YMCA 2

Hi Everyone

Since our training and work began this week, this blog will probably go to weekly or when time allows us to work on it.

We have bicycled Estes Lake but have yet to completely circumnavigate this body of water.  The times we have gone, have been great.  The last time was Monday during the holiday.  Lots of wildlife to see and the stopping to chat with others exercising either biking, kayaking or walking and photographing the wildlife, has made the full trip around the lake impossible thus far.  Here is a mother Elk feeding the fawn at an edge of the lake.  Recall those warning signs previously posted?

 

 

We've have had many interesting conversations with locals in the area.  One example was a local resident that was coming out of the water using an inflatable kayak.  We must have spoken with her for about 30 minutes about her kayak.

We failed to mention previously that our campground is bordered by the Big Thompson River as seen here.

  

The spots that back into the river are booked almost a year in advanced and are considered premium sites.

One of the many treats around camp, was the birth of a baby Elk.  It was born on a concrete pad of a gazebo from a park across the river from our campground.  The mother, walks across the river and strong currents to feed on our side leaving the baby alone but under her constant watchful eye from the other side of the river.  We were concerned about their well being since they were gone for a couple of days.  Today (Wednesday) we were treated with their presence once again.  We were able to witness mom walk across the strong currents as if they were not even there.

 

Since Memorial Day, we have started working and training.  We have learned so much about photography and specially taking pictures of subjects like individuals, large families and groups that is amazing.  What a difference from photographing landscapes and or wildlife.  Managing the lighting is the key!  Learning to setup the studios with the lamps and troubleshooting functionality has been a blast.  Learning how to pose these families is not only challenging but mind boggling learning what goes into it.   Saturday morning we have our first large group.  A family of 14 is scheduled.  We're looking forward to the challenge.

Here are some scenes we have to deal with on our daily trip to work:

Inside the YMCA campus, we climbed one of the mountains to see the cabins available and the view from there

Leaving the Y and right at the gate and intersection of the highway we find this buck

Today Friday, we're off and heading to Loveland, CO where the nearest Ford dealership is at.  A few days ago our dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree.  Every warning light and message came up unexpectedly.  Loss of power was evident as well as a huge decrease in mileage.  Engine did not crank for a short period of time as well after having it shut off.  The next day the truck behaved as if nothing had happened.  By this time an appointment had already been made with the local Ford.  We need to be in Loveland at 0730 am.  It is a 35 mile ride from Estes Park.  Leaving the park early this morning we find these a few spots away from ours:

We just returned from Loveland Ford.  They found the problem in the CAN (Controller Area Network).  It had shorted due to acid build up on the lines causing a short.  The controller was replaced and thank goodness for warranty.  Otherwise it would have caused a $423.00 shortfall.