July 4th in Estes Park, CO

We received great recommendations from our camp director at Jellystone Park on where the best place to see the fireworks over Estes Park, CO. We parked on the side of the highway leaving town so we could make a quick get-a-way when the show was over. I held our spot on a small hill starting around 6 PM, while Ben took the children to a park approx. 1/2 mile away to play until 8PM. I met a lot of really neat families. Such nice people. They brought extra sparklers and small-time fireworks for all of the children on this hilltop, which they did not know. It was such a nice sense of generosity and citizen bonding time. Go Independence Day! Ben and I have never been out of the state of Texas for the July 4th celebration before. I have to admit that I was a little sad, but this experience was so nice that it added a new July 4th memory. It was so nice to watch fireworks and need a blanket. Usually we are hot, sweaty, and possibly fighting off bugs. I would take this view and experience over that~ I will say there were some huge mosquitoes, but they were gone when it cooled off around 8: 30 PM.

My heart was full of love when I saw this elderly couple park join the gang on the hill. The lady was too feeble to walk up the hill, so the husband carried her while a stranger grabbed the chairs and set them up. Honestly, a tear started to form. I was so impressed by this couple for still getting out and driving to see fireworks. I haven't had my grandparents both alive on either side in a really long time. It made me think of how my grandparents would respond on this holiday if either grandfather was still alive. Beautiful moment! And, I had to capture it from behind without them knowing about it.

This last photo was taken from our cabin on 7-3-11. The camp director had mentioned that there was a stream of lights coming out of Estes Park into the mountains after the fireworks. We sat out on our front porch of Cindy cabin #3 that night and watched the children play. We happened to notice the amount of cars coming out of town and decided to take a shot lowering the shutter speed. We ended up with this beautiful photo. I love sharing the joy of vacations and photography with my husband. What a great Independence Day weekend! Memories that will last a lifetime!