A long weekend in Louisville and Estes Park, CO

 On Friday, April 4th, we saw Avi and David off in the morning, made a quick trip to the store to gather supplies and then hunkered down in their lovely home the rest of the day. We were looking after one of their dogs, Kramer. He is a great dog! And he didn't trigger my allergies, so we were able to snuggle up on the couch together all day. We did laundry and caught up on some minor chores, but most of the day was just spent on the couch enjoying the opportunity to be still.

Saturday, April 5 was another quiet day in Louisville. We made a trip to the King Sooper (a Kroger store) for groceries, local thrift store (I scored 2 dresses and a jacket for $25!), and took Kramer to the dog park. I also got my long-awaited ramen.

That's Kramer in the foreground. He and the other dogs had a lot of fun sniffing each other's butts.

The ramen was top notch - great on a chilly, breezy day.

On Sunday I prepared a birthday dinner for Avi who arrived back home from their trip to Vegas. We caught up with her and did some planning for our trip to the Moab area in a few weeks. David and Talia arrived later in the day, and we had an enjoyable late afternoon and evening hanging out with them. We even got to catch up with Marilyn and Stan, Avi's mom and stepdad. So great to see them after so many years - love them!

On Monday we had a relaxing morning before heading to Estes Park where we will be based for the next two weeks. Avi and David were kind enough to allow us to stay in their vacation home there near the downtown area. The drive there was beautiful as always. 

This is the breathtaking view as you drive out of the Boulder area toward Estes Park.

The views got even better the closer we got to Estes Park.

We had lunch at the Bird's Nest near the Beaver Meadows entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park and then headed to the visitors' center that is near there. The local elk was kind enough to pose next to the sign for us!

Two elk cows greeted us as we entered the park for the first time! The second one is just under that pine branch.

We got some intel from the friendly ranger to prepare us for our visits in the next two weeks in the center and watched a film about the park. From there we headed to Avi and David's home, where we unloaded and relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening.