pinball machine in the arcade is only a quarter so you know I've got to hit that up!
