A school visit and more music

A relatively quiet day yesterday. We visited Allison's school, ate at a local favorite, went shopping and went to Allison's band rehearsal. Back at home Elena enjoyed a new favorite food (mac'n'cheese) and made some jewelry. Tonight we're going downtown for dining and shopping!

Rocks, bears and music

Another busy day in Colorado! After letting everyone sleep in a bit, we hurried out of the house and headed for our museum of nature and science. Our first stop was the excellent gem and mineral section. Mining is a very important part of our state and the gem and mineral exhibit is not surprisingly one of the best. From aragonite to zinc, we saw a lot of minerals. We next headed for the animal exhibits where Elena learned a little more about the animals she saw yesterday, as well as other unique North American animals. We had great fun teaching Elena how to pronounce the word "bear" in English! Other stops at the museum included the Native American exhibit, space science as well as an interactive health exhibit. With our minds full of knowledge we left for Washington Park and another of Allison's concerts. We sat under umbrellas while Allison played in the rain. We felt she deserved a special dinner after sitting in the rain for an hour, so we decided to eat dinner at one of our favorite Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. It was a new experience for Elena and we think she really enjoyed it despite being too shy to try and catch food from the chef!

Our first stop

Interesting mineral

Our state mineral

Lot's of gold

Mule deer

It's a bear!

Moose

Plains Indians

Playing with the thermal camera

Allison's the one with sunglasses

Elena very interested in our chef

Onion volcano

Here comes the bride

A mostly quiet day yesterday, our big event was our dear friend Brittany's (the mermaid) wedding. The girls had a great time eating, dancing, and taking photos. On a totally separate note we thought we'd post some of Elena's favorite words in English: Oooops, yes, A-ha and napkin. Always, always said with a smile! It's really been a pleasure getting to know Elena, she is an amazing young woman and it has truly been fun having her in the house! Here are a few shots from the wedding:

Rocky Mountain High

We got up very early this morning to make the 2 hour drive to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). In order to beat traffic and the weather we left the house at 7am. RMNP is know for high mountain peaks (60 3700+m peaks), high roads (3713m summit), and animals. We normally see deer, elk, marmots and many others. In addition, if you're lucky you may spot a moose. We were very lucky We started out driving across the winding Trail Ridge Road to the west side of the park looking for moose. We stopped at a small pond and found a female moose in the center of the pond. After a short walk we came across a large male as well as a young moose. As I said, we were very very lucky! After watching the mother run with her calf, we headed back to the car and up to the top for lunch. After lunch and sunscreen (very important at high altitudes) we set off to do a little hiking. The girls walked up a path well above timberline and climbed on a large boulder with an amazing view all around. Hiking at high altitude is tough work and we were all huffing and puffing when we got to the top. After we climbed down, we headed back to the car to spot more wildlife. We saw marmots, elk and deer on our drive as well as all of the beautiful scenery. After a full day in the park we stopped at a grocery store to pick up food for dinner and headed home. The highlight of our evening was watching the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. We all cheered the Spanish and American teams, and sang along with Paul McCartney. 

Long's Peak (4,346m)

The lower section of Trail Ridge Road

Female moose

Male moose

Elena and the moose

A pica

Standing on top of the world

The hike down, much easier than up!

Elk

High altitude flora

Underground Colorado!

I think we are finally getting to Elena....she is definitely worn out (proof later)! Today's adventure took us underground twice. Our first stop was to Cripple Creek in central Colorado to visit the Molly Kathleen gold mine. Mining is a huge part of our state's history. With our mountains come gem and minerals riches. The Molly Kathleen mine dates from the late 1800's and was a very successful gold mine. To get into the mine, you first must descend 1000ft. (300m) straight down via an open cage elevator! The ride down takes 2 minutes and is in almost total darkness. Inside the mine we were shown how miners blasted the rock and transported the ore to and from the mine. We learned quite a bit, and appreciated the cool (54 F or 11 C) temperature on a hot day. After our mine tour we headed to Manitou Springs (west of Colorado Springs and where the devastating fires were this summer) to visit Cave of the Winds. These caves are a large complex of underground caverns discovered in the late 1800's and opened shortly thereafter to visitors. The original tours lasted 9 hours, but now can be accomplished in only one. We saw stalagmites, stalactites and many other rock formations inside. While not as deep as the mine, we were still far underground and very cool. The girls also enjoyed a thrill ride here similar to a zip-line, except that they were 500 ft (150m) above the ground! Our day ended with an all-American dinner at home. We enlisted Elena to help shuck corn and make the hamburger patties. After dinner we all enjoyed apple pie a la mode.  

The girls at lunch

Part of an old gold mine

The elevator 1000ft (300m) down into the mine

Mining tools

Deep underground

Mike our miner/guide

Proof we are wearing Elena out

Near Cave of the Winds

Cave of the Winds

Elena and some interesting rock formations

Elena helping with dinner