Isabella's getting better about keeping herself entertained. I actually managed to get a fair amount of the packing done while keeping an eye on her. If I'd known Bill's shoes and the hiking bowls were so entertaining, I would have got them out earlier!The flight out went mostly OK, although we were late leaving. Bill was afraid we'd get some cranky person next to us (all Frontier airplanes are three and three) but we had a very nice grandma-type with a professional singing voice, so Isabella got her very own lullabies. The nice lady said she'd send us a tape, too! We did have 10 minutes of uncontrollable wailing (sigh) and then she passed out on my chest. She did the funniest thing - she would push herself back (eyes still closed), wail and thrash her head around, then just collapse, foomph, back onto my chest.
She woke up for the luggage collection and car-getting. Fortunately, this time we didn't have to wait for an hour (!) for the luggage, although it took us awhile to find the car seat because it came out in a different place. They were out of regular cars, so we got the "high-end" muscle car with very uncomfortable bucket seats and a head-ups display. Fortunately, our stuff plus the kid did fit in the car, just barely. Isabella screamed her way out of the airport, but managed to fall asleep after about 10 minutes. I don't think she really woke up when we transferred her to the bed.
We stayed at the Super 8, which is sort of your generic hotel. For once I found myself wishing she would wake up! She actually slept pretty well, only waking up a couple times. But she did sleep in until 8:30 or so. Fortunately, we weren't in a big hurry. Bill, of course, was so happy that for once I wasn't rousting him out of bed and telling him to get going! We had a nice conversation in the morning with some folks who were very impressed by Isabella's ability to pick up cheerios and put them in her mouth.
After shopping and looking for a hat to replace the blue baseball cap (we found one, but it's still a bit big) we went down to the only drive-in campground that doesn't have RVs, Long Peak. We had a pretty decent view out over the edge, but it got a bit hot in the sun. Here we are trying to do two things at the same time, get sun block on the baby and, well, empty out the other end. It is HARD to get sunblock on a wiggly squiggly baby without getting any in the eyes. We also had to cover her bald dome, which was surprisingly difficult because, while she doesn't have a lot of hair, she does have enough to soak up the sunscreen. We had both a stick and a tube of sunscreen; the stick was easier to get where we wanted it to go, but the liquid tube was a lot easier to cover large areas.
We did a hike that afternoon, up Estes Cone (about 3.2 miles out and the same back, 1500 feet elevation gain). Isabella did pretty well in the carrier, although she got a bit cranky after being in it for awhile. I think we got her in somewhat sideways that time.We had a short stop for a water break. The Camelback is a big hit with the little folks, as are the crackers.
We got back a bit late, so ended up having dinner in the dark, which was not a lot of fun. Isabella did pass out pretty quickly, though and *gasp* slept until sunrise. I don't think she moved a muscle for the entire time. We put her in this purple fuzzy suit, meant for a 12 month old, and I tried to put her in the sleeping back. She kicked it off as she was falling asleep, so I just let her be. Didn't seem like she was cold. I put the bundle me sheepskin cover from the car underneath her as a therma rest.
I yet again found myself wishing she would wake up! I managed to boil water for tea and coffee and have breakfast before she woke up. Found out that she can keep herself entertained with the dirt and rocks while sitting on her potty. Also found out that getting ready to go anywhere takes twice as long when one of you has to hold the baby.
We did eventually get everything packed up and headed off for another hike out of the campground, this one Chasm Lake, although we only made it to the pass. It's hard going carrying a sloshing child in a carrier. Especially when she wants to stop every hour or two to nurse and pee. We poured as much water in her as possible, due to the altitude.
