Day 9: Boulder to Estes Park

I could not wait to get out of Boulder!  Before we headed out of town I wanted to visit two places:
Celestial Seasoning Tea Tour

It was really a fun tour and was FREE!  The tour took us on the factory floor to see how tea bags were made (no photos allowed).  My favorite part of the tour was the Peppermint Room; such a strong smell your eyes would burn a little!  It was worth the time and unlimited samples of any of their teas.  Next stop was the Leanin' Tree Museum of Western Art . . . 

. . . while it wasn't my style of art it was very well put together, and I really enjoyed the outside sculpture garden.  My dad was loving every second of this place.  Again this was another free museum around the corner from the tea tour and worth a visit.

It was on to our next stop of Estes Park.  We arrived in town and had lunch at Poppy's . . . very good salads and sandwiches.  Our stomachs were full and it was time to head out to Rocky Mountain National Park to explore!  Colin was SO excited when we saw snow . . .

I was happy to get out of the car and soak up the beauty of the mountains and the cool crisp air . . .

 We spotted a herd of elk and just had to stop . . .

They were amazingly beautiful and luckily none of the people scared them or chased them.  Colin snapped this one as we drove by them; I was just hoping they did not slip off the edge of the cliff and fall on our car!

We continued to drive around the Trail Ridge Road until we arrived at the Alpine Visitor's Center so Colin could turn in his Junior Ranger booklet.  Well for the first time ever he 'failed'!  LOL, the park volunteer today him he wasn't ready since he could not answer all the questions (I could not answer some of the questions!).  I was shocked especially since they gave him the book for 10-14 year old kids; he is only 8.  He was upset but got back to work determined as ever . . .

. . . and he finally earned his 5th (and final) Junior Ranger badge of this trip; so glad as it was stressing me a little bit too!  It was back to town for dinner at The Grubsteak Restaurant and dessert at Hayleys.  Both were tasty.  Earlier in the day Colin spotted Tiny Town Miniature Golf.  It was late but NO wasn't working.  He was given a choice of swimming or golf so off we went to play golf.  It was the best deal to play 19 holes for only $3!  We had a lot of fun.  It wasn't the fanciest place but it was family owned for over 50 years and the owner was so nice.  We all made a hole in one of the 19th hole and each received a coupon for a free game . . . guess I know where we will return tomorrow!