On the Road - Colorado Here We Come

Riverview RV Park - Loveland, Colorado 

From Wyoming, we headed south to Colorado. Nice short drive today: 1 1/2 hours.

Leaving Wyoming, we passed a stand of evergreen trees planted in rows. A sign said it was a Living Snow Fence. What a neat idea to use trees to hold back snow from the highway. When I later saw this row of trees in Colorado I knew what it was:

Living Snow Fence

As soon as we entered Colorado, there seemed to be more trees and hills. We saw interesting rock formations, some rocks precariously balanced on others.

Our campsite for these two nights backed right up to Big Thompson River. The dogs swam in the river and then got very muddy as the whole place was like a dust bowl. We'll be cleaning dirt from the inside of the RV for awhile. 

Our next-door campers were from Kansas; just like us they were escaping the heat. The weather made it into the 80s but cooled down in the evenings.

We got to visit with another friend from the old Shell days. Mark was kind enough to come pick us up and take us to see his fantastic home in the mountains overlooking Boulder. He and his wife also showed us the neat downtown Boulder area where we had a nice dinner. It was great catching up with them. 

We borrowed Mark's car to drive to Rocky Mountain National Park, about an hour away. More amazing scenery!

Rocky Mountain National Park

In one day we had these animal sightings:

In Rocky Mountain National Park:

• Elk (a herd grazing below us in a meadow)
• Marmot (a large squirrel)
• Chipmunks

From the side of a highway where some people had pulled over to look:

• Bighorn sheep (a herd of about 20)

Across the river from our campsite:

• Rooster
• Cattle (a herd being driven along)

Walking the dogs around the RV Park:

• Snake (Chris nearly stepped on it, but it was probably dead as it didn't move)

Cattle drive across the river from us

We went back a second day to explore Rocky Mountain National Park, this time leaving early in the morning, hoping to beat the crowds. We arrived at 9 am and it was already crowded. This national park was the third most-visited last year. We hiked by four lakes: Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake. All were spectacular.

At Emerald Lake, lots of hikers were sitting around, enjoying the view, maybe lunching, perhaps basking in the success of reaching the end of the 1.8 mile uphill trail. We had some entertainment when a hiker stripped down to his underwear and, with encouragement from the crowd, plunged into the icy cold water. He received a round of applause. Then a yodeler serenaded us. More applause. 

Emerald Lake

We had time, and just barely enough energy, to also hike to Alberta Falls. It was well worth the climb. 

Alberta Falls

I learned something new. Some hikers had large, rectangular, folded pads strapped to their backs. I thought it was a new kind of backpack, like a mattress with belongings folded up in it. Silly me. They were crash pads that cushion rock climbers' falls. I embarrassingly learned this when I asked one of the hikers if it was a new type of backpack. 

While we were at the park, a windshield repairman came to the RV park and fixed the chip in our windshield. Good feeling to get that done. 

It was also a good feeling to have hiked about 8 miles and to have experienced such natural beauty. We were definitely tired that night.