Trekking Thru the Rockies (Tues/Wed, May 29/30)

We left Buena Vista on Tuesday headed for Estes Park, CO - located near the east entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park.  On the advice of the RV park manager at BV, we chose the more scenic route w/ assurances that it was 'mostly downhill.' The first part of the route was not too bad. We passed through the Johnson Tunnel, cutting right through a pretty big mountain.  Once on the other side, the road got a bit trickier.

As we exited I-70, the roads narrowed and we found ourselves trying to navigate back roads, small towns, and sharp turns and curves never meant for RV rigs towing a car. Once we realized this was not going to be an easy route, there was no place to turn around and get back on I-70.

So.....up, down, and back and forth we went.  That new transmission of ours has certainly been getting a workout.  The grade of elevation and descent was about 8% and there were times Dick could not get our speed above 20 mph going up, and the brakes were getting a heck of a workout trying to control the descent.  We were certainly wondering why this route was recommended!!

The route remained consistently stressful throughout the drive, and actually got steeper and rockier as we got closer to our destination.  This shot is taken about 20 minutes from Estes Park. I think we all would classify this as a 'white knuckle' drive - including Cutter.  We did safely arrive in Estes Park yesterday afternoon, and promptly all crashed for a rest.

There are lots of streams rushing through the area, including one at the RV park where we are staying...Cutter is lovin' the water.

You can see one of the streams behind this totem pole....this guy must have been at least 10 feet high.  The Ute Indians were  among the earliest of residents in the area, followed by the Arapahos.  I wonder of they are connected to the Arapahos that settled in coastal Carolina?  I will have to look into that.

Today, we visited Rocky Mountain National Park and drove the Trail Ridge Road, a paved scenic byway that winds through the entire park - east to west entrances - and is the highest continuous paved road in the United States (all 40 miles of it).

The Trail Ridge Road is only open from Memorial Day until early October due to the heavy winds and snow that can produce drifts in excess of 35 feet.  So, our timing was good for visiting - this is the first week it has been opened!  One plague immediately noticeable is the plight of the Mountain Pine Beetles....leaving trees decimated from their infestation.  The park uses 'controlled burns' to manage the dead trees, clustering them into a tee-pee fashion to help manage the fire.  Dead trees, and those ready for burning are everywhere along the road.

The entire road route escorts visitors through a variety of ecosystems, depending upon the elevation.  At the eastern entrance, the elevation is 8,940 feet and rises into the Alpine Tundra region at 12,110 feet where nothing can grow at all.  This shot is in the lower elevations - looking over the road's edge onto meadows thick with grasses, trees and wildflowers.

Soon, we find ourselves in higher elevations where the snow drifts are still high, the winds are easily 50 mph, and the temperatures are close to freezing.  We are in our shorts, freezing and shivering when outside of the car....so, most of my shots are now taken from inside the car!  We did not choose to stop and walk many of the paths.

We are now at 12,000+ feet and into the Alpine Tundra.  The landscape contains nothing but a battered, crusty covering with no evidence of life.  The 'stick' in the middle of the photo is one of many road markers for the snow plows.

This is the Alpine Visitor's Center (11,796 feet) which marks the half-way point for Trail Ridge Road.  The logs on the roof are for protection from the heavy snows that blanket the area. This center has just opened for the season, and the plumbing and pipes are still frozen.  So, the restrooms were fancy outhouses.  Boy, could you feel those cold drafts coming up thru the potty....yikes!!

On the way down, we crossed the marker for the Continental Divide....just one of many times we have crossed that 'wandering dividing line' in our travels.  At least, at this elevation, the temps were warming, so I ventured out of the car to take this picture.

At the western end of the road, we were rewarded by the sighting of a moose.  This pic is fuzzy, but not too bad for my iPhone.  Following a series of enlargements, I was able to grab something you could see....sort of.  Dick's pics with his fancy lenses are awesome.  Once he gets them all edited and 'packaged,' I will share a link for those interested in seeing what a real photographer captures:-)

Royal Gorge, Canon City, CO (Monday, May 28th)

Today, we decided on a road trip to see the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City (pronounced Canyon).  The drive was about 2 hours and well worth the trip.  Along the way....we were up, down, in and around the Rockies and saw many different types of 'mountain-scapes.'  This one caught my eye...sort of looked like this poor mountain got a bad haircut!!

Huge ranches are everywhere.  We have been intrigued by the entrance decor....this one is  the ZZO Ranch with the name burned into the sign under the crossbar, and a metal covered wagon and windmill/fence above.

This one at Mountain Star Ranch was my favorite with the letters cut out of the metal name plate.  I moved closer to the gate to get the sky as background to the letters - pretty cool, huh!!

The Royal Gorge Bridge was built in 1929 and hangs 956 feet above the wild Arkansas River which runs on the eastern side of the Continental Divide.  The bridge is a legendary engineering feat and is one of the world's highest suspension bridges; originally costing $350,000......more than $18 million in today's dollars.

The bridge is the centerpiece of a much commercialized Royal Gorge Park and may be crossed on foot or by trolley - we walked across.  The size of the cable bundles is enormous and would probably take three large hands to encircle.  The bridge boasts 300 tons of cable and 1,000 tons of steel in the floor of the bridge  - and is able to support more than 2 million pounds.  Certainly made me feel safer about walking across!!!

This is a view looking down from the bridge.  The black horizontal line is the bridge's shadow.  You can see the rapids far below and we saw kayaks and rafts riding the whitewater!


We also took the Aerial Tram across the gorge.  They packed about 30 of us inside the 'cage' and we glided across.  I could not get any good pics - crowds and cage bars.

We also took a ride on 'Incline Railway,' one of the world's steepest incline railways.  The 1,550 feet of incline is at 100% grade and a ascends/descends at a 45-degree angle.  Whoooo - pretty steep!  During the ride, you are 'caged' in one of 8 cars.  It is tough to get any decent pics, but thought I would include this one to give you an idea of the incline.  Here, we were in the first car on the trip going back UP.

In another section, there was a Western Wildlife Park.  There were probably 8 elk in this corral....here is one big guy enjoying the shade of the trees.  The female elk, or 'cows,' were kept in a separate area - there were at least 10 or 12 of those 'ladies.'

The Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep were hard to capture in pics.  They were pretty elusive, but I was able to capture these two enjoying the shade.

The Bison were plentiful and there were even some rare white ones in the group.  My favorite pic, however, was of this momma and her 3-week old baby.  If you can call buffalo cute...these two were cute!!


While it was kind of sad to know these animals were all in captivity, it was interesting to be able to see them close-up and personal.  They all seemed to have comfy digs with plenty of food and fresh water.

We stopped at the Whitewater Bar and Grill for some COLD beer and great burgers.  It was a fun place and the food was great.  I asked the bar gal to take our picture - she was either a little fuzzy, or forgot to focus the picture.  Lots of fun today!  


Tomorrow morning, we will head out of Buena Vista and make tracks for Estes Park, CO - located at the eastern entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. Dick is currently figuring our drive route for tomorrow.....trying to balance scenic views and elevations as we are hauling our rig and car through the passes in the mountains.  Guess we better keep our breakfast light as not to add too many additional pounds to the load :-)

Country Roads and Blue Grass (Sat/Sun-May 26/27)

Yesterday (Saturday), we decided to take a drive out 'County Road #162' - as recommended by some locals around here.  First parts were paved; then we got into the dirt portions.......4-wheel drive vehicles were common, along w/ ATV's.  Cutter was eager to go along and sniff the new smells.  I was able to capture a pic of him hanging out the window of the car... of course, slobber was flying everywhere :-)

We stopped to snap a shot of these mule deer just relaxing by the road.  There were actually 3, but I only got a good shot of the one....if you look hard, you can almost see the 2nd one to the left.

Hiking the Anges Vaille Falls trail was next......Cutter was excited to hike, too! It was only a .5 mile hike (one-way), but the last half of the trail was pretty steep and challenge-rocky.  Of course, I did not think to tape my knee before we left, but at least I had my hiking boots and poles.  Cutter scaled the elevation easily; Dick did great, too....altho the last piece was pretty challenging.  Me?  Well, I made it til the last part of the climb, and had to stop and wait for the rest of my 'hiker family' to meet me on the way down.  It was pretty frustrating trying to keep my knee bones aligned....and you can be sure I will not forget the tape again!!  The falls were beautiful and the hike was rustic and awesome.

