September 25, 2014

After a late start this morning we decided to go to the Denver Museum of thNature and Science.  It is located right on the edge of City Park.  To the right of City Park Lake is the Denver Zoo.  We decided to do that another year along with the Denver Mint.  By the time we got online, all the tours at the Mint for today were taken.

Inside the museum, there was a display of gold that is kept inside a vault at night. 

The next picture explains the story behind the gold

This piece of Gold has been named Tom's Baby.  Tom Groves, one of the miners at the time is said to have carried it out of the mine like a baby.  The piece weighs 13 pounds and was found in 1880.

For more information of the Museum, visit  Denver Museum of Nature and Science  

Today's sign was caught along a main route through the city.  They have the boys in blue on motorcycles with radar in hand and a citation book.  They had nabbed 2 in just the short time that we went through.

At the end of the day, Grammie was found having supper with her nephew Tod.

It was a good day to be in Denver.  The temperature reached 80 and the skies were clear.  Tomorrow, we continue our journey heading back east.

September 24, 2014

This morning we left Estes Park and headed south to the Denver area.  We took the slow road through National Forests with the weather cooperating.  One last look at the hills before we turned the corner.

Not every road built was done easily.

A view of Lily Lake reminded us of home.  Tom almost made an offer on a lady's painting that wasn't even finished yet.

Couldn't resist the wonderful colors.

Despite the last 2 days driving up towards Longs peak (middle) where the clouds were, today it showed its splendor.

Has anyone seen Grammie?

 Her 3rd trip to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.

All that looking at quilts made Grammie a little hungry.  Broccoli, Cauliflower and a little Marzetti Light Ranch dip.

We finally finished the day in Golden where we had a nice visit with Tom's Aunt Helen.  An amazing person.

September 23, 2014

Good Morning all.
We didn't have to turn off the alarm clock this morning.  We were awoken to the sound of a male Elk singing his rendition of "Afternoon Delight"...and this was 6:30 in the morning.  Here is the bad boy.

Since we were up early, we had breakfast and got on the road.  Actually we had planned to do so anyway because the parking lot at Bear Lake gets full early and we wanted to hit a couple of trails there.  The morning sun was doing its job hitting the Aspen.

 We got to Bear Lake (9475 feet) and the trail was already busy.

This little feller tried to tell us that he was busy putting on the weight for Winter.  

He looked like he wasn't really having a problem doing so.

Next we planned to hike into Alberta Falls.  The trail went down and up for 8 tenths of a mile...and then back.  Alice was planning ahead.

By the time we got to the falls, it had already started to rain.  We were glad we had extra jackets to wear.

Heading back to the Trail Ridge Road was still full of great picture opportunities although the wind has been picking up and the leaves may not last to much longer.

It is easy to spot Elk when driving along the road.  Just stop where all the other cars are stopped.

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We went over the Longs Peak portion of the road and started down the other side.  In about 4 miles we hit the Continental Divide at 10,759 feet.

Just before the divide, we passed Ploudre Lake which is a main source of the water that drains East, eventually to the Atlantic Ocean.

Going just down the trail a bit (about a hundred yards from the sign) to the west I found a little bit of water in a tiny stream heading down to the West.  Would it be OK to go out on a limb and say that this is the beginning of the Colorado River.  It collects into Lake Irene and heads on from there.

On the way back is a great view of the mountains to the North but we couldn't see the train yard control tower in Cheyenne so the weather wasn't clear enough.

On the way along the road we thought the sign read  "Do not drive outside the white lines."

 

 Across the valley on the North side of the mountains there are still areas where the snow hasn't finished melting yet.

The Rocky Mountains extend many miles to the south and to the north into Canada.

We decided to hike up the Tundra Communities Trailhead.  The top was 12,310 feet.  The wind was very strong and the temp around 40.  We both wore 2 fleeces but wished we had our hats and gloves.

This is the Trail Ridge Road's answer to the Knife Edge.  In a few yards up ahead there is about 2 feet from the edge of the tar on either side.....and that's it.  This is NOT the place where you just close your eyes and say you will be past it soon.

Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the park.  Plan ahead and make the trip.  It is worth it.

Sign in a store window.

And finally, an update to this mornings start. The dominant Elk was strutting his stuff this evening while the rest of the males kept their distance.

September 22, 2014

After having a wonderful visit with Robin and Doug, we bid farewell to Cheyenne. They have an annual event....Cheyenne Frontier Days in the city usually starting in mid July that lasts for about 10 days.  Do we really want to leave Maine in the Summer? Gather a look at Cheyenne Frontier Days

Today we planned to hit the high mountains and traveled to Rocky Mountain National Park. On the way, we passed through Fort Collins and the anticipation of spending the rest of the day in the mountains was beginning to mount.  

Before getting to Rocky Mountain National Park...or ROMO for short, we drove through a rocky canyon that is part of the Roosevelt National forest.

...and the winding roads begin.

On the way up to Longs Peak there is an area where many Elk spend their days getting ready for Winter.

 After spending a while at Beaver Meadows visitor center gathering information, we headed to the park entrance and paid ...nothing.  Being a senior citizen has it's advantages.  We finally got to Trail Ridge Road and the color of the Aspen really started to stand out.

The next several pictures are on the way up to the Alpine Visitor Center,  all the time going up to the highest point along the way at 12,183 feet.

There are still some snow fields  that haven't gotten around to melting. 

Still a ways away, the Longs peak is obscured by clouds.

The color of the Aspens is very brilliant in the sunshine.

Zooming in on the picture above.

There certainly wasn't any shortage of people enjoying their day with a wonderful hobby.  Can one really think of this as a job?

This little rascal was busy filling up with seeds from the grass.

We finally got out the mini tripod and put it to work.

Do you see it.  Look in the center of the picture.  Look real close.

There it is, down by the tree.  How could you miss it?

Here's Grammie, hugging a tree.  Not because she loves trees, 

but because everywhere around her is down.

From higher up you can see the small winding streams that work the water towards the Atlantic.  The two women painting were down near one of the bends in the stream.

As we near our destination, we drive into the Alpine Tundra ecosystem where the environment is very fragile.  The bitter cold, wind, intense ultraviolet light and brief growing season let only specialized plants survive.

We finally reach the highest point of the day.  It took a while but my golf cart did fine.

Just over the other side we stop in at the visitors center and warm up a bit.

While we were at the center, the weather got considerably colder and dropped to 39.

We took this pic before the rain started and continued half way back to Estes Park where we are staying.

A wonderful day in the mountains.  We plan to hit some different roads in the morning before we head back up again and continue over the continental divide down the other side.