Our Last Day in Colorado

Today we headed west. We started our day at Red Rocks in Morrison.  It's home to an outdoor music venue. It is a great place to see a concert when in Colorado. 

People can work out at the amphitheater during the day. 

Lunch was next on the agenda. We left Red Rocks and headed for Golden. It would be our stop for lunch today. 

Next stop was Bolder. We headed to the top of Flagstaff Mountain. We did a little hiking to get to this beautiful spot.

Patrick was taking photos for Grandpa. 

We drove down the mountain and stopped to take in the views of the Flat Irons. We saw three people (through the binoculars) who had climbed the mountain and were standing on the peak. 

We met Erinn after she got off work in Longmont. Patrick and Erinn picked up their keys to their new apartment. They will be moving from the large city of Aurora to Longmont. They will be close to the mountains in their new home!

Our last dinner together was in Bolder. Great food and beer. It is also dog friendly. Wyatt was able to join us. 

                    We will miss Erinn and Patrick! Wyatt too. 

More Mountains to Behold

Today our adventure took us northwest. That meant another two hour drive to our destination. We were headed to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park is a quaint little town just before the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park and Trail Ridge Road. It is the location of the hotel that is featured in the movie the Shining. You can stay at the hotel is you so desire. Our first stop in Estes Park was for lunch. The food was just ok but the beer and the view were great.

The Stanley Hotel

Estes Park Brewery

We watched the ariel lift rides while eating lunch. I think Dad would have loved to ride if he could find a willing partner. That would not have been me! 

After lunch, we started our drive to the summit of the Rocky Mountain National Park. The summit today is 12005 feet. The road is called Trail Ridge Road. It runs through the rocky mountains. We weren't as lucky with the weather today. During lunch it became cloudy and started to rain. We drove through rain on and off both up and down the mountain.When we started our day it was 80 degrees. At the summit it was 48 degrees. Even with the rain and clouds it was still a breath taking drive.

Look close. You can see the road we had just traveled. You can tell we are still making our was up the mountain because there are still trees growing. Trees do not grow above 11,400 elevation due to the thin air and the temperature does not get above 50 degrees all year.

A stop along the way. We could see Elk in the distance from the visitors center. 

Yes that is snow!

           A beautiful rainbow on our way down the mountain. 

The animals we encountered today:

This is a Pika. Dad spotted this one running between the rocks. He was cute!

This is a mountain squirrel. He was running around right next to us. We thought he was a chipmunk. That's why it's important to stop by the visitors center. You learn many new things...like the names of the animals you are seeing. 

The Elk were in the distance but with Dad's binoculars we could see them well. 

Erinn has eagle eyes for animals. As we were descending the mountain, she spotted a moose standing in one of the ponds in the valley below. 

We ended our day at Patrick and Erinn's. They made us a delicious dinner. I'm bringing the hamburger recipe back to Ohio! 

Heading South Today

This morning we are heading 2 hours south to Canon City. We will be boarding the Royal Gorge Train. It's a train ride and lunch through the Royal Gorge. Dad was offered a job on their Polar Express trains in December. I wonder why????

All aboard!

The train had an outdoor viewing car. 

Look up! Its' the bridge to no where. One quarter of a mile above the gorge. You can walk over it. 

We saw another big horned sheep on the side of the mountain from the train. It confirmed our guess from yesterday. We learned that the females are smaller and have shorter antlers. The males are what you expect to see when looking for big horn sheep. 

We had a wonderful trip on the train. We headed toward home with a stop at the Garden of the Gods. It is a beautiful place. There are many paths for walking, hiking, bike riding and horse back riding. Here are a few pictures. They don't do the park justice. It was cloudy and sprinkled. Garden of the Gods is a must see when coming to Colorado. Patrick and Erinn ride their bikes and walk the paths. They are so lucky. 

We arrived back to Patrick and Erinn's about 6:00 pm. It has been a full day but we were hungry. You would think 4+ hours of driving would have been enough. Wrong.....We headed out to the Breckenridge Brewery for dinner. Breckenridge Brewery is in Littleton. It was 20 minutes away. A drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the day. I have to say it was worth the drive! 

It was my turn to try something new. It was a chargrilled cauliflower and quinoa salad. It was very good! 

Looking forward to tomorrow. Erinn is taking the day off to join us on our next adventure.