It's a quiet Sunday morning here in the mountains--except for the wind. Not content to shake the snow from the trees, the wind got its sculpting tools and shaped and formed everything it could touch. Not satisfied apparently, it took its huge forehand and backhand and smacked the rest of the snow to smithereens. The temperature has warmed and we are up to the fifties at midday. Very nice. Good melting and you can almost hear the trees slurping the last long drinks they will get before winter freezes over. Here's the best. Last night was Halloween in Estes Park.
We have never been here for this holiday so when Lee, Mare, Joe and Mary Jo said let's go, we enthusiastically accepted. We weren't too sure of what to expect, but when they told us we'd walk the town like everyone else, we bundled up and arrived downtown about 5:00. Trick-or-Treat starts at 5 and ends at 9. The little kids begin and as it gets darker, the ghouls and ghosties get older. The "growns" are parading all the time! We arrived and walked down to Elk Horn Ave where we saw firetrucks, police cars, and an ambulance in the middle of the street and blocking side streets. Not to control crazy celebrants, but to block traffic from the downtown street AND to serve as more Trick-or-Treat stations. It was crazy wild fun. Every merchant gave out candy AND most had their doors open because inside the shops they had made haunted walkways. The Trick-or-Treaters ranged in age from months to octogenarians or better. I could go on and on. We roamed the streets taking pictures, laughing, talking with friends for about an hour and a half. The cold drove us back to our car and on to Mary's Lake Lodge for dinner. It was such a great event. I have posted (way too many) pictures and if you don't get a notice, let me know. I couldn't cull down any farther, so just flip through them, but wanted to give you a feel for the magic of the event. So...think about friends and loved ones who are only memories now. Today is the Day of the Dead. Raise a toast, be toasty...know we love you all. From the Mountains...
