RMNP…day one

The biggest reason we went to Estes Park was to go into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). But the funny thing is, we’d read a little bit online, but we didn’t have a clear picture of what we were going to do once we got there. Basically we were flying be the seat of our pants.
So that picture you saw in my last post of my hubby sitting at the table…that’s pretty much a daily scene. Looking at the map or the magazine or the guide book and plotting our next day/move. And believe it or not, it worked out pretty well for us.

I know I have been to RMNP, but I was very young. So this was all new stuff to me. I love going places I’ve already been, but experiencing something new is exciting for all of us.

I can’t say enough amazing things about the park. It’s stunning. It’s got it’s own weather and it’s own vibe all the way around. And the people in the park are so friendly to each other. It’s like we all stand there looking at those mountains and realize we’re all a tiny part of something very big. And it changes us. Even if just for a second.

Enjoy the pics…and the narration. Ha, I can’t help myself. : )
We encountered a bit of a bummer on what I call our ‘high’ day..the day we drove past the timberline into the tundra. There was haze in the air from wildfires elsewhere. (no idea where..not in RMNP)  Anyhoo…made the scenery very dull. But after many years of vacationing in various mountains, you get what you get…weather there is it’s own thing. So on this day, we got haze. : /

We used to be driving on those roads….waaay down there!

Cuteness. : ) There were chipmunks all over the place and we had so much fun watching them.

allrightythen. {gulp}

It was a wee bit windy..or a lot…and a wee bit chilly…or a lot. : )

We late lunch at the Alpine Visitor’s Center…and it was UP THERE.

And you should be so proud of me…I got a veggie sandwich on whole wheat bread..but it tasted awful…so I had brought {emergency} food and ate from the trunk of the van. I wasn’t going to eat unhealthy stuff. Even there. Ok..I did eat that bag of bbq chips…and they were so good. But I got some other things to make a healthy meal from the van. And notice that bag of chips…very puffy stuff. This kind of altitude does weird things. Science in action. : )

More elk.

Evidently they draw a crowd.

At one time there were two ranches owned by the same family. The land was turned over to the park system with the stipulation that the oldest ranch would remain intact as a museum. The newer ranch, with slightly newer buildings etc, was demolished to return the field to it’s natural splendor. The ranch that is only alive in pictures was called The Never Summer Ranch…clever name. And back in the day, way back when, people would spend money to go there and enjoy the weather and pretend to be a cowboy on a dude ranch.

Site of the newer ranch. A gorgeous meadow area.

And this is the museum. It has volunteer docents from the parks service acting as guides and telling about all the buildings on the ranch and the family that made it all work. All I can say is they were very hardy individuals. The eldest lady of the family continued to come and spend her summers there way on into the later parts of her life. Amazing and hard working.


I can’t imagine these sorts of homes in the middle of summer…much less the middle of winter. This was almost like a little town. The husband did a mail order course and got a degree in taxidermy and would mount things that their guests killed. Just a fascinating life.

Check out that elevation. Woot.

Yes, it was cold when we were in the tundra. Every time we stepped out of the van it was colder than the time before. Very cold and very windy. We did not spent much time taking pics before hopping back in the car. Brrrr.

It was gorgeous in a barren sort of way. Amazing how it was a whole different eco system at every elevation.

We pretty much did the high road scenic drive in its entirity. And it took us the better part of a day. But we were taking our time. By the end, we were glad to head ‘down’ into Estes as the altitude was beginning to give hubs and I a bit of a headache.

That was Monday.  Stay tuned for Tuesday and Wednesday. : )

Co Springs and Estes Park

So we went to Estes Park, Colorado, which took us two days to drive. On the second day, we knew we were running a little bit early to be let into our cabin, so we stopped in Colorado Springs for a little bit.

On our last visit to the Garden of the Gods, we didn’t have very long to get out and walk around, so we feel like filled in those gaps last week. 

Enjoy the pics.

Tiny red dot in the middle of the pic below is a rock climber. Crazy.

WE on the other hand, stayed on the sidewalk. ; )

We arrived in Estes around 2 and were able to check into our cabin. We stayed at a small group of cabins/resort sort of thing called Solitude Cabins. In a word, they were great. Super clean and comfortable. With everything we would think of needing plus a little bit more.

The kitchen from upstairs.

Dining area…and hubs mapping out our day.

Living area…the only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the direction our cabin was situated…the sun was a bit much sometimes.

Our cabin was called…

…Black Bear Cabin. And the owners carried that theme subtly throughout. Cute.

Our little cabin from the outside. : )

Mule deer are common around town. I spied this little sweetie right outside our cabin.

And so are ELK. This pic was taken a couple of blocks from our cabin. And the next one was taken in the yard right outside. There were several mule deer and elk together, but this one was content to just lounge in the yard. 

And that doesn’t even count what we saw in the park!

I walked around to the front of the resort to take the pic from this post, and had to be careful not to step in elk poo. You know you aren’t in Texas Kansas anymore when you have to watch for elk stuff.

We stayed in Estes but several of our days were spent inside Rocky Mountain National Park. More to come…

mountain morning

I woke up Thursday morning before anybody else. Which isn’t unusual for me. I like the quiet.

On this day, I slipped out of my warm bed and went into the living area, determined to take it all in. I wanted to savor this place. I raised the shade on the back door and looked past the trees and curved road to the mountains in the distance.

I loved the blue hue they gave off in the early barely-day light.

I looked around our small cabin and took in all the sweet touches that made this place a wonderful vacation home in in the Rockies.

I wanted to remember not just how it looked, but how it felt. The bags were packed and I knew within an hour or two we would be leaving for Texas.

