We drove from Ogden to Heber City then followed Hwy 40 through Roosevelt, Vernal, then entered Colorado and passed through Craig (which has a McDonald's with the nicest interior I've ever seen, a western theme with natural stone, a fireplace and paintings. It could of been a family room in a house, sorry, no photo), then to Steamboat Springs (be sure to stop at Creekside Cafe and Grill on 11th St. for a fantastic breakfast or lunch, they don't serve dinner), then over Rabbit Ears Pass and on to Granby. We arrived about 8pm during a terrible rainstorm that totally darkened the sky! Needless to say we had trouble locating the condos.
As we left Steamboat Springs and began our climb over Rabbit Ears Pass we were treated to a beautiful cloud formation with the sun peeking through over a large valley. Despite the urgings of others in the car I stopped for this photo op.
When we got up the next morning we were ready to experience all there is to offer in Grand County. We checked with some locals and were told about a nice easy trail on the outskirts of Grand Lake. We drove up there, through the nice little town and found the trailhead to Adams Falls, which it turns out, is actually inside Rocky Mountain National Park. The sign says it's 0.3 to the falls. We can promise you it was longer than that!
So, here we are on the trail. It was uphill, through the aspens, pines and firs. The air was cool and there was still dew on some of the leaves.
Throughout the trip, Mom was impressed with the dramatic deep blue Colorado skies with the ever changing cloud formations.
After our hike to Adams Falls we entered Rocky Mountain National Park.
As we entered the Park we had to stop the car to let a herd of elk cross the road. You can see some on the road, and look to the right, these guys already crossed our path.
We drove the winding road up, up, and up, and came to the Continental Divide.
The water from this little lake flows to both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Looking forward goes to the Atlantic, to the right goes West to the Pacific.
Here's Dad on the trail around the lake.
From there we continued up, up and I mean UP! to 12 thousand feet. The road you see is Trail Ridge Road and we drove to the top. As you can see, it's very steep and they forgot to install guard rails on the side. Since you tend to turn the steering wheel in the direction you're looking, it was difficult not to look at the view as I was driving. But we made it and lived to tell about it. For us Westerners it wasn't bad at all, but the Easterners and flatlanders would be scared to death.
Here's Mom and Dad with a mountain meadow in the background.
We hiked through the meadow and came upon this fence.
According to the sign in the corner of this photo, this is the where the Colorado River begins. It's hard to believe this little "creek" gets big enough for whitewater rapids and rafting by the time it goes through Utah in the Moab area.
Late one night I was reading about the Lonesome Stone Alpaca ranch (www.lonesomestonefiber.com). I thought it would be fun to see it, but I kept it a surprise. I told everyone I needed to check out something on this little old country road. When we arrived everyone was excited because the herd was next to the fence instead of out in the pasture. These are all the ladies. They are kept seperate from the boys. When they are breed the rancher brings the sire to the pasture and the female he wants to breed. The gestation period is 11 months, and the female is bred again shortly after giving birth.
Here's a cute lady.
This little white one is about 2 weeks old.
This is the most important guy on the ranch because he's the main sire. His fee is $1,500. They named him Georgio Armani because is wool is the best.
Tuesday we drove back to the park and hiked the Coyote Valley Trail.
Here I am risking my life in the mighty Colorado River.
Suzanne enjoyed being in the great outdoors. She loves it!
If you look closely at the trees in the background you'll notice some are red. These trees have been attacked by the Pine Beetle and are dying. Unless there's a forest fire to kill the beetles many more will die next year and for many years after.
This is the house HGTV gave away last year.
This is one of the best pictures of Mom and Dad. We're so glad they're living close to us now and we can go on trips like this.
Flowers make everyone happy.
One last cloud picture.
And, I can't close this posting without a food shot! This was at Fontenot's in Winter Park. This is Suzanne's Chicken Toulouse, blackened chicken with sundried tomatoes, articokes and fresh spinach in a spicy vodka cream sauce. It was one of our favorite meals.
The next posting might be from Labor Day weekend or maybe Jamaica.
"And that's the way it is."
