Our Rocky Mountain adventure began on Sunday, June 18 - Father's Day Sunday.  We had 9:00 a.m. flight to Denver - a non-stop flight, too, that would get us there before noon. 

We arrived at Sky Harbor Airport at 7:00 a.m., with three suitcases, two backpacks, and a large duffel bag crammed full of hiking gear - two bags per person, our luggage limit.  Once we were checked in, we made our way through security and waited at our gate for our flight.

Our flight to Denver, on Ted (part of United Airlines), was short and uneventful and on-time; we landed just after 11:30 local time.  After retrieving our bags off of the baggage carousel, we took the shuttle out to the rental car facility to pick up our car.

Now, we could have easily gone with just a mid-sized car and been perfectly comfortable; but since this was a hiking vacation - and we had a lot of hiking gear with us - John decided to upgrade us...to a Chevy Suburban.  It wasn't an SUV, it was a land yacht!  But at least we were able to fit all of our luggage in the back!

Once we had our rental car, we started on the road to Greeley, which was about a fifty miles outside of Denver, off of US 85.  By the time we arrived, though, it was still too early to check into our hotel, so we stopped instead for lunch and talked about what to do in the meantime.

"I got it," John said.  And with that, we got back into the land yacht and started driving.  We drove an additional fifty miles, until we reached Estes Park, the beautiful mountain town that sits at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park...

...and as we entered the park for the first time, Mary and I were completely in awe by the magnificence of the Rocky Mountains.  We were surrounded by purple-gray, snow-capped mountains and wide, green meadows and sparkling lakes and creeks and tall, majestic pines.  There were animals everywhere we looked: squirrels, chipmunks, birds both large and small, and even deer grazing at the side of the highway.  It was just like being back in Glacier National Park again.

Since we had a couple of hours yet until we could check into the hotel, John suggested that we do a little hike - a half-mile hike around Sprague Lake, just off of Bear Lake Road.  John had spent some time at Sprague Lake during one of his first few business trips to Greeley; he had taken the afternoon off to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and to do a little hike. 

The hike around Sprague Lake was on a short, paved trail that completely encircled the lake.  It was heavily used - in fact, on that particular day, the lake was packed with visitors.  There were even people out canoeing on the lake, and there were children playing in the cool water near the shore. 

When we reached the other side of the lake, where the children were playing, Mary took off her shoes and joined them.  She played with another little girl who was probably a year younger than her; her name was also Mary!  We were delighted that someone else besides us had used a traditional name for their child!

After Mary was done playing in the lake, she put her shoes back on and we continued our hike.  Along the way, we came across a family of ducks, swimming in the reeds near the shore.  The mother duck was off in the trees, probably looking for food, and the three ducklings were swimming near the shore, trying to stay in the reeds but every now and then venturing out a few feet to check things out.  John stopped and took pictures of them, while Mary and I watched them with fascination.

We finished hiking around 3:00 in the afternoon.  Though the day was still young and we weren't tired, we decided to leave Rocky Mountain National Park for the day and head back to Greeley, to check into our hotel. 

We arrived at the Country Inn & Suites around 4:00 p.m. and checked in.  We were delighted to learn that we were getting a suite, instead of just a regular room; it was all that they had available.  Apparently, we were lucky to have been able to book a room at all, because everything in Greeley was booked solid due to the Greeley Stampede, the annual rodeo that would be taking place later in the week.  It wasn't like we had to be convinced to take the suite, though; the room worked well for us.  It was a two-room suite, with a hide-a-bed in the front room and a separate bedroom with a king bed.  It was perfect!

Once we were settled, Mary and I announced that it was time to take John to dinner - it was Father's Day, after all.  John accepted our invitation and suggested that we go to the Applebee's where he normally goes whenever he's in Greeley for business.  As an added bonus, they were giving away free desserts to all fathers that day, so we all got to share a delicious piece of raspberry cheesecake after our meal.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel and settled in for the night.  John had a busy day ahead of him in the morning, so it was important to get lots of rest...

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