A Rocky Mountain Adventure: Part 2 - Fort Collins and Denver

Author

Austin Lee
October 02, 2023

Hello Friends and Family,

If you missed “A Rocky Mountain Adventure: Part 1 - Driving to Colorado” go read it and then come back here.

Our first stop in Fort Collins was to get some dinner after we settled into our hotel. Our good friends The Weavers met us at Otto Pint which was a short walk from the hotel.

Unfortunately…no pictures of that night. But it was so nice to be able to eat outside on Labor Day without sweating to death. Colorado is great like that.

It was in the 50s when we woke up on September 5th, so of course Mills and I had to go outside.

Happy boy in his giant coat! - Fort Collins, CO | 9/5/2023

Austin and Mills enjoying a cool morning. - Fort Collins, CO | 9/5/2023

We spent a LOT of time in Old Town Square while we were in Fort Collins. It is very dog friendly and kid friendly. There is a splash pad right in the middle of the square for kids to play and just about every store is dog friendly.

Mills chowing down in Old Town Square. - Fort Collins, CO | 9/5/2023

You may not know this, but Main Street, USA in Disneyland is modeled after Old Town Square in Fort Collins. It isn’t overt, but I got the sense that it was familiar to me.

It all made sense when someone mentioned that one of the designers of Disneyland’s Main Street, USA was from Fort Collins and used Old Town Square for inspiration.

The view from Explored Market in Old Town Square. - Fort Collins, CO | 9/13/2023

I worked for 6 days while we were in Colorado. My company, BNY Mellon, offers me 10 days each year to “work from anywhere”, so it made sense for us to take an extended trip to Colorado where I was able to work and play in our favorite place. (Okay…tied with Western North Carolina).

Courtney was in the last couple of weeks of her maternity leave. While I worked she was adventuring with Mills and Willow.

Mills taking a nap while Willow plays in the Cache la Poudre River. - Fort Collins , CO | 9/8/2023

Poudre. That word is everywhere in Fort Collins, so let’s talk about it.

I don’t know how it is supposed to be pronounced in French, but in Fort Collins they say POO-der. And yes we giggled every time we heard it.

Mills Meeting Colorado Family and Friends

The highlight of our trip was visiting Courtney’s family to introduce them to Mills. We also managed to sneak in a visit with a good friend from Atlanta who moved to Denver several years ago.

Mills meeting Grammy, his great-grandmother and only living great-grandparent. - Lone Tree, CO | 9/9/2023

Mills with his great-aunt Les. He will just call her Auntie-Les like Courtney does! - Lone Tree, CO | 9/9/2023

Great uncle David told Mills all about the Atlanta Braves baseball team. - Lone Tree, CO | 9/9/2023

Having fun with Grammy! - Lone Tree, CO | 9/9/2023

Grammy, Courtney, and a sleeping Mills. - Lone Tree, CO | 9/9/2023

Just a couple of nights later Mills got to meet his First Cousin Once Removed, Syd, her husband, Justen, and Justen’s dad, Ed!

She may be Mills’ first cousin once removed, but he’s just going to call her “Aunt Syd”. And obviously they are both happy with that arrangement. - Loveland, CO | 9/12/2023

Parenting fail…we forgot to bring a hat for Mills and it got chilly while we were at Ed’s house. Thankfully Ed came to the rescue.

Mills wearing a HUGE toboggan. - Loveland, CO | 9/12/2023

Our good friend Brenae and Mills. - Denver, CO | 9/9/2023

Brenae and her husband have three boys, so when she offered to feed Mills his bottle…we were happy to let a professional show us how it is done.

Fort Collins and Rocky Mountain National Park

Stinson with Mills at a dinner party. - Fort Collins, CO | 9/10/2023

I have a couple of friends from Twitter who live in the Fort Collins/Loveland area. They were kind enough to invite us over for dinner and welcome us to town.

Mills especially loved meeting Stinson Dean because he’s got an epic beard that is even better than mine.

Dinner was fantastic, Mike Mitchell (I didn’t get a picture! Sad!) made some incredible ribs. Courtney was not as enthralled with our finance conversation. (Stinson is a lumber trader and Mike is a former hedge fund partner and currently sits on corporate boards while not working for his wife’s pediatric optometry office.)

Every Tuesday night Fort Collins has food truck night at City Park. And we had a blast both Tuesdays we were in town.

Courtney feeding Mills in City Park. - Fort Collins, CO | 9/12/2023

Willow really wanted to visit the food trucks. - Fort Collins, CO | 9/5/2023

The Weavers really rolled out the welcome mat for us. Just about everyday some contingent of our family spent a couple of hours with their family enjoying everything Northern Colorado has to offer.

Mills with Katie and Emma Grace Weaver. - Fort Collins, CO | 9/12/2023

Courtney with Anna Kate (Emma Grace in the background). - Fort Collins, CO | 9/16/2023

The whole crew! Brad, Katie, Jacob, Anna Kate, and Emma Grace Weaver with Austin, Courtney, Mills, and Willow Lee. - Fort Collins, CO

This was Mills first “real hike” and he had a blast bouncing along the trail while we watched for rattlesnakes.

Our biggest adventure was taking Mills to Rocky Mountain National Park for his first ever park experience.

All of us at the entrance to RMNP. - Estes Park, CO | 9/14/2023

Austin feeding Mills at 11,000’ elevation. - RMNP | 9/14/2023

We drove up a dirt road instead of taking the pavement. (Of course) And found a nice pull off to feed Mills and get some great pictures of him enjoying nature.

Austin and Mills taking a moment to breathe that clear 50 degree mountain air. - RMNP | 9/14/2023

Packing Up and Heading Home

After two weeks of non-stop adventure it was time to go home. As per normal we did laundry before we left.

Austin in the laundromat. - Fort Collins, CO | 9/17/2023

We practiced tummy time together in the hotel before bed. - Marion, IL | 9/19/2023

And we got home on 9/20 after 18 days away just in time for me to fulfill my duties as a board member at an event for The Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta.

Austin at Atlanta Spirit Works. - 9/20/2023

We had an amazing time. Special thank you to Mike and Carolyn Mitchell for welcoming us into your home in Fort Collins and to Brad and Katie Weaver for going above and beyond to show us all of your favorite places in Fort Collins!

We can’t wait to get back to Northern Colorado again!

Until our next Adventure,

Austin, Courtney, Mills, and Willow

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