Leaving the Y

Another update on Gracie's basket

Josh bags Eagle Cliff Mountain

A great climb from the Y (I made it in 2007). About 900 feet from the base to the summit.

Last full day at the Y

We've checked off just about everything on our to-do lists, so today will be a relax and do whatever you want kind of day.

View of Longs Peak, highest point in the national park, from the Y.

Sweet Memorial building

Buying trail patches to commemorate this   morning's assault on the various lake trails.

Craft Day 3

Kelly and Katie and their silk painting projects.

Update: Gracie's basket

RMNP

We drove into the national park today.

Kim, Katie, Kelly and I walked around Bear Lake:

Kelly and I went a half mile up to Nymph Lake:

And Josh made the 1.8 mile, 600-vertical -foot climb to Dream Lake and Emerald Lake (elevation 10,080):

Bob and Tony's

We checked off another item on the to-do list: Bob and Tony's, which we've been patronizing for about three decades (and possibly four; LyAnn and I can't remember if the family ate there in the 70's).

Hermitage Cabin

No apologies for the cabin not being straightened up for these photos -- we came here to relax, not to prepare for a Better Homes and Gardens photo shoot!

Archery

Craft Day 2

Ceramics have been fired. Mine on the left, Kim's on the right.

Kim starting a basket for Gracie. Yes, she is making a basket for the cat.

Josh working on a tile mosaic project.

Katie and Kelly starting silk painting projects.

Bible Point

Katie and Josh made the 600-foot climb to Bible Point early Wednesday morning.

Admin building

Those of you who were here in years past may recall that a street with parking for guest check-in used to run in front of the building. Two years ago they turned it into a nice pedestrian plaza.

Early morning panoramic view

Broad-tailed hummingbird

These hummingbirds are a constant presence here; you hear them all the time, as their wings make a loud trilling or whistling noise when they fly.  I was focusing the camera on this landscape view, and suddenly one of the birds appeared a foot in front of the camera, hovering and looking right at me. Unfortunately, I was too startled to push the button at that exact instant, but I caught him flying away.

Jellison Library

Josh enjoying the library at the Y, another required stop at every visit.

Museum

A mandatory visit is the Dorsey Museum at the Y. This is a reconstruction of one of the Y cabins, circa 1949.

Refreshment break in Admin building

Arts and crafts day

Perhaps my artwork will look better after it is fired in the kiln? This is Hyde Chapel, built the year I was born, in front of Ypsilon Mountain.

Anyway, I nailed the "Y" in the mountain.

Ypsilon Mountain

Here's one of the views I most look forward to; the signature geographical feature of the Y: Ypsilon Mountain. Named after the Y traced in snow. At the bottom of the Y is a snow pattern that someone noted looks like a dove in descending flight.

And from my Adirondack chair on the front porch of the Admin building:

Belated first blog post

We arrived at our cabin about 6pm Sunday; after getting settled in, I was too tired to blog anything. Also, the cabin wireless signal is almost non-existent, so I'll only be able to post when I'm in one of the main buildings as I am at the moment.

Our cabin is called "Hermitage", and the sign  directing us to it helpfully had our name on it! (just a coincidence, the cabin donors were Joneses from Missouri). 

Here's the front of the cabin; I'll have more info on it later. It's much bigger than it appears here.

And part of the view from the porch: