Colorado Road Trip - Part 2 (July 2019)
July 14-17We drove to Salida next morning. We got some information on the Continental Divide Trail. We met a father and son practicing pickleball in a tennis court. We chatted a bit and the father invited us to play the next morning as pickleball nets will be set up. But we have to decline as we need to move on. We found a nice campsite in the Collegiate Peaks Campground. It was near the Cottonwood Pass on the Continental Divide. The road was blocked off west of the pass - due to snow or construction. The next morning we had a great hike on the CDT. It was open meadow with the Collegiate Peaks in the background. Sally left her sunglasses at a spot among large rocks where we were photographing columbine. Since we were logging our track with the offstreet map app (OSMAND), we were able to backtrack and find the sunglasses. That was quite an accomplishment. The clear sky was beginning to have puffy clouds. We stopped hiking at 11:30 due to concern about thunderstorms. We had been warned about the daily thunderstorms in the afternoon. 
It rained the entire night. We stayed dry inside the tent but everything was wet. We put the wet things on top in back of car to dry by solar heat as we drove to hike, and all day during our hike. We hiked on the Ptarmigan Lake Trail nearby - 7 miles RT at 11000 to 12000ft altitude. By the time we came back to the car, our sleeping bags and most of the camping gears were dry. 
In the afternoon we drove to Idaho Springs (2 hours) and stayed in a motel "Columbine". On the way, we went by a mining operation that essentially taking down the entire mountain. We saw mine tailing and a huge settling pond. Dinner was pizza at Beau Jo's (this place had been recommended by the young couple at the St. Elmo Hotel in Ouray). Their signature offering is a thick hand-rolled, braided crust that you can drizzle honey on. Weird! We drove to Mt Evans (14265 ft). Apparently in Colorado a number of high peaks are accessible by roads. This reminded me of the mountain railroads in Switzerland - some of the railroads were built just for the purpose of tourism. The road was narrow and frequently has a huge steep drop on one side. It was a bit scary especially with lots of traffic. It was windy and cold at the top. At the top of the mountain was an astronomical observatory (which we did not check out). A plaque dedictated to the engineer that designed the highway that goes nearly to the top. We walked up the remainder distance to the bald rock pate, enjoyed the 360-degree view with many others. We also saw several tame mountain goats. 
 July 18-20 Boulder AreaIn the afternoon, we drove to our hotel in Longmont. The next morning (July 18), we hiked to Brainard Lake, Mitchell Lake and Lake Isabel. The trail was busy and it was very hot. In the evening, we went to the Shakespeare Festival (Twelfth Night) at UC Boulder. Before the play, we dragged our bodies through the heat several blocks to find food at a World Wraps because we had parked the car too soon, too early, in a paid parking spot near the theater. It was really hot while watching the play, however the acting was terrific and the amphitheater really beautiful and very effective in conveying sound. The next morning (July 19) we went birding with local Audubon, Carl Sacarce and local residents. But we found out that it was cancelled when we went to the designated meeting place. Luckily we found group of 4 at Pella Lakes and saw several osprey diving for fish. One of the birders was a woman, a kayaker in her 70s who had previously lived in Seattle and had worked at the Center for Wooden Boats. What a small world. That afternoon we visited the local Longmont Museum. It has displays of the history of Longmont and a revolving exhibits called "Ruckus Rodeo: Pop Art & Cowboy Culture". The colorful statues were made of paper mache. 
In the evening, we had dinner with Sally's first cousin Margit Johansson and her son Jory Rabinowitz. Margit lived in Boulder and Jory was visiting from New York. He was an artist and was considering changing profession, moving to Los Angeles and becoming a screen writer. We did a morning hike in the Flatirons at NCAR, featuring huge tilted rocks. The world-famous NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) was a modern looking building that was highlighted in the 1973 Woody Allen movie Sleeper. At that time, the modern building looked futuristic. The hikes was very hot even in the morning. 
