As expected, we had a wonderful time in Colorado.
We spent our first night in Boulder in order to (try to) acclimate to the higher elevations. This was Mom's first trip to Colorado and we didn't want to spoil it with altitude sickness. Well, that and Boulder is a great city to visit! "We" included Andy and I; Andy's sister, Carol; Carol's daughter, Rosie; and Andy's mother. The trip was timed to celebrate Mom's 80th birthday.
Our time in Boulder was rainy and chilly, but we still enjoyed walking Pearl Street - shopping and eating. Luckily we were staying at the
St Julien hotel, which was just a block off of Pearl Street. I have to add that the St Julien had the most incredibly friendly and efficient staff that any of us had met before. We'd highly recommend it.
In Estes Park, we stayed at
Pine Cone Cabin. The cabin is one of many private residences that are rented out. This way we were all able to stay together in a very homey, cozy environment. We had three decks: one with a mountain view, one with a hammock, and one with a jacuzzi. The decks alone were a little slice of heaven!
Of course, our main goal of the trip was to take Mom and everyone up into
Rocky Mountain National Park - to the alpine area; to the Continental Divide; to the BIG mountains! So, weren't we a little shocked to find out on our arrival that Trail Ridge Road (thee Main Road, thee only road through the park) was closed for *snow*?! We had arrived on Friday afternoon and we were scheduled to leave Monday. So Saturday we stayed in the 'lower regions' - Moraine Park/Sprague Lake area and around the town of Estes.
Here's everyone at Sprague Lake:
We got to watch some elk:
We took a bike ride around Lake Estes:
We even got to watch a small herd of elk swim across Lake Estes and listen to them bugling - fascinating!
Finally, Trail Ridge Road reopened Sunday at noon. They had two feet of snow, and seven feet of drift to plow. But it was reopened just in time for us to take a drive up. Whew! Once we got above tree line and into the alpine area, the obvious occurred -- snowball fights!!
After leaving Estes Park, we headed south via the
Peak to Peak Highway. One of our stops included the "Chapel on the Rocks" - St Malo:
The Peak to Peak Highway was the slower, more scenic route back to Denver. It was worth it.
Denver is a great city with lots to do. We've only ever been able to see the downtown area near the
16th Street Pedestrian Mall and the Capitol. Next time we'll try to stay longer and visit some of the other areas of the city.
To see more pictures from our trip, just click on any of the photos above and it'll take you to my WebAlbums.
No comments:
Post a Comment