The drive on #162 was just gorgeous, following one of the creeks that feeds the Arkansas River.  In some places, the road came so close to the steep drop-offs that we just held our breath and hugged the road.

As the road got rougher, we were able to see the mountain peaks clearer.  The 'washes,' as they call them, occur following the heavy rains.  When the rains are heavy and/or snow and ice are melting, flash floods are created as water is channeled thru the narrow passes and  rock and gravel are grabbed along the way creating the quick and intense 'wash' down the mountain.  This picture shows an example of two prominent 'wash troughs' that have been created on this mountain.

The 'end of the road' led us to an official historic 'ghost town' named 'St. Elmo.'  It was very cool wandering around the abandoned 'ghost town' buildings - they look just like you see in the old cowboy movies!  Cutter also enjoyed his browsing, and was sure to add his 'mark' to the tumbleweeds that rolled thru the main street.  St. Elmo cropped up in the late 1880's as a result of the gold and mineral rush, combined with the completion of the railroad.  The town survived til the 1930's when it was finally abandoned....partly as a result of the decline in the railroad service to that area.  There is an effort in progress to restore the town.  It was a pretty cool sight to see!

The most awesome sight in this little 'ghost' town was the amazing number of beautiful hummingbirds.  They were everywhere!  There were 4 feeders by the entrance to the General Store and each was jammed with hummingbirds.  You can see 6 of them at this single feeder!

Today is Sunday and we drove to Salida (about a 90-minute drive) for a Blue Grass Festival.  Those country and western 'blue grass' tunes were provided by 4 different groups thru the afternoon, and they were just awesome!

Thought you'd like to see a pic of me enjoying the festival....I am usually the one taking the pics for the blog and you don't get to see me as part of the adventure.  So I thought I'd throw in a pic so you would know I am along on this trip out West  :-)

I cannot remember the name of this group, but they were super!!  The banjos, fiddles, guitars  and voices were really something and there was lots of clapping, knee-slapping, and yee-haa's in the crowd to be sure!

The last group we saw was 'Run Boy Run' and they were our favorite!!  There were 3 gals in this group with voices that were amazing.  The fiddler of the group was also incredible...we bought 2 of their CD's.  So...we can now do some of our own yee-haa'n' and knee-slappin' as we are driving along  :-)

Tomorrow, is our last day at this stop and we are going to Royal Gorge in Canon City, CO.  Dick tells me there will be some amazing sights to see there.  Stay tuned.....

From Arches to Rockies (Friday, May 25, 2012)

We couldn't leave Utah without a visit to Arches National Park.  So, we set out on Wednesday for the 2 hour drive from Grand Junction, CO ....back into Utah...to experience this amazing collection of national treasures.

The awesome sandstone structures throughout the park were formed millions of years ago.  This part of the Colorado plateau was located over huge salt flats, and through the ages....wind and water  did their work to form these amazing sandstone formations.  The structures are still evolving as wind and water continue to erode and shape these rocky structures.

The arches form as a result of erosion, and then weakening of the sandstone to the degree that rocky chunks begin to fall out from under the upper structures.  There is one arch called 'Landscape Arch' with an expanse of 365 feet!  My pics of that arch were too dark to post....Dick's pics are awesome! I may get to post some of those at a later time.

The other amazing shapes are huge vertical fins and spires.  They take so many different forms that it is easy to find yourself extending your 'look alike' imagination.  This grouping sort of looked like a family gathering to me  :-)

In the late 1800's, the Wolfe family settled in this rugged, unforgiving area.  It is hard to imagine the ability to survive in such a harsh desert environment.

This is the family's one-room humble abode....complete with a table and 2 chairs inside.  There was a smaller structure just to the right in this picture - probably where they stored whatever food, water and other essentials they were able to accumulate.  It is so incredible that families would actually relocate to set up a homestead in these conditions!

We did some hiking in an area called The Devil's Garden which really allowed for us to get up 'close and personal' to some of these amazing structures.  You can see the scope of some of the towers if you check out Dick leaning against one of structures at the entrance of the trailhead.

