FRIENDS (Week 8)

Week 8 was AWESOME.

Firstly, I was with the Mountaineer group again and it went SUPER well. Secondly, my friend Jenna came to visit for several days. Thirdly, I found out more information about my China flight and visa!!

Monday July 13


The Mountaineers played capture the flag in Boulder field, did archery, and rode horses today and it was all relatively smooth.

Tuesday July 14

Today we did a short hike into Moraine Park and made bottle rockets and the Mountaineers loved that. I also had a kid from Chile join our group and had so much fun learning/teasing him about his country and trying to get him to speak Spanish.

Wednesday July 15

The Mountaineers did high ropes and low ropes today. One of my girls got really frightened going down the zipline and came down crying, but luckily once I got her talking about her favorite book series (Mortal Instruments) and TV show (Vampire Diaries) she calmed down and told me the entire plot line from beginning to end.

Jenna came today!! I met her and Erica in Sweet Memorial and we worked on a puzzle together and caught up before going to dinner at Ed's Cantina in town with Abby, Sarah, and Chandler. I had never been there before but it was pretty good! Erica and Jenna spent the night with me after that so they could get an early start hiking Flattop the next morning.

Thursday July 16

Thursday we played groundies (a tag game on the playground), went swimming, did the climbing wall, and visited the museum to make superhero puppets.

That afternoon I met up with Jenna and Erica after work and we hung out in Admin for awhile then went to visit Chandler at work with Abby. We discussed the crazy idea of hiking Long's that weekend then grabbed food and icecream at Mickey D's.


Friday July 17

I went on a hike with the Mountaineers on Friday - we took the fire trail up to Mills Lake and made it in an hour (we were booking it) My kids (Jack, Nicholas, Reese, Sofie, Adam, Mia) all played "What are the Odds", daring each other to stick their feet in the cold water.

After work I picked up my CHINESE WORK VISA information (basically the legit papers that will allow me to apply for a Chinese Visa)!!! I also got an email with my flight itinerary - I will be flying out August 23 from DFW to San Fransisco to Hong Kong to Changsha and return June 27 or 28 next summer.

Friday evening I went out to dinner at the Rock with Jenna, Erica, Chandler, Abby, Catherine, Sarah, and Sarah's friend. It was such a fun evening hanging out and dancing to a bluegrass band Chain Station.

Saturday July 18
It was my first day to sleep in for awhile in a long time which was super nice. We went to breakfast at this place called Notchtop Cafe in Estes Park then wandered into Moraine for a few hours.

That afternoon Abby, Jenna and I went into town to see Jurassic World (AMAZING) and eat dinner and Hayley's ice cream (of course). We played games in Rustic afterwards (I became a secret agent in the game of life.)

Sunday July 19

 I slept in again and it was beautiful. We ate lunch then drove Jenna to the airport. It was so sad saying our goodbyes but I'm so glad we had the few days with her that we did!

Abby and I explored the University of Denver afterwards then hit up the original Chipotle (right next to a marijuana shop. Hello Colorado) before driving back to Estes to relax the rest of the weekend.

Sorry this week is so minimal! I really haven't had time for blogging lately and just wanted to get this down before I forget things.

CHIQUITA BANANA (Week 7)

Week 7 already?! Unbelievable.

This week was characterized by sassy high schoolers, 4 days of pouring rain all day, and an exhausting but awesome hike-filled weekend.

Monday
I was with the Adventurer group this week and on Monday we had 20 of them. TWENTY. It's the biggest group of high schoolers we've had all summer. If you've ever tried to get 20 different teenagers to hang out you know what a struggle this is. But I was really excited to be with the Adventurers because it was the only group I didn't have before, and I wanted to see what being with high schoolers would be like since I'm used to working with younger age groups (and they do really fun things).

It started out great - we had high ropes in the morning until it started raining, and we ran for cover under the picnic pavilions to eat lunch and play bibbity bop bop bop for like an hour. The Adventurers enjoyed the game a lot more than the Mountaineers and actually had fun adding in new layers and even having two people in the middle. For the afternoon we played Nukem, this volleyball-like game, and hung out in Hempel Auditorium. We also lost a camper (I don't want to talk about it.)

That evening I went out to dinner at The Rock with Erica, Chandler, Abby, and some of Erica's friends that were visiting! It was a great way to relax after the day.

