From Silverton we headed to Durango. The aspen trees were way passed peak in this area of the state. Temps were definitely colder. The road traveled over several mountain passes and Frank enjoyed them because he collected alot of rocks. We didn't stop in Durango, we started home. We had decided to return home by the southern route. We spent the night in New Mexico and pushed home from there - - 3 more days. Next year we need to visit a state closer to the east coast! Needless to say we're always glad to get home and grateful God kept [View Full Entry]

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Today our destination was Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. The south entrance, which is the most accessible, is 12 miles from Montrose. We arrived at the Visitor Center about 9:00 am. It was a windy day mostly sunny and not cold. After orientation at the VC we took a 2 mile hike on the rim of the canyon and in the upland scrub oak. Black Canyon is dark and narrow and known for the light to pinkish pegmatite layers (called dikes) that run throughout the ½ mile high canyon walls. The Gunnison River drops very steeply and quickly as it [View Full Entry]

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Our first stop this morning was a stop off the main highway to a place called Marble, CO. The small town is named after the marble quarry that supplied the marble for the Lincoln Memorial and the tomb of the unknown soldier. It was a beautiful ride with shimmering aspens lining the road. You could tell when we were getting close to the town - - large pieces of marble were in people’s front yards and along the roadside. There are remnants of the old mill where the marble was cut and we walked around. Marble walls are still standing. We [View Full Entry]

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This morning we visited the Maroon Bells a much photographed set of red mountain peaks near Aspen. By the time we arrived at 8:30 am the parking lot was almost full and many, many photographers were surrounding the lake to photograph the Bells. The aspen were past peak here, but the area was still beautiful. I spent an enjoyable hour photographing. We left the crowds behind and drove to Ashcroft a restored mining town not far from the Maroon Bells. The road paralleled Castle Creek and was not heavily traveled. The aspens were beautiful and the temps were comfortable which made [View Full Entry]

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Leadville is surrounded by 2 of the highest mountains in CO and I got to see the sun turn the peaks pink this morning when I was walking the dogs! We spent the morning touring the National Mining Museum. I didn’t realize that so many consumer products contain minerals that must be mined. Leadville had all kinds of mines at one time - silver, gold, lead, zinc and copper. Small boom towns sprung up all over the area. In the afternoon we did a short version of a driving tour of former mines and mining communities in the area. It took [View Full Entry]

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Trail Ridge Rd was open and we were on it by 6:45am. We wanted to avoid the weekend crowds. TR Rd is the highest paved road in North America. It travels along the spine of the Rockies with the highest point over 12,000 ft. There were some good mountain views and the skies were blue, but it was cold and windy at the top. In the afternoon we left RMNP behind and traveled southwest to Leadville, the 2 mile high town. It was a scenic drive with ranch land, brown rolling mountains sprinkled with golden aspen, snowcapped mountains in the distance [View Full Entry]

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Our last day in RMNP was sunny with bright blue skies and fluffy clouds., temps weren’t bad either. The Trail Ridge Rd was still closed so we decided to do a geological interest driving tour (Frank always finds these books) around Estes Park. Going out of the campground we saw elk grazing through the campsites. There were also quite a few at the Visitors Center in Estes Park. The drive was very scenic and took us through the Big Thompson River canyon. Frank found some interesting rocks on his roadside stops. We got back to Estes Park around noon and I [View Full Entry]

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This morning it was sunny and snowflakes were falling, but the sun was soon hidden by clouds. The road that travels around the higher locations of the park (Trail Ridge Road) from east to west, was still partially closed today. So we decided to do some hikes in the area. First stop was Sprague Lake which used to be a resort in the early 1900’s. It was a level half-mile walk around the lake. Snow was coming down steadily by then.(9:30). Next we went to the park and ride to take the shuttle bus to the Alberta Falls hike. Yesterday when [View Full Entry]

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The morning was gray and chilly, but it wasn’t snowing! Gary, the RV repairman made his house or rather RV call by 8:00. He was familiar with the type of problem we had because his RV had thermostat problems too! So he ordered the part and we will need to return to Estes Park for installation on Friday. This will mean we stay an extra day in the area which isn’t much of a schedule disruption. Our first stops in RMNP were two visitor centers. We needed to get oriented. We decided to take the most popular hikes in the [View Full Entry]

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Peak to Peak Highway September 22, 2009 This morning was cloudy and cold with snow still on the ground. We started later than usual and I had a chance to walk around the area and see the effects of an early autumn snow. Our first stop was Red Rocks Park. It‘s a famous natural amphitheatre made from ---red rocks. We also found a Colorado Visitor’s Center and a nice person who helped us route our drive to RMNP. Colorado has many scenic byways and we took one to Estes Park. It was cloudy and snow fell most of the way. Patches [View Full Entry]

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