The first priority this morning was just to get up into the park. We started off at Upper Beaver Meadows Trailhead and wandered over into Moraine Park, so I could stretch my legs and Goomz could check out the wildflowers and wildlife. Too many bluebirds to count, a western tanager, and several other birds I had to look up after the fact. (The only species I’ve been able to identify so far has been the steller’s jay... I’m better at plants.) Goomz also got introduced to some of the peaks we might be tackling in future trips!
Sprague Lake is family-friendly, easily accessible from Bear Lake Road, and has a short and well-developed trail around the lake. That’s the perfect recipe for crowds later in the day, but it was still early. I’d never been before, so I figured, what the heck, let’s do it.
For lunch, I took Goomz to Ed’s Cantina. I used to go there with my family, long before the restaurant renovated. It started raining before we’d even gotten through chips and salsa, but I’ve always thought the Estes Park riverwalk was most beautiful in the rain. He loved it!