Tuesday

My co-counselor was sick on Tuesday (as were many other day camp counselors sadly because of a stomach bug) but we carried on and went ziplining in the morning. Most of my teens did it once and stopped but you bet I rode that sucker four times (ziplining for free, come on.)

We were supposed to go mountain biking in the afternoon but it rained again, so we ended up playing cards in Hempel (capitalism is their favorite game). The teens have now split into two groups, the sporty guys crowd, and the chill girls crowd.

Wednesday

We went climbing at Mary's Lake in the morning - the girls climbed once then wanted to play BS instead so we did that for awhile. Back at camp we hung out on Admin porch and played Mao, a really fun card game with unspoken rules you follow. It's hilarious to play with people who have never played before because they have to figure out what the rules are.

Wednesday was a good day for me to catch up on China fundraising, sending thank you notes, etc. I leave in about SIX WEEKS and found out they're sending me papers for my Chinese Visa soon !!!

Thursday

On Thursday we played Nukem and cards some more, went swimming, and then half the teens went horseback riding while the other half played more Nukem and a game called Infection inside Hempel. They love playing games in the dark inside the auditorium.


Thursday evening Abby, Elizabeth and I went to Amanda's house to play games, make brownies, and watch Parks & Rec. It was so fun playing cranium and just relaxing for the evening! Shannon and Katie came later but unfortunately Abby and I had to leave because we both needed to be up early the next day.

Friday

WHITE WATER RAFTING!! The Adventurer group goes every Friday and I get to go for free since I'm their counselor (job perks amiright?) We met at Sweet Memorial at 6am, left around 6:30 and drove down the Canyon past Loveland towards Fort Collins. I was in a raft with 4 of my teen girls and we had the coolest instructor named Leah. We rafted 3 miles, then had to lift the raft out and put it in at another spot for 3 more miles. The girls nominated me to sit in the front and I was soaked and the water was freezing but we had a blast.


When we got back around 1pm I was free to clock out and leave so I wouldn't have overtime (it was sooo nice having the afternoon off.) That evening Abby, Sarah and I drove down to Loveland to visit Erica and one of her friends for this Loveland Loves BBQ Bands & Brews event. We grabbed dinner beforehand then went to the event and had fun dancing to this band doing tributes to 70s & 80s hits like Boogie Wonderland and September.


Saturday

Bluebird Lake: 12 miles round trip (13 taking the campsite route) 8:45am - 3:45pm hiking

We woke up and met in Spruce around 7:30, then left for the Wild Basin trailhead to begin our redeption hike to Bluebird Lake. Abby and I were so pumped to finally be doing the hike again and we had Michael with us, who had done the hike before, so we knew we would make it. Our friends Catherine and Laura also joined us and we made great time to the sign that marks 2 miles from Bluebird.

The last two miles were rough, no lie. But I was excited to see where we went wrong last year and how close we were to making it to the lake. We hiked through a gorgeous wildflower field and up steep rocks and an awesome snow field when we finally looked down and saw the beautiful blue lake.

Da Bluebird Crew

We hung out for about an hour (and I took a mininap) before turning around, sliding down the snow hill, and trekking back 6.5 miles to the trailhead. We ate burritos and relaxed the rest of the evening because of our hike the next day.

Sunday

I woke up at 6am, was picked up at 6:30, then drove up Fall River Road with Abby, Christina, and Amanda to conquer CCY (Chapin, Chiquita, Ypilon), 3 peaks right next to each other. It took awhile to drive up Fall River Road, but it was gorgeous. It was the road that used to connect Estes and Grand Lake before it was replaced by Trail Ridge. We started around 7:45, heading uphill through trees, then cutting through a meadow before taking more steps upwards. Eventually you cut to a part of the path that opens up to the valley of the mountains and It. Is. Bea-yootiful.

We cut across Chapin and passed the trail up it, so we decided to hit up Chiquita first. It was HARD. Like gaining 2,000+ feet in elevation over something like 2 miles. And the wind was ridiculous - we were so cold and so exposed on the side of Chiquita but we could see the top and the beautiful peaks around us and pressed upwards. Christina and I reached the summit around 10:20 and joined Abby and Amanda in a wind shelter up top.

We sat and soaked in the view of Estes Park and also made a little marmot friend named Franklin who was very adventurous and came a little too close. (He disappeared for a second and we were like, "Where's Franklin?" Then he popped out on top of our wind shelter a foot away from my head and I had a heart attack. It's okay Franklin I forgive you.)

