Diary/Photo Journal

Week of September 07, 2003

Because we had seen so much of the ruins, we decided not to linger too long and to get an early start to Denver.  It really did not matter that we had already made this decision because thunderous booms and massive streaks of electricity got us out of bed and onto the road in record time.  The rain did not bother us so much as the discovery of scattered ice patches along the road.

We wanted to take the well-known drive from Durango to Ouray which would take us through several 10,000' + passes.  Being from Southern California, we were rather "naive" about when winter starts in other places of the country.  As we ventured upward, we found our view obscured by fog and rain.  As we crept toward the pass, we found the surrounding landscape taking on a rather whitish appearance and noticed so was Cindy.  Next thing we know, we are tip-toeing through 2" of snow and being entertained by the lighter trucks (with no 4x4) slippin an a slidin.

Now, I have complete faith in Gerson's driving capability, but it twas I that had the fortunate view of the sheer drop over my side of the mountain so I was, shall we say, a tad nervous.   Relief came about 500' from the highest pass when we again returned to the rain.  All in all, that area received almost 4" of snow that day and we were fortunate to catch the first few hours only. 

My favorite
trees
Aspens
Cindy's first
snow
Lots of little
waterfalls from
all the rain

Denver was our destination so we could spend a few wonderful days with another good friend, Lori.  We were also looking forward to enjoying a few modern amenities like a real bed, a good shower, a washer and dryer and even to catch up with the news. 

We ventured out to the Flatirons - a wilderness area that is named for its three diagonal flat rock formations that jut out of the surrounding meadows.  We hiked along the perimeter of the mountain and enjoyed the view over Boulder.   We also happened upon a terrific happy hour with micro-brewed beer and great seafood.  Three hours later, we extracted ourselves from this fabulous little town.

Flatirons Lori and
Louise and
the view
around the
|hill
Beautiful
country
around
Boulder

Our second day in delightful Denver was spent exploring Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).  We were going to attempt what the locals call a "14" (which is to climb a mountain 14,000' or higher) but the unpredictable weather kept us in the car. 

We drove up a road that winds its way along a small river and that has barely enough width to accommodate Lori's small car.  The road carried us through the forest of pine and changing Aspens, along boulders and meadows, next to grazing elk herds, around waterfalls, and eventually ended at the Fall River Pass about 12,000' up.  We hiked along the upper ridges, but with the wind chill blowing well below freezing, we quickly ducked into the warm cafeteria for some hot chocolate.  Okay, we were wimps.


RMNP
Lake
and
hiking
near
Chasm
Falls
Chasm
Falls

The Aspens
were just
beginning
to change
colors

A large
Elk buck
and his
ladyfriends

 


Louise
found a
friend

Various
views of
RMNP
front and
back
Flowers
can grow
anywhere

 

Lori and Gerson
at Fall River Pass
Louise at 12,000+ feet
Lori got a bit cold
with freezing wind
chill temps

On our way out of RMNP and through Estes Park itself, we ran into several of the locals.  When you see some of the pictures, we were really that close.

A buck with
his small
herd
Just after this picture, this young
buck was chased right by me by
a much larger buck - see next pics

This was so cool - they really are mellow and beautiful animals.  The rack on the large buck was probably 6' across and each length extended approximately 5' - very impressive.

  A very large buck
and a very assertive
one at that
A young elk and
one cooling off

We left Colorado after wandering aimlessly around Breckenridge and saying our goodbyes to Lori.  Thanks Lori for a really nice few days.


Nice restaurant garden
The way a Jeep should look
Saying goodbye to Lori
Cindy taking on the Rockies

Colorado River
Cool rock formations
Leaving the Rockies


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