Rocky Mountain NP...Colorado and everyday life....

Joshuah had a 5 day week back at school, where he had his Senior class photo, for the Yearbook which we will probably never see.  Again another cultural experience.  We could have arranged for a professional photographer to "do" Joshuah's photo shoot like some students did, but instead agreed the school photographer could probably do the trick!
Stuart had a 4 day week, starting on the Tuesday.  He has 16 weeks of school left with 5 days off over November, so a long Semester. His job has changed somewhat at school, so he going with the flow and is his usual adaptive self.
Friday night we had the Hancock's and Smith's over for a barbie and we were fortunate with the weather as the previous night there was a hailstorm.  In some places close to us, it was 2 feet high!!  It wasn't that huge here, but it was quick and intense and the hail was perfect circles.

I really enjoy the company of the Australians who are on exchange.  Tanya, Sharon and I get along really well and I hope the friendship continues, despite the distance, when we're all back home in Australia.
On the Saturday we had another CITEL event...a picnic, to get together, talk about our Summer break and to meet the Americans who are going to Australia for exchange in 2014. Surprisingly, there are only 2 people going on exchange next year.  A married couple from Colorado Springs will be going to Adelaide and a single lady from Denver who is going to Perth. So it was good to meet them, especially the girl going to WA.
Sunday morning Stu and I headed off for a drive.  There is a Peak to Peak Scenic Byway drive we have wanted to do up in the mountains, but of course you can't get up there in winter.  Most afternoons storms come in..thunder and lightning (like Wet Season in the Kimberley)...so it's best to be up there in the mornings.  We drove up to Estes Park...firstly through Black Hawk...a bizarre place heading up the mountains, that is basically a casino town.  The population of the town is around 200, but there are heaps of casinos and hotels which brings the tourists and locals in.

The drive up was lovely,

 and we got to Estes Park, which was heaving with tourists.  There were loads of tourist shops and we picked up lunch here...at "the best burger place in town".  As much as I love bison, I had to try my first buffalo burger and needless to say,  if that was 'the best burger place in town" the others must be shite! And I feel sorry for the bison that gave up his life for THAT burger!
We headed to Rocky Mountain NP,  again in search of wildlife...(we love the wildlife here) and within minutes were not disappointed. The only problem with this photos is, Stuart stalked the animal for a photo and his elfin vision is of no value when he is looking through a camera lens.  He thought it was an elk and we only discovered when we got back to the the house that it was a MOOSE!!

There was a gravel track that we had wanted to take, but had been shut during winter.  It was open now and I can see why it's closed during winter.  It was one way, sheer drops to the side, windy, plenty of switchbacks and warnings about avalanches.  It offered some gorgeous scenery though...

Once we got to the Visitor's Centre we turned left to do the Trail Ridge Drive, and oh my, it was simply breathtaking.  Storm clouds were coming in, there was a bit of rain, but it didn't detract from the absolutely breathtaking scenery.  The Rocky Mountains are amazing!

 It was getting late and there were still quite a few people up in the mountains, eying off some mountain goats.  We looked a bit further ahead and saw all these elk on the side of the road.  You are not supposed to stop in the middle of the road to look at wildlife unless they are crossing as it causes traffic jams (fair enough), so we timed it beautifully to catch an elk bugling to his mates across the other side of the road,

before he made his way in front of the car, (forcing us to stop...first in line!!) Such a privilege to see sights like this!

As the rain came in, we headed down the mountain and saw these on our way out of the park.

Stu liked the look of all the wildlife we had seen, so thought he would hunt them.  So we made our way to the local outdoor shop for Stu to get all his gear! (just joking!!!!)

 That night we had a lovely chat with Kristoffer and Asha, who were in Broome for the weekend before Kristoffer went on his fishing trip to the Rowley Shoals. They showed me the tide coming in, people walking their dogs along the beach, Gantheume Point, boats out in the water, Broome Jetty.  It was such a stark contrast to what we are seeing here.

Monday night, 26th August, we decided to go to Joshuah's school to watch a high school football game. Joshuah had decided to play US football, went to a few training sessions and didn't enjoy it.  After playing (and watching) Aussie Rules, this game can be particularly frustrating. STOP, START, STOP, START!! And some kids didn't even get to go on the field!  BUT, seriously, it was very, very entertaining.  I think I watched about 2 minutes of the game (which seemed to take hours)...and the rest of the time was spent watching all the off field entertainment.
There was the high school band,

 cheerleaders,

 flag girls and..oh, that's right....the football players. 

There was an electronic scoreboard, commentators, 500 coaches (nearly), 600 players (nearly), and parents and students all watching.  The students were all sitting down the front doing chants and arm waving and dancing in collaboration with the cheerleaders.  I felt like I was at Rydell High and expected Danny and Sandy, Rizzo and Kenickie to come walking around the corner!  It was one of those "why I came to America" experiences...so far removed from ANYTHING I had sat through at my kids Junior Sports.  I think they need all the razzamatazz to keep the crowd occupied, coz in my opinion, the football was bloody boring!
 One thing that amazed me...one of the 100 (nearly) Umpires/Referees??? fell over.  There was a hushed silence and once he got up, the players, cheerleaders, and crowd all clapped.  There was not one shout out of "white maggot"....which you would occasionally get at home! :)
So amongst all that, the home team won...Joshuah's school...and every time they scored a touchdown ??, the cheerleaders would do high kicks for whatever score they were on.  They ended up with 40 points, so the girls had had it by the time they did their 40 high kicks.
What really impressed me was the look of fun in the young kids, be it band members, cheerleaders, students in the crowd...they all really got into it and were having a great time. 
Here is a link to a video Stu made of everything but the football!
High school football
The next night there was a "meet the teachers' at Joshuah's High School.  Joshuah is a Senior. We had no idea what to expect and have been to many, many similar nights when the boys were in High School. We were most impressed with this one.  Joshuah is doing weights training, life sports, creative writing, health, psychology and Invertebrate studies.  The health teacher is English and has been able to mention the Ashes a few times to Josh and then to us.  He said it was great to have someone who knew cricket in his class!! I won't go into details about every talk, but needless to say the story about morning sickness from the psychology teacher will be forever embedded in my brain!!
The cheerleaders were on hand to direct parents to the relevant classrooms and we had a few more issues with language. "Can you tell us where the weights room is please?"  "The white room?" "No weights, the weights room"  "The white room?" So I ended up doing the actions of a weight lifter and she got it!!
Stu asked where the Library was.  "The lobby?" "No, the library"  "The Lobby?"  "No, the place where you store books". "Oh, the library!"
Joshuah has signed up for basketball, which is a winter sport, so he'll only get a few games in, but there is training 3 nights a week which is great for him....in the weights room (white room) and then in the gym practising basketball.  It's a good way for him to meet people and to keep active.
So another eventful week.  The weeks are going pretty fast now , we are enjoying being able to go on roads that are only open during summer.  before we know it, the snow will arrive (it can't come soon enough for Stuart) and it will be back into the snowboarding!