Page 6 of Sojourner1208 Travel Blog Posts



I've been doing a lot of homework on my planned trip to Steamboat Springs starting Monday July 8. The plan is to drive in Denver around on 470 West, and get off at the Morrison exit where I will take another look at the Red Rock Amphitheater and then head West on Hwy 74 again where I will take another look at Evergreen, then continue on Hwy 74 to I-70. At I-70 I will head West again with a quick stopover at Genesee Park to take a look at the buffalo herd, then to the Loveland Pass Exit US Route 6, where I will take it up over the pass, instead of using the Eisenhower Tunnel, and then down the other side and into Dillon and to Frisco. At Frisco I will take a look around ... read more


25 June 2013 – Tuesday – It was a bit brisk when I got up this morning and as I load up everything in my truck before I retire in the evening it didn’t take me long to get going up the pass again. The climb became steeper with many switchbacks but the views from higher up were awesome. I stopped several times to savor the views. When I got closer to the top I was thinking about how hard this was on my truck but I was committed and the possibility of ever turning back never entered my mind. So eventually as in all my climbs I reached the top of Independence pass at 12,095 ft. Although it was late June the ponds up here were frozen and the surrounding mountains had snow on them. ... read more
Independence Pass Road
Nearing the top
Independence Pass summit 12,095 ft.


24 June, 2013 Monday – Denver to Independence Pass - Today I finished loading up my truck with last minute things such as ice chest, food, computer, etc. and headed out 470West and past the Hwy 285 exit to the Hwy 74 /Morrison exit and headed west. Morrison is a small town with the usual mix of restaurants and shops. If I had been heading to Red Rocks Amphitheatre I would have went North out of Morrison on Hwy 93 to the Red Rocks Park Road and took it to Trading Post Road and to the Northern upper parking lot which was more on a level with the Amphitheater. http://www.redrocksonline.com/ Red Rocks amphitheater As it was I continued on through Morrison and saw a sign for the Red Rocks Amphitheatre and so went to it to ... read more
Red Rocks Amphitheater from the south parking lot
Some serious stairs to climb at this altitude
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Saturday June 22 – It has been a busy few days. I have invested most of yesterday and today in updating my trips in my blog and in doing homework on a trip I am planning for next week. To me a weekend is when you stay home because it is crowded everywhere, unless there is a special event locally I wish to attend. Denver has something going on every weekend. When I was younger I probably would have gone to most of them, but nowadays I tend to avoid crowds. Sunday June 23 – I’ve been up since 7AM doing homework on my planned trip wandering around the mountains a bit next week. The plan is to go southwest out of Denver on 285 to Buena Vista and then North on Hwy 24 till I ... read more


Tuesday –June 18 - The plan was to check out Chatfield Lake State Park and Roxborough State Park. They looked like a good place to take a walk. From Denver I went south on I-25 to 470 West and took the Chatfield Lake State Park exit but drove by the lake just taking a look at the lake from the road and proceeded to Roxborough State Park because I wanted to check out the rock formations. When I got to the park there was a sign saying it was $7.00 for a day pass but I went to the visitor center and bought a Colorado State Parks Pass for $70. I don’t know if I will use that much in entry fees but if not I don’t mind contributing a bit extra to the Colorado State ... read more
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Friday June 14 - Trail Ridge Road and back to Denver – Today I got up early and loaded up my truck with the stuff I had in the Bear Proof Bin and eased into Estes Park using the Hwy 34 bypass, for breakfast and Internet at MacDonalds. After checking out the Internet I slow rolled through Estes Park downtown for one last look for this trip and then went back on Hwy 34 again on the West side of town and went back into Rocky Mountain National Park at the Fall River Entrance. I continued on Hwy 34 past the Sheep Lakes being careful not to run over any Mountain Goats or tourist, and continued past the turn off for Old Fall River Road and the Alluvial Fan. When I reached the intersection of Hwy ... read more
View from Trail Ridge Road
View across Forest Canyon from overlook
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Thursday June 13 – I slept in till 7:30 this morning and the weather was nice but a bit brisk. I had pretty much seen all I wanted to see and a few things I discovered on the East side of the divide in Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday. I also had a leisurely look at Estes Park yesterday evening. It is pretty much the typical tourist town but quite scenic in its own right. The fire on the other side of the divide had the entire park smoked up on Tuesday but it wasn’t too bad Wednesday when I arrived, so it looks like I arrived just at the right time. Hopefully they don’t close down Trail Ridge Road tomorrow because of it as it is my plan to cross over the divide tomorrow on ... read more
Heading into the park on Hwy 36
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June 12 – Wednesday morning - I'm at the Macdonald's in Estes Park having breakfast. I had a good, although a bit challenging drive up here yesterday as I came up on the "Peak to Peak Hwy” instead of the more usual (and advertised so tourist can take full advantage of shopping and restaurants), route though Bolder or Golden. I camped overnight at the Longs Peak campground and drove from there this morning. When I arrived at the main intersection of Hwy 34 and 36 in Estes Park the the MacDonald’s, Safeway, Visitor Center, a Shell station that had gas for $3.59 a gallon and etc were all there. As usual I took advantage of the cheap coffee and free internet at the MacDonalds. They have Wi-Fi and several tables with electrical plugs next to them. ... read more
Long's Peak on the 'Peak to Peak" Hwy.
Coming into Estes Park
My campsite at Aspenglen Campground


June 10 – Monday – Over the past weeks I had gathered up tons of brochures, maps, notes etc. and I invested the last 3 days going over and studying them. I have visited dozens of web sites as well. I did this over the weekend because usually on the weekends things are too crowded and so I prefer going during the week when I go somewhere. So now that it is safe to go out again I will take care of a few details in preparation for my next trip today and head out tomorrow morning. I had intended to go up the Peak to Peak Hwy. to Rocky Mountain National Park and then after visiting the park go on to Steamboat Springs for a bit. But after consideration I decided I will go up ... read more
Beautiful lake
1935 Chapel On The Rock
My campsite at Longs Peak Campground


June 4 – Homeandaway - Today I went to Woodland Park to visit a fellow travel blogger Bob known as Homeandaway on the travelblog site. I drove out of Denver on I-25 and the view of the Front Range of the Rockies was splendid. It was partly cloudy and the patchwork view of light and dark areas made the view even better. This is easily one of the most accessible as well as splendid views of the foothills of the Rockies and the Front Range in Colorado. I did have problems with the people behind me because when the speed limit says 75MPH I drive no more than 75MP. When it says 65, I drive 65, when it says 55, I drive 55 and when it says 45 or 30 , I do not exceed those ... read more
Bob with Thai Ice Tea
Thai Tea
Texas Chili




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