Not all who wander are lost


Advertisement
Published: May 13th 2006
Edit Blog Post

Hi Everyone,

I have really big news, the weather is finally started to work in our favor- Yippeee!! It's still a little cold at night but it's manageable. I am writing you all from the Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado. The past couple of days have been very eventful. On Thursday we spent the day in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was a lovely city with extremely friendly people. Everyone that we met was so talkative and interested to hear about where we are from and what our trip entails. The city of Cheyenne is pretty famous for its long standing history of Union Pacific trains so we meandered through the historical district and checked out some of the trains that were on display. Then we did some shopping, with a stop at the Cowgirl of the West Museum. But then we decided to play a little dress up in a store famous for its ranch wear called “The Wrangler”. Needless to say we looked a little silly as cowgirls but I did have to be talked down from the ledge as I almost purchased a very expensive pair of cowboy boots (which looked fabulous on) but they didn’t quite factor into the budget.

After Cheyenne we headed into Colorado which was only about a half hour drive into Fort Collins, Colorado. Fort Collins was quite a nice town, very upscale for a college town. There were quaint little shops in the Old Town district of the city. We decided that we would investigate the nightlife in Fort Collins so we hit a couple of breweries later that night, so we could feel that we were apart of civilization again. I know it’s only been a week but trust me, a night out on the town was what we needed. Fort Collins is interesting because it seems that no one is actually from there but have migrated there from all over the country.

From Fort Collins we headed into the Rocky Mountain National Park. The drive in was spectacular, it was scenic vistas after scenic vista. The scenery is gorgeous and the mountains are magical. Unfortunately the main road in the park, The Trail Ridge Road, was only opened halfway due to the snow accumulations on the road. The ranger said that the road won’t fully open until Early to Mid June. The Rocky Mountain Park is really interesting because you are actually driving through the mountains. Our highest elevation was around 10,000 feet or so, which is pretty high considering the tallest peak in the park stands at 14,000. We had plenty to keep us busy for the day though. We took the road for as far as we could and stopped at all the scenic overlooks and hiked some short trails to Bear Lake. The trails here aren’t maintained, so we had to walk through the snow. It definitely feels like winter here sometimes. I don’t think winter ever fully leaves this park. We had plenty of wildlife viewing toady, the elk and Bighorn Sheep were out in full force. I got some amazing pictures on my regular camera that I can’t wait to show everyone. Overall, it was a great day and hopefully we won’t freeze to death out here tonight. We are literally camping right outside the mountains, directly in front of us is snow capped peaks. Wish us luck!

We are now headed down to Boulder and Denver tomorrow to visit what the city has to offer. Hopefully I will be able to write again soon. Thanks to everyone who has left messages or comments, it's nice to get some words from home.

Love Laura



Additional photos below
Photos: 18, Displayed: 18


Advertisement

Mountain Goat on our way into the ParkMountain Goat on our way into the Park
Mountain Goat on our way into the Park

We were a little scared, it looked as though he was able to charge in our direction
View from the road into the parkView from the road into the park
View from the road into the park

Our drive into the Park
8 foot tall Cowboy boots8 foot tall Cowboy boots
8 foot tall Cowboy boots

In Cheyenne there were 8-8 foot tall cowboy boots made by various local artists depicting the history of the city
Koa campground in Fort Collins, CoKoa campground in Fort Collins, Co
Koa campground in Fort Collins, Co

This was our view for our campground


13th May 2006

Beautiful USA
Laura and Jen, You are both so lucky to be able to see this country's scenic views. Keep warm, keep safe. Talk to you tonight,Love Mom
15th May 2006

ps. a "little scared" does not cut it.. we were SCURRRED when the goat starting walking in our direction. you left me in the dust running to the car!!

Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 37; dbt: 0.0461s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb