We were planing on camping this weekend and I was really looking forward to getting back up to Twin Lakes. Unfortunately the weather didn’t look good with lots of rain so we decided to do a day trip instead. It was probably for the best since we need to take some time to get ready for our 8 day trip to Oregon that we leave for on Wednesday.

I had the Western States live stream (still going!) in the morning as we were getting ready to go. It’s really fun seeing these amazing runners give it their all.

We drove a little over an hour to Estes Park to celebrate the solstice. The parking garage was about a half mile from where the festival was being held.

Luckily the walk was super fun along the river.

The Midsummer festival had live music, food, booths and some entertainment. It was fun to see all the people dressed up in their Scandinavian best. It was a bit chilly with rain in the forecast but it was still a beautiful day.

The kids were very happy to get their faces painted.

We shared some yummy food then did a little hike up to the Birch Ruins.

This was a little cabin that was built and then burned down in the 1900s and is right in town.

The views are amazing.

We had such a good time! We also stopped and ate lunch on a patio along the river (food was meh, so I won’t give a recommendation). before heading home.