Our Honeymoon
We spent our honeymoon at a bed & breakfast called Bear Paw Inn, near Winter Park, Colorado. We chose Bear Paw because we wanted to relax and enjoy the precious, uninterrupted time we would have together. And it was wonderful! Here Scott stands in front of the Inn.
The Bear Paw Inn only has two rooms for guests, so it was cozy and quiet, just like we wanted. When we arrived, we discovered that the guests who were to stay in the other room cancelled, so besides the hosts, we got the entire place to ourselves! We stayed in the bigger room, with a jacuzzi hot tub and a private entrance.
We had a comfy queen size bed in our room, which Scott mostly fit on. I don't think we'll say too much more about the bed....
Each morning, we awakened to a three course breakfast. The first course was a delicious, homemade granola with milk. In fact, we enjoyed it so much we got the recipe from the hostess. Now, at home in Washington, we make it regularly for breakfast. If anyone comes to visit, you will certainly get to try some. The second course was a plate of fresh and colorful fruit, as Tracy's about to eat in this picture. Then we ate the main course, either a carb or egg dish. Mmmmm...food is good :)
We ate breakfast outside on the deck of the Inn, with a spectacular view overlooking the Continental Divide. The air was brisk and refreshing, sometimes a little chilly. Fortunately, we had great weather each morning, so we could enjoy the view. "It was something divine that gave us that time, on the divide" (Bebo Norman, musician).
Our host and hostess were Rick and Sue Callahan (not pictured). They were nice, and gave us the privacy we sought. They also gave great advice on fun things to do. We had them take our picture with the view of the Rocky Mountains in the background. So here we are...newlyweds!
When we picked up our car at the rental company, they gave us a brand new one with zero miles. It was clean, and a shiny deep red when we got it. When we returned it, it was rather dusty and broken-in.
We decided one of our activities for the week would be horseback riding, so we signed up for a trail ride. When we got there, it turned out we were the only ones...yay! With our trail guide, we set off on our 2-hour wild west adventure in the mountains, Scott on his horse Pearl, and Tracy on hers, Princess. We encountered the Devil's Thumb, lost the trail we were on, climbed a dangerously steep grade (well, to Tracy anyway), and ran into allergies. It was an enchanting journey.
While we were riding, we encountered several breathtaking views. Here is one of them, although the picture doesn't do it much justice. Why is it that we must interrupt the unforgettable moments of our lives in order to remember them with a picture, when the beauty of the moment is actually in experiencing it?
The names of our horses, again, were Princess and Pearl. Later in the week, while hiking up a mountain called Little Vasquez, we did some storytelling, and came up with a story called Princess and the Pearl. We may even write it down someday, creating our own book inspired by our horseback riding adventure on our honeymoon.
Tracy and Princess, amidst myriad yellow wildflowers (also known as dandelions). Princess loved to feast upon dandelions.
Since we were spending a week out in mountain country, we were sort of hoping to see some interesting wildlife, perhaps a bear or mountain lion (although not too close...). We didn't see either of those, but we did run across a fox, trotting alongside the road.
We had heard some good things about hot springs, so we decided to try them out. We drove to a town that was actually called Hot Springs. When we arrived, it was sort of run down, and we weren't exactly sure where to go. But lo and behold, tucked away in its own little paradise was a spa with numerous hot springs. But paradise was expensive; they charged us about $20 each to experience the hot springs, which were more like outdoor hot tubs that smell of rotten eggs. It was definitely a tourist trap, and probably the only way the town gets revenue. We waverlingly contributed our money, even $1 each to borrow towels because we forgot ours. We came to the conclusion that we'd rather experience hot springs without the spa.
We spent one day of our honeymoon at Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove the trail ridge road, and hiked. Tracy had to go down memory lane and revisit Long's Peak...we, however, did not hike it. Perhaps one day we'll climb that mountain; but until then, we have many more ahead of us.
"The Rockies may crumble...but our love is here to stay." In the lyrics of our wedding song, love can outlast even seemingly permanent mountains. Here we are, in front of a sign describing the Continental Divide. This is the point at which water flows in one of two directions - either to the east, towards the Atlantic Ocean, or to the west, towards the Pacific Ocean. In regards to our new marriage, may we never be divided one against the other, always remembering that "as far as east is from the west, so far has God removed our transgessions from us," and likewise we are to forgive each other.
We hiked up a trail with two lakes, and here is Scott at the first one, Nymph Lake. The lake was an intense dark green color, surrounded by the green of the forest.
The second lake, Dream Lake, was at the end of the trail, where there was snow! For being a short hike (about one mile), the scenery was really very beautiful. It was probably one of our favorite hikes of the week. Yay for Dream Lake!
Hmmmm...Tracy gets cold feet at Dream Lake. What was she thinking putting her feet into water surrounded by snow?! It's not recommended.
On our drive out of Rocky Mountain National Park, the car in front of us quickly put their brakes on, with an arm frantically pointing out the window. As they pulled over to the side of the road, we noticed a large elk not twenty feet away. Being the crazy tourists we were, we pulled a U-ey to get a closer look. The elk was busy eating and had no intention of moving, lucky for us. He was actually very photogenic, posing for about ten different camaras at once, including ours.
Colorado in June is a great time for seeing wildflowers. The colors were beautiful...red, purple, yellow, blue...and every once in awhile, we would see these small white flowers on the side of the road. Their non-scientific name is 'Snow-on-the-Mountain.'
The hosts at the Inn recommended a hike at Monarch Lake. Here is the lake, at the beginning of our hike. But even getting that far was difficult, as we encountered a multitude of mosquitos and other not-so-fun insects. Imagine this...Tracy running with her head ducked down, and arms flailing wildly trying to bat the mosquitos away with her hat. Apparently, Scott thinks it's some sort of mating ritual...
Tracy rests in a natural chair.
This is part of the waterfall to which we were hiking.
Still the same waterfall...
And we finally reach the top! Here is Tracy, with the waterfall crashing down below behind her. The depth perception in pictures isn't quite as acute as in real life.
Delete Tracy, insert Scott.
Every honeymoon has its share of self-photos. Having a digital camara, though, you can try several times to get a decent picture. This was our best one!
Tracy walks across the water, on rocks.
Where's Waldo? Oops...I mean Scott. And can you find the sheep? The troll? Or the needle in a haystack? Wait a minute, there isn't hay in the Rockies...
Diving into a waterfall probably isn't a very smart idea. But the water sure would have felt good after a long hike.
Scott, sitting on the cliff's edge.
Despite all our pictures of hiking, we really did find time to relax in our comfortable room.
The day before we left, we hiked up the Vasquez Creek Trail. We were hoping to get to the top of Little Vasquez Mountain, over 13,000 feet, but with not knowing exactly how to get there or how long it was, we didn't quite make it. But it wasn't wholly futile; this was the hike where we came up with our Princess and the Pearl story, an adventure still in the making.
When we got engaged the previous June (2004) in Winter Park, this was the restaurant at which we ate right after Scott proposed, the Gasthaus Eichler. It's a very romantic, Swiss-style restaurant with some of the best food we've ever tasted, and it holds a special place in our hearts. We returned there on our honeymoon, this time to celebrate the beginning of our marriage.