. . . work, that is. Blogging is only occasionally a grind, and when it feels grindy, I can just throw up a link with an Instapunditesque "heh" or "indeed."

Estes Park was a lot of fun. Gratuitous kid/nature pics follow.

We'll start with a view from the aerial tramway up the mountain:

Up at the top, there were great views, along with ravening hordes of eerily bold chipmunks who would eat peanuts out of your hand. Or out of the hands of children, if you were so inclined. Abby and Elaina contributed to the delinquency of the chipmunks:

Later in the week we hiked. 1.1 miles doesn't sound too far — until you realize that you are hauling kids along, and you're at a significant altitude, and you're maybe not as thin as you were in high school and are hauling the equivalent of a fourth-grader around your midsection. But the views were worth it:

Fortunately for me, there was plenty of natural beauty visible from the balcony. A large gathering of elk hung out by a stream about a hundred yards away:

We also took a pontoon boat out on Estes Lake. It's a rather small lake, but the views were still grand:

Elaina, realizing that I would be piloting, took appropriate precautions:

There were several kiddie amusement parks in town. The slide was a hit:

Elaina decided to ride with me on the bumper boats . . .

. . . with predictable results.

We spent a short, expensive time at a stocked fishing pond. Man, they're clever. Use of the facilities and use of rods and bait are all free. You just pay for the fish by the inch — and no throwing back. So I'm out there trying to help irritable kids catch fish, and generally posing no threat to any fish unless I fall in. Then a nice young man who helps run the place comes over and engages the kids in chatter and helps them bait their lines and cast and before I know it Evan has landed four fish — four fish costing about $60, before tip. What a racket.

And, of course, there was plenty of just hanging out and eating. Here Evan Godwinizes s'mores . . .

. . . and Elaina rides around the campfire.

It was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a restful vacation. But it was fun.

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