Adventure Travel Photography Blog
After stopping at the local bakery in Grand Lake for breakfast, I headed south toward Keystone where I planned to see Cat again for her July 4th weekend BBQ. On the way, we passed through Tabernash and Winter Park and crossed the Continental Divide once more at Berthoud Pass.
I went to bed with a deer outside my window and woke up to an elk just a few campsites away. He was enormous! Little did I know that at the visitors’ center situated just before the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park, I’d find a whole herd of elk, including babies. What a way to start the morning!
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
I’m back on the road again. The first day back is always an adjustment as I leave the luxuries of a full size kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. In addition, I go from being stationary to being a nomad. There is a lot to be said for being able to relax in one place, even it is for a short period of time. Finally, I leave my friends and family and the social aspect of my life. Knowing I will likely spend days at a time without having a meaningful conversation in person with anyone, makes it difficult to press on sometimes…and I’m not even that social.
After a few days, however, I get back into the groove and enjoy exploring the nature and beauty surrounding me. Finding interesting, new places and revisiting ones I’ve come to love make the journey a special endeavor.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
I met Mike last night while watching the Mavs win the NBA Finals! He was rooting for the Mavericks along with everyone else at the bar. Mike is from Colorado Springs and recently graduated from college. He and his friend operate a landscaping company. When he’s not working he likes to go dirt biking.
This morning I drove south, through Fort Carson and then west through Canon City to the Royal Gorge. I had visited the gorge about 25 years ago, so I didn’t have a burning desire to go again especially since it has become more like an amusement park with a $25 entry. Visitors may walk on the bridge, but also take a variety of different rides.
Since I had only planned to stay about 30 minutes, I found a different option…a 3 mile, 30 minute scenic train ride. The train was like a kiddy ride at the carnival…small, open air, and didn’t go faster than 10 mph. The best part about the ride is dogs were allowed, so it seemed appropriate, though it didn’t appear that Petey enjoyed himself. While it was a perfect option for me, I think first time visitors should experience the real deal.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
Since the trails weren’t stellar at Eleven Mile State Park, we left early in the morning for Mueller State Park. While the northern half of the park was closed for two weeks for Elk calving season, the southern part of the park offered a variety of trails. Dogs weren’t allowed on the trails because the area is known for its spectacular wildlife viewings.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
We started our morning in Canon City. One of its first mayors, a poet, wanted to name the town Oreodelphia. The miners insisted they could neither spell nor pronounce it, and exclaimed, “The place is a canyon…it’s going to be called Canon City.” The Walk for Hope was taking place at a nearby park when we arrived. The event raises money for the Orchard of Hope which supports area cancer patients.
Petey and I took a brief stroll through the park on the way to a few geocaches. I probably only found about half of the caches I set out for today, but it was mostly due to muggles.I found one cache on the far end of the park where there wasn’t much activity, but another cache was placed alongside the track where the Walk for Hope was taking place. Given it had a three out of five ranking for difficulty and I was in the vicinity of 100 people, I had to skip it.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
From Monument Lake we climbed Cucharas Pass which tops off at 9,941 feet before descending into valleys of farmland situated beneath dramatic dikes. One dike looked like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle with jagged rocks resting on one another with spaces in between. On our way to La Veta, both directions of traffic were stopped due a car that had rolled into a pasture. I heard no one was seriously injured. By the looks of the SUV, I would have guessed differently. It was totaled with the roof crushed in and the tires turned sideways.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
Sugarite Canyon State Park is an interesting place as it encompasses the abandoned mining town of Sugarite which was established in 1912. Sugarite was one of seven towns in the Raton area built by the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Railroad. People from twenty different nations came to live in this coal camp. The camp included housing, a ball field, a school, a clubhouse, the company store, and a doctor’s office; not to mention the mines, related buildings, and a railroad.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
We spent the morning tooling around Telluride and took a lovely hike along Jud Wiebe Trail. The signboard posted at the trailhead did not display a map, thus my knowledge of the trail stemmed from the information provided by the woman at the visitor’s center yesterday and a two sentence summary from the Trails app on my iPhone.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
Well, I didn’t see much of the Mavericks/Heat game, but found out my team lost. Hopefully they’ll improve on their home turf. Petey and I got a late start to the morning – neither of us felt great. We finally arrived at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park around 10 a.m. where we drove along the rim to a number of overlooks. Petey was allowed at the overlooks, so he was able to join me on a few short walks with a 400 yard roundtrip limit.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!