Saturday, October 8th
Amy and four of her children arrived at our house for breakfast in the morning. LeAnn came by, and drove us to the airport. There, a wheelchair was arranged for Shirleen for a comfortable transport to our gate. We flew to Denver for a visit with Sarah, Craig, and Leo.
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A Plane Taking Off
(as seen while we waited to board our plane) |
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Craig, Shirleen, and Sarah
(at S&C's apartment in Wheat Ridge) |
However, Shirleen's fleece jacket had been left in LeAnn's car. No problem: Leo bought her a nice green cardigan from the place where he works. |
| Where We Stayed in Golden, Colorado |
We drove into downtown Golden:
We then got a reservation for dinner (Craig & Sarah's treat for us), and walked around the downtown area.
Sunday, October 9th
We went to Church here:
Craig bore his testimony during Sacrament Meeting (it was Fast Sunday).
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| Paul, Shirleen, Sarah, and Craig |
Later, we went for a drive, and saw some interesting sights.
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| Evergreen Dam |
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| Paul |
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| Craig, Shirleen, and Sarah |
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| Shirleen |
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| Evergreen Lake |
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Shirleen, Craig, and Sarah
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We headed on down the road, and came to O'Fallon Park Trails.
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| Paul Shirleen |
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| Paul |
We went back to Sarah & Craig's apartment for dinner:
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| Craig and The Joey! |
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| Joey, Checking Out Paul's Tennis Shoes, etc. |
Monday, October 10th
Our goal was to reach Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado. There is much to see along the way:
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| We had breakfast here, in Frisco. |
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| Shirleen |
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| Sarah |
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| Shirleen |
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| Paul |
Trouble! The car broke down. It started showing serious problems (lack of power steering, sluggish engine, etc.) on Highway 82, near the North Fork Lake Greek Trailhead (look it up!). With a gravity assist, it was nursed down to about a quarter mile east of the Mount Elbert Lodge (look it up!), and we ended up in the driveway of a "ranch" property. If you get onto a map app you can see the driveway we turned into (look for some gray buildings, and some red-roofed buildings). The individual who came up to see what we were doing in the driveway ended up helping quite a bit: He provided us with a terminal brush tool (there was corrosion on the battery terminals), and he put on an industrial charger. Also, the folks at the lodge opened up a place for us to rest. There were a few theories about the possible root cause of the problem:
- Bad battery
- Bad alternator
- Failed electronics module
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| Craig |
The battery was dead, but the charger got it charged up to the point where the car would start. So, we headed east again, to get to a proper mechanic. Before we got to Twin Lakes (look it up!) the car began to fail again. Fortunately, we did make it into Twin Lakes:
A tow was arranged for, but we had to wait for it to come in from elsewhere. Then there was the question of how we would get back to Wheat Ridge and Golden. Calls were placed to secure a ride (including to a bishop and to a branch president to see if they had someone in the people-transport business), but they had no one currently. An attempt by phone to another possibility resulted in an offer to give us a ride for $600! That was declined. The backup plan was to have one of Leo's friends come and get us (but remember, we were more than a hundred miles from Wheat Ridge and Golden). Well, the tow truck arrived, and he said he had room for two in his cab. He also said we could ride in the car up on the tow truck (who knew?). Anyway, that's what we did! Also, the tow truck picked up another vehicle on the way back. Here's what it was like (looking forward, looking at our shadow, and looking out at the right side rearview mirror):
We made it back OK to Wheat Ridge (for Sarah & Craig) and to Golden (for the two of us), but a visit to Maroon Bells will have to wait for another day.
Tuesday, October 11th
This day saw us take a road trip to Estes Park, and then into Rocky Mount National Park. Here are some representative photos, etc.:
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| Shirleen |
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| Sarah and Shirleen |
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| Sarah |
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| Shirleen |
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| Shirleen and Sarah |
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| Paul |
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Saint Catherine's Chapel on the Rock
(on Highway 7, south of Estes Park) |
And into Estes Park we went, to this place, for some good food:  |
| Craig, Sarah, and Shirleen |
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| Craig, Sarah, and Shirleen |
We drove around in the Estes Park area. |
| Shirleen |
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| Shirleen |
Some elk, hangin' out in someone's yard:
We stopped at Sprague Lake, in RMNP.
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| Paul |
And here's what was seen in a stream flowing into Sprague Lake:
Moving on!
Moving on again!
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| Paul |
Heading down the road again, we stopped here:
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| Shirleen |
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| Shirleen |
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| Paul & Shirleen |
And we arrived back in Estes Park. Time for some food!
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| Outside |
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| Outside |
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Craig, Sarah, and Shirleen
Inside! |
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| We stayed here years ago |
Headed back to Wheat Ridge & Golden:
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| This might be an interesting place to stay sometime... |
And back to Sarah & Craig's apartment.
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| Paul, relaxing with Joey! |
Wednesday, October 12th
Sarah & Craig took us to the airport, and we eventually got on our flight home. While on the plane this interesting passenger was noticed under the seat in front of Shirleen:
LeAnn picked us up at the airport, and drove us home to Mesa. An interesting (and eventful) trip to Colorado!
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