On May 3rd we left Breckenridge and drove the Sherpa over the pass to Loveland, we were so lucky that it didn’t snow, as the pass was closed a few days later. We arrived at the Loveland RV Resort and are staying here for 4 days while we explore the area north of Denver. Our first venture out was to visit Rocky Mountain National Park for the day. The Park was established on January 26, 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson and the CCC built the automobile route in the 1930s. This Park is one of the most visited in the National Park System, in 2018, 4.5 million people entered the Park. We stopped at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center – a National Historic Landmark designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, to get information about the Park. We were not able to do any hikes because of all the snow, but could drive along Trail Ridge Road, stopping to take photos of the many elk still in their winter coats, and to see the views from the Overlooks of the mountain ranges. Continue reading
Category Archives: Colorado
Breckenridge CO
April 24th, we arrived in Breckenridge, Colorado, staying at the Tiger Run RV Resort for three days, rated a 10-10-10 RV park by Good Sams. The elevation of Breckenridge is 9,600 feet above sea level, and we felt the altitude as we walked around the town visiting the many shops along Main Street. The historic buildings with their clapboard and log exteriors add to the charm of the town. One morning we took the gondola up to the ski area where they are still skiing now. The ski trails were first cut in 1961, and Breckenridge Ski Resort has made the town a popular destination for skiers. Another day we drove along Interstate 70 to the old town of Idaho Springs. The local legend is that the name of the city derived from annual visits to the radium hot springs made by a Native American chief and his tribe who journeyed from there each year from Idaho to bathe in the magic healing waters. We walked around the historical part of town and stopped for lunch at Tommyknocker Brewery, that has been crafting award winning ales and lagers for over 20 years. We enjoyed some of the freshly brewed beer, the Blood Orange IPA. Idaho Springs was first settled by prospectors back in 1859, during the early days of the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush and today there are still ruins left from those mines. We saw the Charlie Taylor Water Wheel built by miner Charlie Taylor in 1893 to power a stamp mill. It was moved to this site by Bridal Veil Falls in 1948 and restored in 1988. Continue reading
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP and Drive to Gateway CO
Gunnison River at the base of Black Canyon of the Gunnison
We left Cedar City, Utah, on April 18th and drove to Grand Junction, Colorado, the drive through the mountains along Highway 70 was really beautiful. We checked into the Junction West RV Park for a week. Our first sight to explore was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, where we saw the steepest cliffs, oldest rocks, and the craggiest spires in North America. The Black Canyon is so named because its steepness makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate into its depth, and parts of the gorge only receive 33 minutes of sunlight a day. At its narrowest point the canyon is only 40ft wide at the river. However, we were there on a cloudy day so it was mostly grey in color from deep in the gorge to the sky above. The Black Canyon was officially discovered by Captain John Williams Gunnison in 1853, who was leading an expedition to survey a route from Saint Louis to San Francisco. He was killed by the Ute Indians later that year, and the river they named the Grand was renamed in his honor. In 1881, William Jackson Palmer’s DENVER and RIO GRANDE Railroad, (a narrow 3′ gauge rail line) had reached Gunnison from Denver to provide a link to the burgeoning gold and silver mines. And on August 13,1882, the first passenger train passed through the Black Canyon and continued service until the route was finally abandoned in the early 1950s.
“Such a feat of railroad engineering probably can not be found in the world”.
Ski Trip to Aspen/Snowmass
Another wonderful ski trip, this time with the Chagrin Valley Ski Club and our friends from Ohio, to Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado. A destination with four mountains: Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk; and two incredible towns, Aspen and Snowmass. We flew from San Diego to Denver to meet up with the group flying from Cleveland but arrived too late to catch the bus so we took a small van with the five others who were late arrivals as well. It was a long drive to Snowmass from Denver, four hours with a stop for groceries and beer. We stayed at the Top of the Village Condos, a perfect ski-in/ski-out location, and shared a two bedroom condo with Karen Moyer and Bruce Kahn. Lucky us, because we flipped for the Master bedroom and won. The first two days at Snowmass, the weather was picture perfect, blue skies and lots of snow. Monday night we took the free shuttle into Aspen to see the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour playing at the old Wheeler Opera House, built in 1889. We had dinner with the group at the Red Onion Restaurant, Aspen’s oldest historic restaurant and bar established in 1892, dating back to the silver boom of the 19th century. Continue reading
2016 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, Durango CO
