In Maryland, spring could also be unpredictable, with a few temperature fluctuations here and there. "Unpredictable spring weather" brought on a whole new meaning this May in Denver, however. A winter storm watch was issued for the weekend my parents arrived, which means yes, it was SNOWING for the first two days they were here.
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| Ahh, May in Denver. |
Fortunately the tornado and hail storms didn't arrive until after they left (I'm not kidding, that actually happened for about a week straight in the afternoon.) Even with the snow and chilly temperatures, we had a blast enjoying the museums of Denver, although at the Science & Nature Museum we were joined by two to three hundred small children with no concept of personal space.
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| Denver Art Museum |
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| Parking a spaceship at the Denver Science & Nature Museum |
By Tuesday, the sun had finally come out and we spent the day exploring downtown Denver and enjoying the Colorado sunshine I had spent months preaching about to my parents ("It's always sunny here! It's rarely cloudy for more than a day!"). Because the Denver weather looked like this:
...I planned a fun day hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park for the next day. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Bear Lake it was a little more like this:
Even though it was covered in snow and still frozen over, Bear Lake was a fun visit after a gorgeous drive through Lyons and Estes Park. While it would have been great to be doing hiking in more spring-like weather, it was fun to give my parents a taste of Colorado winter! On the way home, we stopped at Lily Lake outside of Estes. It was snowy, but not frozen, plus we saw a ton of elk playing/fighting/frolicking on the side of the road as we drove up.
Once we got back to Denver, the weather improved enormously. Billy was on the way to New York on Thursday for this year's Techstars Conference, which is where he first heard about gSchool (where the Denver adventure began!). The best part about having my parents here has been showing them around the city I've come to love so much. It's crazy to think that just over a year ago, I was telling Billy I wasn't so sure about Denver. Sharing it with my parents, who haven't been to Colorado in a LONG time, was really special and I think I got them hooked as well!
My parents' trip to Denver was also their first foray into the world of AirBnb, which turned out wonderfully. The house they stayed in was super cute and served as a great place to hang out/nap when we were worn out from sightseeing. After dropping Billy off at the airport, we headed out to Red Rocks and made one last stop at the Botanic Gardens on Friday before we had to say goodbye.
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| Mom & Dad in the jungle at the Botanic Gardens |
Now I just have to convince them to move out here once they retire.... :)