My heart felt light and happy. I felt something I had not felt in a while.

Solitude.

I was ready to come home. 

Pics and stories to come…of course. ; )

From two big messes…

…to one neat and organized cookbook.

It used to be this…a notebook of loose clipped recipes. Some were in the folder pocket.

And some were taped to printer paper.

And another book of printed out recipes inside plastic sleeves.

I took apart two cookbooks recently. The taped together one. And the printed one. I weeded out recipes I will NEVER cook again from both books, and made a stack of the healthy recipes I will continue to use from here on out. I am a little bit ashamed at how big the toss pile was. But not surprised. : (

Now it’s all done and I have one place to go for all my recipes. And since I am finding new recipes pretty frequently online now, I am printing them and adding them to THE BOOK.  Just a little bit of effort made things a lot easier at meal planning and meal prep time. Love it!

And it’s cute too. : )

reading the book

It’s no secret that I’ve been down in the dumps lately. Not at all.

I know I have so much to be thankful for, and yet my heart aches for reasons unknown to me.

So I did what I have done in years past. I went searching for something to sooth my soul. I found a book that sounds very good. I searched online to see if I could pick it up at my local Christian book store. I wasn’t sure from the website. So I thought perhaps I could call and see if they had it in stock.

I’m all about instant gratification, so things like this, even though petty, really bug me.

But before I could pick up the phone or whip out my credit card, something stopped me.

I didn’t need another book to read.

I already have a Book to read.

And the one who wrote it thinks I am precious and had me on His heart when He penned it.

What better Book for me to read when my heart is crying out for something.

Something that only He can fill.

Disclaimer…I don’t have a problem with books. I love books and know they can be very helpful in our walk with God. But for me, for this moment, another book isn’t what I need. I need Him.

pancakes…yes I said pancakes! {allowed and delicious!}

I know I’ve talked about food a lot. How I eat..what I eat..what I don’t eat. bla bla bla. There isn’t anything magical about eating better. You just need fresh ingredients and an imagination. I can get my hands on the first part pretty easy, but it’s the imagination part that stumps me. So when something a little bit out of the box is presented to me…and it’s amazing…it’s a pretty thrilling thing.

So I present to you..healthy pancakes. Oh yes. It’s true. Granted there is no sugar, thus no syrup. And at first, that was a big heart breaker, as in the past pancakes were just a fancy vehicle for syrup delivery. So I had to rethink my pancake motives. Anyway…here goes.

This recipe/method makes two good sized pancakes. I will tell you what I do and why I do it. I’m not by any means saying that I know everything I’m talking about…just telling the how and why of what I’m doing.

Anyway..the cast of characters. First of all…four eggs. I use three of what I call ‘cheap’ eggs…just regular brand at the grocery store. And then one of either Egglands Best or organic.

And here is why…I crack the three ‘cheap’ eggs in a bowl.

And then separate the eggs to get rid of the yellows. The reason I do this is because presumably the toxins that might be in an average egg will reside in the fat…the yolk..so I get rid of that. (this is a theory presented to me, so I’m just going with it..since this is that person’s recipe) Times three. With a spoon. Yep..a spoon. Just scoop it out. Works like a charm!

And then some dry ingredients. Rolled oatmeal, wheat germ, ground flax seed, steel cut oats and oat bran. (excuse the eggs again)

I put two tablespoons each of the wheat germ, ground flax, steel cut oats and oat bran.

And this is where the measurements get a little shaky. I add *some* rolled oatmeal. *Some* because I put a little and stir things around to see if it starts to have the right consistency…again it’s a ‘feel’ thing…if it begins to have a semi-thick/thin batter feel.

After that is all mixed up..actually I wait until after this next few ingredients to mix, but to start out, I mixed the oats etc first so I could tell when I had enough. Anyway..after all of that is mixed up (or before, whatever floats your boat), I add some more ingredients. Honey, salt, stevia, vanilla and cinnamon.

I don’t have exact measurements for these..I just squeeze, shake, pour or smack the bottom of the bottle until I think it looks ‘right’.

And if you haven’t already, mix it all up with a spoon. During all of this mixing, I preheat my iron skillet with some refined coconut oil…probably a tablespoon or so. After the skillet heats, I pour off a little bit into the bowl and stir it into the batter. And now it’s time to make pancakes!

Start spooning the batter into the skillet.

 

It makes a mound..this is not a pouring kind of batter.

It’s more of the spreading kind.

Freshly flipped. Ain’t she a beaut?!

The first pancake is usually more perfect because the dry ingredients have not started soaking into the eggs. Sometimes I have to add another egg white..or remember to go a little lighter on the rolled oats next time.

And the first pancake is usually for the girl. And since it’s summer, she’s usually not up just yet. So I cool her pancake on my make-shift rack so it doesn’t get all sweaty on the bottom.

While the pancakes are cooking, I start on the topping. Yes, there is topping. It’s not syrup, but it’s pretty tasty and super delish!

So here goes…I take two tablespoons of flax oil and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (I usually get organic, but they didn’t have any this week, so I had to get ‘regular’) and put them in the cup of my mini food processer.

And I add fruit to that to give it more volume and hello…flavor. Our current favorite is two ripening bananas. I also add a dash of vanilla, some stevia and a tiny drizzle of honey.

And then I pour it over the pancake. It’s so good!

Our favorite breakfast. It looks like chicken fried steak but it’s a lot healthier! : )

Ps…doing this post has given me fresh respect for Pioneer Woman..this kind of post takes forever. And sorry, but I don’t have a handy printable.

The end. : )