We left the RV in Moab at the Portal RV Park while we were staying in the condo in Durango with Jim and Dana. On Friday Jim and Dana got their bikes ready for the Iron Horse Classic bike race tomorrow and Bob and I went out for breakfast to the College Drive Café. We were both still hungry from the 5 day rafting trip, so I ate a huge Veggie Burrito, Bob had the Whole Earth omelette and we cleaned the plates enjoying every mouthful. Jim and Dana arrived with their friend Don and his niece, Dior, and they joined us for breakfast as well. Then we went shopping in Durango, love all the fabulous outdoor stores here, but we ended the day at the nail salon getting pedicures, badly needed!! Finally it was dinner time and we all met at the East by Southwest Japanese restaurant and had a fabulous sushi dinner. Continue reading
Priest Gulch, Colorado
On Friday, May 13th we left Mesa Verde and drove in the RV to Dolores, CO, not very far away. We are staying at the Priest Gulch RV Park located on the Dolores River, a beautiful site nestled in the pine trees listening to the roaring river go by. In the afternoon we drove in the jeep over Lizard Head Pass to Telluride where we ate lunch at the Brown Dog Pizza Restaurant. There is still a lot of snow on the pass and the mountains, so we won’t be able to do any backpacking while we are here. The next day we drove to Dunton Hot Springs, a private town turned into a private resort set in a picturesque wooded area off the beaten path. There is a gate across the road so no one can trespass unless guests, we took photos from afar. Near by we hiked the Geyser Spring Trail, 2.5 miles R/T, the trail ends up at a small warm pool fed by the only true geyser in the state of Colorado. We started the trail by crossing a foot bridge over the West Dolores River and climbed 500 feet to 9,100 ft in elevation. The sulphur smell is very strong and there is a sign warning people not to bathe in the pool due the sulphur dioxide eruptions that occur every thirty to forty minutes emitting strong sulphur gases. We had been here in 2009 and there was no sign, so we did bathe in the pool with no side effects. The water was not very warm this time, so we did not attempt to bathe. Click on thumbnail to view images Continue reading
Canyons of the Ancients, National Monument
After visiting the Anasazi Heritage Museum yesterday and seeing all the artifacts that were excavated from the Canyons of the Ancients and learning about the Ancestral Puebloan life on the Great Sage Plains, we wanted to visit the area in person. The Canyon of the Ancients encompasses more than 170,000 acres of high desert in the southwest corner of Colorado. Thousands of archaeological sites have been recorded in this incredibly ancient culture rich area. The first we stopped at was Lowry Pueblo, a 1,000-year-old Ancestral Pueblo village, and most of the area is protected under a modern roof. Off to the side we saw the Lowry Great Kiva, 47 feet in diameter, it is one of the largest kivas found is this area, very impressive, definitely the largest kiva we have seen so far. Click on thumbnail to view images Continue reading
Anasazi Heritage Center and Mesa Verde National Park
Square Tower House
Today we drove to Cortez, and then north to the Anasazi Heritage Center, located in Dolores, which is a museum of the Ancestral Pueblo culture and other Native cultures in the Four Corners region. The Heritage Center, in operation since 1988, is a fabulous museum of millions of artifacts and displays showing the life of the native pueblo people, who resided in permanent communities called pueblos and grew their own crops. We saw many artifacts of tools for hunting and cooking, pottery, basketry in many colors, and a loom where one could try their skill at weaving. There were two pueblo ruins outside the Heritage Center, the Dominguez Pueblo, an example of an independent family homes outside the main pueblo, and the Escalante Pueblo constructed in 1120 to 1130 AD and made of groupings of stone walled family and common rooms, and a kiva. There was more to see at this pueblo, and it had great views of the Great Sage Plains and the McFee Reservoir. It was well worth the walk up the hill to view this ruin and see the views, but we had to leave and continue on our quest for more ruins at Mesa Verde. Click on thumbnail to view Continue reading
Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway
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Fisher TowersOur adventure today takes us on a driving tour of the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway along SR 128. Just north of Moab on HWY 191 we turn off onto SR 128 and follow the southern bank of the Colorado River through a narrow steep gorge. Looking through the roof of the jeep up at the sheer sandstone walls of the gorge was a spectacular sight. Along the river there were many campsites which are on a first come first serve basis and they usually are full by noon. We drove almost 40 miles to the Dewey Bridge which crosses the Colorado River. The River runs for over 400 miles in Utah and there are only 3 sites with bridges to cross it and the Dewey Bridge is one of them. The original Dewey Bridge, built in 1916, remained the longest suspension bridge in Utah until it was destroyed by fire in 2008. Continue reading
Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Today is a day of rest, so we decided to go to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, “Home of the World’s deepest geothermal hot springs”, about 40 miles drive north from our campsite in Bayfield. The Great Pagosa Hot Springs were first discovered by the Ute Indians, who named them “Pag Osah”, meaning “boiling water” or “healing water”. Today there are three spas that make use of the water from the same heated underground aquifer which feeds the Great Pagosa Hot Springs. We visited The Springs Resort and Spa with 25 different size hot pools and temperatures. We tested almost all of them during the 2 hours we spent in the hot mineral rich water hoping to heal, relax and rejuvenate our bodies. The Lobster Pot was the hottest at 110 degrees, and Bob’s nose became as red as a lobster. A wonderful place to come for healing, relaxation and rejuvenation, we highly recommend it. Continue reading