Rocky Mountain High (In Colorado)   Friday, May 21st, 1999 We left North Denver in the a.m., heading northwest to Estes Park. Experienced a great drive from Loveland along highway 34, up Big Thompson Canyon. Here the Big Thompson River competes with the highway for the limited amount of canyon floor space. In the several narrow sections, Annette felt like the rock walls beside her might scrape off the right-hand passenger side of Harvey (RV). The river rapids were surging with snowmelt, and the water rushed around sharp corners and tumbled on down the canyon. Larry, keep your eyes on the road!   We arrived in Estes Park in a few hours, and setup our rig at the Blue Arrow campground. We have a breathtaking view of Long's Peak (14,255 ft.) out the front window. We look out on the snow-capped front range of the Rockies; lesser mountains surround us. We are parked at over 7,500 feet above sea level, about eight miles east of the continental divide. It is still early spring here. Deciduous trees are just beginning to leaf out. Nights are down to the forties. It snowed here last week.   We are here first to attend the Professors of Instructional Design & Technology (PIDT) Conference that is being held at the YMCA complex about two miles from our campsite. It begins this afternoon and continues through the weekend. We will stay a few days later to catch up on writing and work but also to be joined for a few days by Annette's parents and her sister, Arrion. We will spend some time together celebrating Bill and Nancy's 40th wedding anniversary.   Monday, May 24th Our conference ended this morning. As always, it was a refreshing and stimulating meeting. Over 100 professors from colleges and universities throughout the U.S attended. The best part of the conference was the renewing of old friendships, meeting new people, and the informal sharing of ideas and experiences. In addition, there was plenty of good food and time for recreation. Attendees were given time each afternoon to go on hikes, golf, fly-fish or take a trail ride, and to just enjoy this great outdoor setting. This is a fantastic meeting site, and the YMCA facility seemed excellent. At peak capacity it can accommodate over 3,000 guests.   By now we have the satellite dish setup and connected so that we can tune in to CNN and the weather channel as well as watch a favorite television show or one of the NBA playoff games. We also have the mountain bikes down off the carrier rack on top of our towed-vehicle (toad). We have taken a spin around the campground and the area. This is a great place for wildlife viewing (Photos taken in Blue Arrow Campground). There are magpies, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, deer and elk, and more elk. Last evening, an elk herd surrounded Harvey. Campground personnel told us that the females would be dropping their calves in about two weeks, and shortly afterwards the herd would move up to higher elevations as it warms up here. We feel fortunate to be here at this time of year, to enjoy getting a close-up view of these animals. Don't crowd or spook them, they just want to graze and lie in the warm sunshine. Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 1/99. Updated, 5/99.   Return to Trip Page