Oct 14, 2012 - Rocky Mountain N.P.

We had another wonderful day with family. We took Jared to Rocky Mountain National Park. We have been several times, but this was Jared's first visit. It is now his favorite park. :-) He loved the little town of Estes Park, Colorado too. We stopped in Estes Park for Indian food at the Nepal Indian Restaurant for a luncheon buffet. We also took pictures of the huge hotel where "The Shining" was filmed. When we got to the park entrance we were told only 7 miles of the park was open. We had hoped to see more, but we were not disappointed with...

Sep 2, 2012 - Rocky Mountain National Park

August 29 We stayed in Rock Springs, WY. We went to the movies and saw 2016. It was excellent. August 30 We arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and stayed on the west side of the park at Timber Creek Campground; the elevation is 8990 feet. Beetle blight has caused so much damage to the trees on this side of the park. Total sections of trees are dead. This campground is quiet and away from the crowded east side of the park. At night a small herd of elk came through the campground and we could hear the bugle sound of bull...

Aug 15, 2012 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Days 9-13 Moraine Campground Aug. 7-12, 2012 By the time my son Kyle, his wife, and their four children drove up to their camp-site, we had the motor-home parked and set-up in our site. Elevation was 8100’. Temperature a toasty eighty-four degrees. It had been over two years since we’d seen them. It was the first time we got to see Esther, their youngest. Is she ever a cutie! Rocky Mountain’s 415 square miles encompasses spectacular vistas. The park was established by President Woodrow Wilson's signature on January 25, 1915. It’s one of...

Aug 11, 2012 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Friday was just a horrible day. We left Goodland, KS in bright sunshine heading to Colorado. Not far out of Denver we heard a thump and thought it was little more than something had fallen in the closet but when I looked in my mirror I knew it was more than that. The front room slide-out had extended about three inches so I thought it was wise to get off the highway and retract it. Once we had stopped in a developing industrial park I hit the retract switch and nothing happened. OK, so I'll just extend it all the way and try again. Dumb...

Aug 1, 2012 - A Day in the Camper

The wind was so fierce last night that I cranked up my computer at 2:30 am to check the weather for alerts. There were none so I went back to sleep. My alarm woke me at 5 am so I checked the weather again. It was already cloudy (usually clear until 10 or 11 am) with a good chance of rain before noon. Combine that with lingering fatigue from my exhausting hike yesterday and I decided not to hike today. Instead I have been relaxing, reading, packing for my move, and making preparation for the next few days. I will leave tomorrow morning for...

Jul 31, 2012 - Chiquita and Ypsilon

The allure of my hike today was the possibility of summiting three peaks, two of which are thirteeners. It seemed unlikely that I could do it because of the difficulty and afternoon storms, nevertheless I got up at 4 am and was at the Chapin Pass trailhead on Old Fall River Road at 6:30 am to begin the attempt. It was not a difficult trail in the beginning and soon I rounded a curve and was about 15 feet from a huge elk grazing behind a tree near the trail. I eased up a little to get a better picture and discovered there were two. After a...

Jul 30, 2012 - Return to Camping

Anxious is the best word to describe my morning. Debbie is returning to LaVergne, we must negotiate the Denver airport with its construction project, and I must return to my camper alone. Alas, things are usually not as bad as we think they will be. Debbie and I had a delightful morning of packing the car and driving to the airport. With our gps and Debbie overruling it at the right times, we scooted right in to a spot to unload at the Southwest departure site. She had a very easy time checking her bags and going through security and she...

Jul 29, 2012 - Debbie's Last Day

This was another lounging day with reading, talking, and some packing for our departure tomorrow morning. We did not get out until the thunder storm quit about 4 pm. It was sill sprinkling so we went to dinner first with the plan to evaluate the weather for a hike after our third visit to Trailhead Restaurant. Of 7 dinners we went to the same restaurant 3 times. That’s about the way we do it at home. After another pleasant and satisfying experience at Trailhead, we went out into the parking lot, put on our sun glasses, and headed for a...

Jul 28, 2012 - Bear Lake and Alberta Falls

We reversed the hiking time for this day due to the construction on Bear Road and our desire for a leisurely morning. We read and lounged and talked the morning away and then went out in the afternoon. Our first stop was at a pharmacy (actually a combo that we had never experienced, it was a pharmacy/liquor store) to purchase a sling to try to get a little relief for the pain Debbie has in her elbow. The next stop was a second visit to Trailhead Restaurant for an early dinner. My hamburger was not as large as I thought I had seen on...

Jul 27, 2012 - Fern Falls

The day for Debbie’s longest hike finally arrived. We went to the Fern Lake trail where I had previously hiked to the lake. I chose this hike because the first 1.7 miles is fairly level with much vegetation, the Big Thompson River flowing near the trail, and a destination of the Pool, which is a level area of water with the river flowing down the mountain and into it on one side and flowing out on the other side. (It is very similar to the Alum Cave and Abrams Falls trails in the Smokies in both distance and difficulty.) Along the way,...

Jul 26, 2012 - Peak to Peak Scenic Byway

No hiking today. This was a day for a drive over another scenic byway. But first, after a leisurely morning, we went to purchase a pair of hiking boots for me. In the process, Debbie purchased a pair of hiking pants. Is this the beginning of a greater interest in hiking? We go to the Smokies a couple of times a year and she thought they would be very appropriate for those trips. After the shopping, we drove the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway from Estes Park to Central City. Our guide book described it from Central City so I will say that the 55...

Jul 25, 2012 - Alluvial Fan and Lily Lake

Debbie has certainly surprised me with her enthusiasm about RMNP. She has enjoyed our other trips, but she has overflowed with superlatives describing the beautiful scenery here and has even appreciated learning about the history. That was very evident this morning as we visited the Alluvial Fan. I have seen and walked over alluvial fans before (especially in Glacier National Park and parks in Canada), but have not become familiar with the term. Therefore, by the way of explanation I want to share following definition from another...