The Snowy Range

Here are some pictures of the Snowy Range, just west of the Ranch.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Larson and I both had the day off and neither of us had been to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Since we are starting to run out of days of summer, we got up early and drove 2 1/2 hours to the Park.  We spent the morning hiking to waterfalls and lakes, then took the Trail Ridge Road scenic drive, and then ate dinner in Estes Park.  This was a fun trip and well worth the drive, even though we only got to spend a couple of hours there.  I would love to go back and spend more time.  The mountains there were amazing, but I have never been to a park that was so crowded.

Alberta Falls

Larson and I at Alberta Falls.

We were able to get very close to the water; it felt great on such a hot day.

Larson and an elk.

Elk are overpopulated in the Park.  They are also obviously very used to being around humans.  We were only about 5 yards from these elk.  They acted like they didn't even know we were here.

Bull elk.

Nymph Lake.

The Needles.

Snow in the middle of July.

Larson is from Dallas, Texas, so she was excited to make a snowball.

Rainbow trout in crystal clear waters.

Flattop Mountain near Dream Lake.

Dream Lake.

Dream Lake was my favorite.

Larson at Dream Lake.

The mountains above Dream Lake.

No, I was not taking a picture of guys with their shirts off.  There were several people with the ridiculous looking folding beds on their backs.  (or so we thought)

Looks like a refrigerator with legs.

Bear Lake, the most popular location in the park.

The view along Trail Ridge Road, the scenic drive throughout the park.  This road gets up to 12,000 feet and is the highest continuously paved road in the States.

This is Big Thompson Canyon, which you drive through to get to Estes Park, Colorado.

This canyon was so narrow it looks as if they had to force a road into this canyon.   Most of the road is built like a bridge since there is no room on the sides of the canyon.

This is another picture of the canyon.

Cheyenne Frontier Days

Larson and I drove over to Cheyenne Frontier Days to see if we could get tickets to the rodeo.  We were lucky enough to get some.  The cool thing about this rodeo is that they switch events after 5-6 riders.  This was you are not stuck watching one event all day.  We got to see bull riding, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, steer roping, and steer wrestling.  Afterwards, we shopped around at all of the vendors.

Cheyenne Frontier Days Stadium

Saddle Bronc Riding

This guy made it longer than 8 seconds.

Barrel Racing

Bull Riding

Family Reunion - Gulf Shores, Alabama

The morning after Kenny Chesney, Lisa and I flew out to Atlanta, where Dad picked us up at the airport.  We drove down to Gulf Shores, Alabama, where we met the rest of dad's side of the family for a week long family reunion.  We rented a duplex on the beach and hung out at the pool most of the week.

Taylor, Andrew, and Brent, my cousins from Chicago.

Grandma and Grandpa Z

My dad's sister Aunt Susan and my Uncle Gordon

Chicago Zelinski's: Aunt Gretchen, Dad's brother Uncle Scott, Brent, Taylor and Andrew.

Cousins Jessica and Brent and their cute daughter, Nolan.

My dad's brother, Uncle Tod, and his family: Aunt Roslyn, Jessica and Brent, and Nick.

Dad, Lisa and I waiting for dinner at Lulu's.

Awww.

Grandpa Z

Seafood Boil dinner, what a feast!

Strawberry Shortcake for dessert!

The Marina

Lisa, Lexi and I at Lulu's in Gulf Shores.

"Dream Big" Our home for the week.

Several of us took a trip deep sea fishing.  We got caught in a rainstorm, but still were able to limit on our catch.

Lisa, Nick, and Taylor trying their luck.

Dad pulling in a King Mackerel.

The family and our catch.  Most of the catch was Red Snapper.  We caught a couple King Mackerel and Dad caught one black snapper.

I hate to brag, but I DID catch the biggest fish.

Baby Nolan and Uncle Nick.