We took it easy Saturday (we did not request a timed entry pass to the National Park) so we decided to walk the entire downtown, from one end to the other then walk the entire Riverwalk, which runs through downtown. Riverwalk is a planned riverside park that has many sculptures, restaurants and beautiful plantings. There are even trout in the river!This statue of a cowboy dumping water from his boot is dedicated to Jong “Sunny” Lee, a Korean-American who was a servant of the people in medicine. It is located in Tregent Park, which is located at the upper end of the Riverwalk.While waiting for Cathy, Jason decided to take off his socks and “cool his feet”. The water is fresh from the snowmelt upstream.Of course he was Covid compliant!This giant sunflower was located in the middle of a planting by the local garden club.This was just one of many places to sit and enjoy the river. There were a lot of people sitting along the river enjoying the scenery, having lunch, cocktails, etc.We enjoyed a view of the river as it winds through the business district.This would be an excellent kayaking river, but we saw no one in the water. There were several of these play areas along the walk. Jason got a chance to try out the facilities.This is another photo of the river going through downtown. It is amazing the work the town put into developing this walk.Cathy could not resist Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quotation on the block seat “The Earth Laughs in Flowers”.These musical instruments were a gift from the town of Estes Park to honor and recognize the dedicated people who serve the community by volunteering their time and talents. There are a total of four instruments in two locations and they encourage everyone to give it a try.Jason worked his way through all four instruments, but we could not quite make out the tune . . . This sculpture of a Rocky Mountain big horn sheep family is called “Mountain Legacy”. It is located in the center of the street and protected by elk fencing.We crossed under the main street in this tunnel. There were laser lights in the center projecting some pretty neat patterns on the walls, ceiling and floor. The tiles on the pedestrian tunnel were hand painted by community members with the assistance of Peace Jam students. Eagle Rock School, Peace Jam and the citizens of Estes Park worked together to create this project.Across the road, Jason found the remaining two instruments and made more “music”.After a late lunch we made our way to the Stanley, a Grand Heritage Hotel. This hotel was founded by the “Stanley” of Stanley Steamer fame.Jason posed in the lobby with the real deal. Jason seem to be concerned with “how fast” this thing could go. We walked onto the porch and into the gardens at the back of the hotel and spent some time winding through the maze garden. We got lost and wound up at the statue of Stanley himself.Jason is trying to match Stanley’s pose. The maze is the plantings in the background. We still had some time left to figure our way out.Once we found the exit we all agreed we would not re-enter the maze. We walked over to the sculpture pools. Unfortunately the water had been removed and the ponds were dry due to Covid restrictions. This is the same thing we found throughout the area. Most of the water features were shut down. Longs Peak is dominating the background at 14,259 feet. Longs is the only 14’r in the park and a Class 3 climb with lots of exposure near the summit. The shuttle driver almost convinced me I could do it.
We did make it to the local Library secondhand bookstore. It was open very limited hours. I picked up several books including:
Travelling with the Schinglers 