Thirteen of us drove up to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park this morning and took about a 4½-mile hike around the lake. It wasn't a strenuous hike, but the first quarter-mile was uphill, and we're still not used to the altitude. In fact, we were at almost ten thousand feet when the hike started, about two thousand feet higher than Estes Park, where we're staying.

I'm sorry to say I didn't see any wildlife while I was hiking. That's because I was concentrating on my footing the whole time. The only real problem I had was trying to keep from slipping downhill on the loose rocks. We took about an hour and a half to cover the distance, but after all there were thirteen of us and a wide range of ages and physical conditions. I think I held my own.

We spent the afternoon relaxing, playing pool, talking, getting ready for the baseball game at Coors Field. Because of the fires all over this area, we weren't sure when we left what route we'd be able to take into Denver, or how long it would take. We ended up going through Boulder and taking a couple of hours, but we were still at Coors Field three hours before game time.

So we drove around, looking for a place to sit down for an early dinner, but there were no likely places to be found close to the park. We just parked in the Coors Field lot and walked up to the stadium. We were among the first cars there, but they stuck us a mile out into the lot. It was a long walk back to the entrance gates. (We should have taken the courtesy shuttle.)

We had dinner at the Sandlot, a restaurant inside Coors Field. After we found our seats, Eric and I toured the ballpark. We found it quite beautiful, although we are of course partial to Pacific Bell Park. Still, the concession stands in Denver are more easily accessible than those in San Francisco, and the sound system is superior. Other than that, we'll take the home field, with Coors a close second.

The game was good - well-played, with a comeback by the home team that fell short. We were surrounded by fans of the visiting Astros, from a church group on a bus trip. We also met a lovely older couple from Vermont there. The ushers are so friendly that it's like walking into a meeting of Wal-Mart greeters, each trying to outdo the other.

It was another long night, though, after a very long day, and I was ready to retire when we landed back at the house at 12:30 am.