Daily Didactic
We had only managed to secure a campsite for one night at Moraine Campground, as the weekend was completely reserved throughout the park. We learned that this was because it was "Free Weekend", meaning that the typical 25 dollar entrance fee was waived and most of Denver was here or coming. We got up at the ridiculous hour of 7:00, broke down our tent, and drove to the only "first come first served" campground in the park. We were able to secure a campsite at the sadly recently denuded Glacier Basin Campground. The campground is partially closed as they clear cut the trees due to beetle infestation. Aesthetically challenged or not, we were happy to have a place to sleep in the park.

We had texted a good friend on the drive yesterday asking for advice on hikes and such while we were here. She spent four years in Ft. Collins at CSU just outside the park and had great things to say about it. We had a long shopping list and Brian's foot was still a little gimpy, so we decided to make it a day of urban exploration and shopping. Ft. Collins turns out to be a thoroughly enjoyable college town (and we are big fans of college towns) . We kicked around the old town section for a while, hit the library for a little internet, and then retreated to the long row of box stores and the ilk for some shopping. Whole Foods, REI, and Target, you can just feel Theresa smiling can't you?

Our good friend had also surprised us with the news that another good buddy, her husband who we teach with, had apparently followed us to Ft. Collins and was staying with family nearby. After a phone call or two we found ourselves having an entertaining and tasty dinner with our buddy Scott, his brother Brent, Lisa, and extraordinarily cool young people Ty and Bailey in a restaurant in Loveland. We made a quick stop at Brent's house for some trail and driving advice and then climbed the hill back up to our campsite for the night.

An awesome walk-in site at Moraine Campground, site 117		Our morning neighbors
Pretty view from Moraine campground		Pretty view from Glacier Basin campground
A budding pine cone star		Just a nice shot
Wild irises		Local elk, there are a ton of them around here
The park is also full of beautiful meadows		The architecturally impressive visitors center, which is a national historical building
The entrance to the very touristy Estes Park		Following the river down toward Loveland
The very fun Route 34		Looking up from our table at the Crown Pub in Ft. Collins
If you have never seen someone ride a tiny bike on a skateboard you need to visit this place		Exactly
One entrance to old town Ft Collins		Where there is...
...a lot of...		...very cool...
...art		Theresa doing the storage puzzle after a great, great stop at Whole Foods
The bus after a much needed hour of cleansing and purging		We're really not sure how this sort of thing happens
Awesome surprise hosts and all around good guys, Scott and Brent

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