 July 21-22 Rocky Mountain National ParkOur next stop is the Rocky Mountain National Park. Since it was on a weekend, we anticipated crowds in the park. So instead of entering from the east (at Estes Park), we decided to enter from the western entrance. In the afternoon (July 20) we drove west on I-70 and headed north on Highway 40 to Granby. We could not find a campsite (not surprising since it was Saturday) and stayed in a motel. The next morning we drove north to Highway 125 for a few miles to hike on a trail on the Continental Divide that led to Parkview Mountain. There was not a single other person on this trail!! The trail was fairly good but mostly in trees - not distinctive, and not with the open views that we enjoy. We left one piece of uneaten toast at the base of a certain tree, as an experiment, to see what animal life might drag it away while we went up-trail and back. A thunderstorm seemed to be coming up and we did not seem to be getting out above the trees, so we turned back after lunch. After these two hours of hiking, the toast was still there, untouched. We found a campsite that afternoon at Sunset Point on Lake Granby. Our tent spot was lovely. There was a trail 60 ft long to the lake edge, with enough shrubbery to feel private. So we took a swim-wash to clean off the sunscreen and sweat. Wonderful!! After dinner we watched a lightning show to the east – towering thunderheads over the central Rockies, lightning forking from cloud to cloud. 
 The next day we drove north on Highway 40, then Highway 43 to Milner Pass in the RMNP. Our hike starts at Milner Pass and heads south toward Mount Ida, but not all the way. Our goal is a peak named Peak 12150, named for its height. It was a gorgeous hike. Once above treeline, the hike was on open slopes and meadows, with wildflowers and gamboling, a colony of marmots. David got a photo of a Horned Lark. We did not get to Peak 12150. We turned around at 12125 because thunderclouds were piling up. As we finished the hike, we were surprised that tourists kept coming and coming to Milner Pass starting this hike, even as late as 1 or 2 pm. 
 We decided to drive further into the National Park and were aghast at the number of cars and people. Again, many cars on the tortuous, windy, scary mountainside roads. At some viewpoints and the visitor center, there were so many cars that the parking lots were full and a ranger had to be posted out on the road, directing cars into the lot when space became available, and directing passing cars safely around the increasing blockages on the highway itself. We got tired of this crush of people and cars, and went back to Granby. Stopped at a little market at Grand Lake - bought ice cream, bread, potato chips, beer and marshmallows. At our lovely campsite, we both washed in a quick, one-minute lake swim. 
 July 23-25 Grand Teton National ParkPacked up and drove to Grand Teton National Park, up Highway 40 and 125 in Colorado and then some freeway that took us NW in southern Wyoming. Camped at a national forest campsite, Atherton Creek, because all the national park campsites were full. The campground host kept himself very busy - he came along to see our Senior Pass, to make sure our $7 rate was legit. We saw lots of stars at night - true Milky Way whiteness across the sky. 
 We got up early the next day. It was raining steadily. We considered leaving Grand Teton and heading home early. So we packed up the tent, keeping things as dry and clean as possible and drove into Jackson for a huge breakfast - 3-egg omelets, hashbrowns, toast, unlimited coffee. The rain had stopped so we headed back into the national park and got a campsite at Gros Ventre Campground. Our hike that day was not too exciting - all in the trees. It took us around Taggart Lake. Plenty of other people on trail. On the way driving back to Gros Ventre campground we stopped at a viewpoint where others were training their binoculars on the river. At a distance, there was a male moose, with big rack of antlers, and a female, in the brush across the river. 
Our hike today was up a less-known trail to Apex peak, lower than the really high Grand Tetons, but still high. It was a very hot day. We started out in shade of aspens from the valley floor, but then there was a lot of sun exposure as we did switchbacks up through sand and gravel and wildflowers. The trail needed pruning - we had to whack bushes aside to get through in some places. Two other hikers - young men, not together, - had targeted this peak, which is apparentlyl described in the Climbers Guide to the Grand Tetons. First guy says it is Class 4 - meaning difficult. We kept on, finally got to areas where the pines thinned out. You could start to see the gritty raw rock faces of the upper mountain. We turned back at this point. 
 Our last camping dinner was a dehydrated meal with The next day we drove home through Oregon. This ends our month-long roadtrip. |