FRANKLIN WASSUP

Cold. Tired. Windy. But at the top of a mountain.

It was amazing being 13,069 feet up - higher than even the Alpine Visitor Center across the mountain. We napped for awhile and took pictures and ate lunch, debating whether to do Ypsilon or not. We decided to head down to the Ypsilon saddle then head back, just because we weren't well prepared to face the cold and the wind for too much longer. We had to cut back across the middle of Chiquita to get back to the trail which was a huge pain - there were loose rocks and steep cuts everywhere and it took awhile. We connected back eventually then headed back to the trailhead.

"I'm going on an adventure!"

The cool thing about Fall River Road is that it's one way and reconnects back at the top of the Alpine Visitor Center, so we stopped inside before heading back down to Estes Park. Abby and I celebrated our epic hiking weekend with pizza and rest. It was rough not having a chance to sleep in much over the weekend, but I'm so glad we did both hikes. Mount Chiquita is literally one of the prettiest hikes I've ever done and it's now my favorite in the park. (You can also see CCY from the YMCA so you can point it out to people and be like, I climbed that. Yeah.)

Mountains. Marmots. 'Merica. (Week 6)

Whaddup Week 6.

I'm on support for the week - support is both good and bad for me. It's so fun getting to hang out with different groups and see what else is going on at camp outside of our normal teen schedules. It's a little weird sometimes though because of the free time you have - we have a lot of blank space in our schedules and you have to find ways to fill it and it makes me miss being with the same kids for a week.

Monday

 On support schedule you help with early birds at 7:30am everyday, so I woke up a little bit earlier than normal. I helped get supplies ready for cookouts and hung out with Mountaineers for most of the day because my schedule was pretty clear.

Amanda, Abby, Elizabeth and I had planned on hiking Twin Sisters yesterday, but because of rain (and lack of motivation) we decided to do it after work today. Twin Sisters is no little peak, and I felt a little sick going up last year, so I was mentally preparing myself for 2 hours of grueling hiking that evening.

We left around 5pm and started hiking at 5:35pm. Twin Sisters is divided into 3 parts in my head: the first section winds you up and around the mountain through trees to the avalanche site, the second section takes you up many, many switchbacks still under treeline, and the last part takes you out of RMNP into the Roosevelt forest and finally above treeline to a really cool rock shelf (I don't know what else to call it.)

It took us 2 hours 18 minutes to summit (about the same time as last year haha) and we were treated to a gorgeous view of Long's Peak and the sun setting over RMNP. We sat at the top until 8:30 and then headed down so we wouldn't have to hike totally in the dark. We were booking it and made it to the avalanche part in 45 minutes, and by then we had to pull our flashlights out to finish the last leg (walking through the trees always seems to take the longest compared to going downhill).

We made it to the trailhead at 9:45ish and then treated ourselves to some Mickey D's because we just hiked an 11,428 foot mountain with an elevation gain of 2,475 feet (and about 7.4 miles). Not a bad Monday, and I enjoyed hiking Twin Sisters this time a lot more than my first time. It definitely helps when you've hiked something before and know what to expect.

Tuesday

Tuesday's camp agenda included filling up 50 water balloons, making a paper mache balloon, and teaching an archery class! (I really enjoyed today) Support is also in charge of taking the outpost dishes to Spruce to be washed, so had a little trip in the camp van.

I received an email from my church today giving me an update about my fundraising - it's so amazing to see how faithful God is! I have been blessed by people I never expected to give. It's a humbling experience asking others for donations for this mission trip, but I've been reminded of Luke 11:9 - "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you." I'm prayerfully trying to ask, seek and knock according to His will and so grateful for His faithful people answering.

Wednesday

I enjoyed Wednesday morning immensely because it was my "come late" day on support - because we come in early the rest of the week, one day we get to come in late so we don't go over our 40 hours. I clocked in at 9:30am then taught an archery class, helped with a dance class of kindergarteners, and hung out with the Mountaineers again. Our teen meetings are on Wednesday as well so we stayed an extra hour to figure out next week's schedule (I'm with adventurers and get to go rafting!)