Throughout this park and the others we have visited, the trees that seem to flourish in this harsh environment are Junipers. This one is an example of how they grow, shape and deteriorate over time.

So yesterday (Thursday), we decided to make the trek to Buena Vista, CO from Grand Junction one day early due to a prediction of stormy high winds on Friday.  Managing our rig under-way is a handful in the best of conditions.  Dick thought it best not to test our luck climbing into the Rockies in high winds.  Good thing; the climb into 11,000 ft elevations was challenging enough w/o adding 45 mph winds to the adventure!

Our travels to Buena Vista followed I-70 East along the Colorado River.  We frequently saw those famous Colorado River rapids, and were even lucky enough to capture a pic of one of the many rafting groups along the way.

It was not too long before we started seeing those snow covered mountains as we started to get into Aspen and Vail country.

Next thing we knew....we were in the snow with flakes hitting our windshield.

So, from desert temps to mountain temps, we knew it was going to be time to trade the shorts for jeans and sweatshirts.

This last photo for yesterday was taken in Leadville....a historic mining town that sprung up during the gold rush and mineral mining boom.  Check out the name of this hotel.....restored to its Victorian grandeur....

The DELAWARE Hotel.  For those of you who know my home for 35 years was in Delaware....this was an interesting sight for me!  It was pretty cool inside, too.....lots of 19th Century memorabilia.

We finally checked into Arrowhead Point Campground and RV Park yesterday about 3:30PM (MDT) and will be here through the holiday weekend.  We have gorgeous views of the Rockies...and are actually at about 9,000 feet elevation at this base location.  

Today, we are headed for Royal Gorge in Canon City...about 85 miles south of here.  Stay tuned for more pics....

Made It To Colorado (Tuesday, May 22, 2012)

We left Zion on Monday early AM and drove all day to get to Grand Junction, Colorado.  It was a long, long drive across the desert, and we had some pretty strong head winds to add a bit of flavor to the trip.  Throughout, we continued to encounter these pretty awesome mesas.

Aside from the occasional mesa groupings, most of the trek was desert....miles and miles and miles of hot, dry desert.  As far as you could see in any direction - that was the view!

Finally, we crossed into Colorado mid-afternoon.  Took another two hours to reach our RV park.  By then, we were exhausted.....especially Dick who was at the helm all day!

Today (Tuesday), we decided on a road trip in the car and drove to Telluride.  Along the way, we captured our first glimpse of snow-capped mountains.  What a beautiful sight!!!  During our drive to Telluride, the temperatures went down about 20 degrees ....almost needed to buy a sweatshirt!

The drive was just gorgeous... filled with creeks racing across the rocky gravel beds, along with acres of green!  The desert is largely devoid of any green-scape, so this was a welcome sight for us.

We finally reached Telluride late morning.  This little town was 'birthed' as a mining town during the gold rush in the 1800's.  Once they kicked out the Ute Indians from their native lands (no comment on that)....this little town earned its place on the map as a 'gold mine'.  The railroad became interested in the town and further boosted the Telluride attraction.

Today, the town is known as a premier skiing destination in winter, and for hiking, festivals and fishing in the summer.  There are also lots of interesting shops and 'authentic' western-wear.' It was really a fun place to browse. 

The western wear was amazing! From boots to hats to belt buckles - it was a rude awakening to get a feel for the cost of authentic western-wear!  The craftsmanship was awesome - and the smell of that leather - mmmm!!

We checked out a 'locals' favorite for lunch...the Corner House Cafe.  Here is Dick sitting outside following a most delicious feast.  I had one of my favorites, a Cuban sandwich - one of the best I've had.  Who would have thought I would find a Cuban in Telluride!!

The 2 and 1/2 hour drive back 'home' was a combination of a few small towns, and MILES of just land - as far as the eye could see.  Much of the land was fenced; and some had fancy entrances to ranches that must have been thousands of acres.

We arrived 'home' later in the afternoon and had a relaxing dinner with our 'little boy.'


Tomorrow, we will do some hiking in Arches National Park... hoping it is bit cooler.