Make that onion soup, chicken soup and salad.... please. Well, I will be the first to write about my Souper Bowl Experience.
 
It all started out on a beautiful winter day in Estes Park. I awoke early, like I do each day, worked on the Outdoor Eyes Website, replied to all the email that I receive and did some photo editing. It was going to be a great day ahead.
 
At about 6:30am, I was finished with some of my work (left a bit when I came back) and got ready for the day. It probably was going to be another cold and windy day, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the day. By 7:30am I was ready to go outside and shovel the new snow that had drifted on to my driveway from the night before.
 
I placed my camera gear in my car, my Gotex® jacket, my fleece jacket, my gators, my gloves, etc. and I was ready. I started out by driving in the Fall River Entrance to maybe see some Elk, Coyote, Big Horn Sheep or any other wildlife. It really didn’t matter if I saw any wildlife at all. In fact it didn’t matter if I even used my camera… because I was out in RMNP and that was all that was important today.
 
Well, after traveling around a bit, no wildlife was to be seen. But that didn’t discourage me. I was off to the Cub Lake Trail. It was a trail that I always enjoyed. I hadn’t passed a single car yet and I realized that maybe it was too early for most people to be in the park…. or maybe, I thought, they were preparing for the BIG DAY! Super Bowl Sunday! For most people in the USA, this was the biggest Sundays of all Sundays! For me, it was just another big Sunday as I have 52 BIG SUNDAYS every year. And since I moved to Estes Park, I’ve had even bigger Sundays! Why, as I started to think about sports, has sports replaced getting in your car and going somewhere to enjoy the great outdoors? The 100” plasma screens have replaced what I experience each and every day.
 
I arrived at Cub Lake Trail and of course, my car was the only car parked at the trailhead. I won’t bore you with my hike, but it was an enjoyable hike. I never get tired of hiking the same trails, I guess the same way that the Sunday sports fans don’t get tired of watching the same football game each Sunday. Off to Bear Lake and photograph on the way up Bear Lake Road.
 
I was happy to find more cars at the Bear Lake parking lot. It made me smile a bit to know that there were other people who enjoy hiking and snowshoeing in RMNP. It really made my day.
 
Well, now on to Souper Bowl Sunday (that afternoon).
 
All my friends know that I don't have a TV and the last time I watched TV was over a year ago. They always ask the same question “How can you exist without a TV?” My answer is always the same “RMNP”. So, since I did like the NY Giants in my past life (when Y.A. Title was their quarterback – I think back in the 1960’s), I decided to go across the street and watch the game…. a major decision in my life. It was like deciding to eat a piece of chocolate cake for desert. It was colder now, so I drove to the restaurant instead of taking the short walk. WOW… I had a lot of parking spaces to choose from. There were 2 other cars in the restaurant parking lot and then I realized that I had NO life for sure! Everyone else was at a Super Bowl party or they had 2 - 100” gas plasma screens with surround sound to watch the game in their home. And the only 3 people in Estes Park that had no place to go or no TV was at the restaurant. But I came to find out later that this wasn’t exactly true.
 
I walked into the bar and had the choice of any seat that I wanted. The game was about to start in about 5 minutes, so I sat right next to the fireplace in a high-back leather chair. Now I realized whose cars they were – the bartender, the waiter and mine.
 
I was served my favorite drink… a glass of ice-water and I started to watch the game. At about 5:30 I decided to have some soup... and then later on, I had some salad. I am a Tom Petty fan, so I enjoyed the halftime event. One of my best friends attends all the games, so I kept looking on the big screen for him and his family, but unfortunately never saw him. That would have really made this day special.
 
Well, my attention span for football and TV is not what it was in the past. With about 9 minutes left in the game, I decided to leave. I had my fill of TV and sitting still watching a screen. I just got up and left. There were 2 other people now watching the game with me, the bartender and the waiter.
 
I guess I really missed the game because of the last 9 minutes. For all you football fans, it was probably very exciting as I was home reading a great kayaking book. I had a great day in the outdoors.