I was proud of myself for my afternoon productivity: I went running and did laundry, and rewarded myself with another half price YMCA movie night seeing Inside Out again (just as good the second time). The theater was so full and it was funny because it was mostly Y people.

our Inside Out crew drowing our feelings in icecream

Thursday

I went on an all day hike with the Rangers 1 group (3rd graders) to Sprague Lake. They were pretty slow so we stopped a lot and finally got there almost two hours later haha. But they were such a sweet group! We played ninja and bibbity bop bop bop with them and I loved hanging out with younger kids that didn't hate the games (unlike Mountaineers). Later they drew all over me and we sang songs and it was the best.

Friday

I was SUPER pumped for Friday because

1. It's Friday, hello

2. I would take over the outpost kids when their counselors had to clock out

3. YMCA Fourth of July Parade!!

I love 4th of July, I love parades, I love getting dressed up (and an excuse to paint my face and go crazy), I love fireworks, I love warm summer weather, I love that patriotic feeling everywhere. It's probably one of my favorite holidays if we're being real. And I love 4th of July in Estes Park. While the sudden influx of tourists can be a little frustrating, I actually really love seeing all of these people come from all over the country to celebrate in the mountains.

my new goat friend

The rest of the day we did game rotations (3 legged race, obstacle course, musical chairs, water balloons, face painting) and ate popsicles and hot dogs. It was great.

That evening Abby and I went to Baba's Burgers & Gyros and it was SO good. Eating hot dogs and hamburgers is just something you need to do around the 4th of July. We walked around town after that, watched a guy blow and shape glass, and met a lot of local shop owners. We wanted a low key night because of our early hiking plans for tomorrow!

10/10 would recommend.

Saturday July 4

Saturday morning I met Abby, Kristina, and Michael in Spruce at 7:30am and then we headed up to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead! Unfortunately we didn't make it up there until 9ish so we couldn't find a parking spot, but we caught the shuttle from the park and ride and hit the trail by 9:30am. I was SO excited about our hike today because we were doing SKY POND. It was one of my favorites last year and I really looked forward to doing it again. We made great time past Alberta Falls (.9 miles), wound our way around to the junction (1.3 miles), then sped up the dreaded switchbacks (there were only four which was good news) up to the Loch (.8 miles). The Loch is absolutely gorgeous!

From the Loch there's a stretch of hiking that's a mix of flat and sets of stairs until you hit the stairs up to Timberline Falls. 

You climb up the waterfall (how cool is that) and see the Lake of Glass and a spectacular view of the Loch. 

It's only .4 miles and two snow fields from there to Sky Pond, a beautiful little lake tucked into the mountains.

We ate lunch while marmots eyed us hungrily and explored the area before heading back down. We reached the trailhead around 4:30pm. We took showers and rested before heading back up trail ridge road to watch fireworks from rainbow curve. While you couldn't see or hear the fireworks up close, it was really cool to see fireworks from Denver, Boulder, and Longmont, as well as lightning in the distance (God's own fireworks show)

Sunday

I slept in Sunday then decided to take the shuttle into town. I had some awesome Jesus time in the morning reading more of "The Me I Want To Be", then wandered in an out of book stores (got another book) and coffee shops (Kind Coffee, Inkwell Brewing, and Starbucks).

We also counted up our hiking days left and were very shocked by the low number! So we made a list of the hikes we want to knock out this summer if possible

1. FHO (Flattop, Hallets, Otis - 3 peaks in an 12 mile hike)
2. CCY (Chapin, Chiquita, Ypsilon - also 3 peaks in an 8 mile hike)
3. Bluebird Lake (we want to make it all the way this year)
4. Long's Peak? (The 14'er here. I keep going back and forth. I'm here so I might as well try it, but people also die doing this and that freaks me out a little bit)

All of the hikes I've done total this year:
Eagle Cliff (2 miles)
Bible Point (2 miles)
Moraine Park (3 miles) three times
Moraine Park/Cub Lake trail (9 miles)
Nymph, Dream and Emerald (3.6 miles) twice
*Mills Lake (2.8 miles)
Gem Lake (7.6 miles)
Sprague Lake (6 miles) three times
*Fern Lake and Odessa Lake (9.5 miles)
Bierstadt Lake (3.5 miles) twice
*Black Lake and Blue Lake (11.5 miles)
Cub Lake (3 miles)
Twin Sisters (7.4 miles)
Sky Pond (9.5 miles)
= 96.5 miles hiked