Our friends, Ellen and Richie, who we had known in Connecticut and had retired to Florida 5 years ago, came for a visit before heading off to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. We hadn't seen them in 2 years so it was a big treat! They had never been to Colorado before so they were very excited. Ellen loves the outdoors and nature while Richie is strictly golf, work out at the gym, talk on the phone, and watch TV sort of guy. So, we didn't know what to expect…could he live without TV? We don't have a TV here in Estes Park. The night before they arrived, Richie called to even find out if there was a TV rental place in town! "NO TV" was the only answer Richie was going to hear.
 
They arrived on Thursday by noon and were raring to go as soon as they saw the view driving into Este Park. They could not believe the beauty of their surroundings. They quickly unpacked and we headed out for a picnic lunch at the Alluvial Fan. It was a gorgeous day…warm and breezy. They couldn't wait to see "wildlife" and were treated to some chattering from the Stellar's Jay and the scurrying around of the chipmunk and Gold-mantled Ground Squirrel. So far, so good! We thought a drive up Trail Ridge Road would be perfect. We stopped at most of the stops along the way. The Clark's Nutcracker played amongst the rocks. The marmots were sunning themselves on the rocks. They even got into a little play scuffle while we watched. Then a little baby marmot came out to see what was going on. In the distance, a herd of elk was lying on the tundra. At the next stop they viewed the Pikas hurrying through the rocks carrying grasses to their home for the winter while we walked up to the lava rocks…a little huffing and puffing there. We drove back into RMNP and decided to take a quick drive down to the Cub Lake Trail Head. Wow, a coyote walked right next to the car. It never fazed him that we were there. Not bad for a first day in the park!
 
Friday we all hiked up to Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes and they did quite well. It was just beautiful. We thought that Sprague Lake would be a great place for a picnic lunch. As we were sitting there, Ellen started pointing but couldn't get the words out…there was a moose about 20 feet away, munching on the willow branches. He looked like a young moose and started to walk toward us. We photographed as much as we could and then backed away. Wow! A moose at Sprague Lake! It was very cool. So far, Richie hadn't complained about no TV yet…he was totally enthralled with how much there was to do and see in Estes Park. They couldn't believe the magnificence of everywhere they looked. Driving home, we saw about 8 elk lounging in someone's front yard…that really made their day. We always talked about it but they never thought they'd actually see it.
 
Saturday we parked at Bear Lake and hiked up to Alberta Falls. They couldn't believe all of the running water in the park…from rivers, streams to waterfalls. Alberta Falls was the most exquisite thing they'd seen so far. It was fun to see how excited they were…especially Richie! We climbed all over the rocks and took it all in. We were trying to give them a smattering of many different places so we headed off to walk at Lily Lake and then to Lake Estes for another picnic. We love to picnic! It was another gorgeous day. We stopped at the Estes Park Museum so they could learn a little about Estes Park's past and Kate gave us a warm welcome. They loved the Stanley Steam Engine and pictures of old Estes Park. The Heritage Festival was in town so it was fun to take that in as well as do a little t-shirt shopping with Ellen. "Gotta have a t-shirt from Colorado". We even printed out a discount coupon from the Enjoy Estes Park website. Then it was home to pick up our picnic dinner for the John Denver Tribute Concert in the evening. This was a perfect culminating activity for all of us. It was a great concert, or I should say 3 concerts. All of the bands were awesome! And we all love John Denver's music so we were enthralled with the magic of the night.
 
Sunday was time to head down to Denver to the convention. Richie couldn't believe that he had made it through 4 days without any TV…yes, he did have a few phone calls and did check his email but never once complained that we didn't have a TV. It was a wonderful visit for us all. It was fun showing them own new home and where we live and to see their excitement every time they turned their heads. They kept saying, "Estes Park IS your paradise."