Choose your path:

It was a dream come true for all of us. After all the plans and all the hopes we put into our vacation together – it all worked out great. The one exception was that one of our group was unable to come with us. Peaches and Cream was obligated to remain here in the valley due to family issues that prevent any travel at the moment. Nevertheless, she wished us well, followed our moves on the Internet and spoke with us as we traveled around my home state of Colorado. We knew she was a part of us in spirit.

DenverI traveled home first on the 4th of July to get my condo in order. The rest of the group arrived on Monday the 6th. It was cool in Colorado which was a real relief from the valley summer heat. We ate dinner together and retired early because the next day marked the real start of the vacation.

Up at 5 a.m., we traveled 2½ hrs to Cotopaxi to begin a full day of rafting on the Arkansas River. The water can be very rough at times and our day was no exception with high river levels and active rapids to navigate. We had decided not to do our own paddling as half the group had never been rafting at all and others had not been in years. Instead we handed our fate to our capable guide Scott who managed to give us a fun-filled trip down the river.

After a full day punctuated by a special lunch provided by the tour company, we loaded ourselves back into the SUV my sister had provided for us and headed to Denver to rest. And rest we did – what a great day it was!!

The next day had a lazy start but we got very busy in the River Funafternoon. We needed to prepare for our late afternoon reception with my family and friends from Colorado who wanted to meet my new friends from California’s central valley and the NFLL. After making appetizers and preparing drinks we welcomed 16 women into my small condo. Lots of conversation, story sharing and friendly introductions followed. We all agreed that we liked each other a lot and would welcome a return trip anytime.

Thursday morning arrived bright and sunny – a perfect day for a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park – one of my favorite places. First we traveled through Boulder – the home of the university – and then into Estes Park for some shopping and snacking. Estes is a beautiful town at the entrance to the park. We continued on Trail Ridge Road over the Rockies amidst some of the most spectacular scenery you could possibly imagine, stopping at Lake Irene near the continental divide for a picnic lunch.

Our next stop was Beckenridge in the heart of ski country. We arrived late in the day, consequently missing our planned trip on the alpine slide, but we managed to enjoy this delightful town with its plants, flowers and rippling creek. We then drove through the Eisenhower Tunnel that cuts its way through the Loveland Pass and continued over I-70, curving our way back into Denver where we had hot pizza waiting for us. An evening of sharing followed and then to bed in preparation for our last full day in Denver.

Breakfast at the local diner started our day and then into Denver proper to visit the famous Molly Brown House. She was quite the character and her home reflects her many interests. Next we took a pre-arranged tour of Denver with Drew as our guide aboard Banjo Billie’s funky bus. We were quite a sight hanging out the windows yelling “yahoo!” to passersby. Drew had so many interesting observations about little-known Denver history that he kept us entranced throughout the entire tour. What fun!

We made a stop at the airport to deliver one of our group who was forced to leave early for a family wedding. We hated to see her leave but family comes first and so we wished her well and returned to Denver.

We had dinner at the famous Wyncoop Brewery across from Union Station. After dinner we walked through Lo-Do to Coors Field where the Rockies were playing the Atlanta Braves. It is a beautiful baseball park that reflects the best of the old-style parks and the best of the new foods and amenities that newer fans demand. Alas, we didn’t get a chance to finish the game due to a lightning delay that forced us to leave early. We arrived home to relax and pack for our departure the next morning.

It was difficult to imagine that after all the planning this vacation was over. We took home many fond memories of our time together – of beautiful scenery, fun-filled activities and new friends. We are the lucky ones in that we had this opportunity to vacation together. We are grateful and we look forward to many more times together – both here in the valley and in distant locations. No matter where we gather, we remain committed friends.