We turned around a bit before the lake, since we were feeling beat and we wanted to make sure we made it back down. On the way up we kept passing and being passed by a group that were out for a backpacking trip. They were very kind and gave us some water (despite bringing four liters...) which made for a more comfortable trip back down. Unfortunately, while the two brothers leading the trip were doing well, the other members of the party bailed at the pass (!) and so they all ended up walking back down after getting to the top with their heavy packs!So we made it back with plenty of time to have dinner, but someone didn't want to go to sleep. We hung out with the next door neighbors for a while, and Isabella munched her way through (and wore) half of an oatmeal cookie. I don't know if it was that or the altitude, but she just would not go to sleep, despite walking (several times) and nursing. As soon as I lay her down on the sheepskin she would wake up and start screaming. I tried nursing while lying down (hard, because I didn't have enough of a pillow to put my head on) but she just wouldn't. So I finally ended up hauling her up into my lap and nursing her to sleep, then laying us both back down on the thermarest, with my arm under her head. I did this more times than I can count. And we have the 3/4 length, narrow thermarests. Which doesn't leave a lot of space for me and baby. By the end of the second night I got pretty good at getting the sleeping bag out of the way (so I could pull it over my shoulder), getting the silk liner somewhere that I could reach it and pull it over my arm, get her down while still latched and not roll off the thermarest, and get my makeshift pillow pile (which included her baby sleeping bag) under my head and the bundle-me (which she wouldn't sleep on) under my arm so it wouldn't get cold. All in the dark. Sigh.
She did, however, fall asleep in the carrier several times. Sometimes quietly, sometimes with lots of screaming. It was about the only time I could get her hat on, since she kept pulling it off. We have a sun shade for the carrier, but it doesn't work very well when she keeps peeking around the side to check out all the people on the trail.The next day we did Bear, Nymph, Emerald lake, probably the most popular hike in Rocky National Park. It was like LA at rush hour. But it was very pretty, and nice and short. We stopped frequently and just kind of hung
out, since that seemed to make our passenger a bit happier. Of course, we decided to take the long way back via another lake and Alberta Falls, which actually was pretty nice because there were a lot fewer people on those trails. We still did make it back before dark. We stopped by the falls for awhile where Bill took lots of pictures of an inquisitive chipmunk and tried to get a picture of this wacky bird that was jumping into the water, sometimes over its head, and popping back out again further downstream. No, it was not a penguin, but some sort of starling.We took the shuttle bus back. There were no more seats, and the driver kept insisting I move back (I was holding the baby and leaning against the only place I could lean against). It's a sad comment on America that the nice Japanese grandmother gave up her seat so I could sit down next to the row of twenty something women. Grandpa spent the bus ride keeping Isabella entertained.
Found out we can keep her entertained by letting her play with the tent. Which made making dinner a bit easier. She went to sleep just long enough for me to eat dinner, then she woke up again and we went back through waking up every couple of hours, although not as many times as the night before.For the last day we did a very easy hike in Wild Basin, basically climbing up alongside the river. Then we hung out and played in the dirt and with the water for awhile. A group of ladies came by and volunteered to take our picture, so we finally have a family shot.
We had plenty of time to take showers, which was a good thing because there was a group going through them and we had to wait for awhile. We managed to get Isabella sponged off a bit by me holding her in the shower with Bill's help. She still looks a bit white on top from all of the sunscreen soaked into her cradle cap.
On the flight back we were delayed going out, and of course Isabella just refused to go to sleep. Fortunately, she got most of her screaming out in the terminal, and was relatively quiet for the 45 minutes we sat on the tarmac. It was a really bouncy take off - we were slung around due to turbulence for about 15 minutes. Guess who passed out while we were bouncing around...Got back at 1:30AM, and she slept until 10:30 the next morning (well, she woke up several times, but didn't actually get up until then). So I got to sleep in too. I don't think she did more than wake up for a few minutes when we transferred her from my carrying her to the car seat then in to bed.
All in all, I feel much more sanguine about attempting a real backpacking trip. We just have to remember that it takes twice as long to do anything, and we have to stop every hour or two to let Isabella out (otherwise, she gets cranky!)
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