Fathers Day Weekend at Rocky Mountain

June 20th- Rocky Mountain National Park was a spectacular place and made even more spectacular for us because LeAnne (oldest daughter) met us there for Father's Day Weekend. We had a great campsite right in the park with a lovely view. The hike to Bear, Nymph, Dream and Emerald Lakes was full of amazing scenery and the final lake was over 10K feet high. We made it with minimal huffing and puffing.

Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs

June 14th - The drive from Black Canyon to Colorado Springs includes a trip over Monarch Pass which is over 11,000 feet high. Once you get over the pass and quit shaking (only partially kidding here) the drive is so pretty. You follow the Arkansas River through canyons and gorges and along pine and aspen forests. We arrived at Mountaindale RV park and felt like we were camping in a forest campground. Very Nice.

There is so much to do in Colorado Springs that it is hard to know what to do first. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a bucket list of places to see someday. Our first day we explored the Pikes Peak area. The Garden of the Gods is a free regional park that has wonderful sandstone rock formations interspersed with a park like setting of pine trees and wild flowers.

First we took in the movie and information at the visitor center then drove the scenic drives through the park. We decided to come back in the late afternoon to hike when the light would be better for photos. Lunch a Manitou Springs was tasty and the town is soooo cute. It reminded me of Baden Baden in Germany. It is an old spa town from the 1800s with neat old buildings, homes and parks with mineral spring water for your health. Lots of shops and restaurants too. It is at the foot of Pikes Peak so we drove up to the hill climb and paid our $24 to drive to the summit at 14,000 feet. It is a spectacularly scenic drive up and we made it almost to the top before we ran into heavy machinery on the road at 13,000 feet and turned around. Terrific drive.

We finished off the day with a hike at the Garden of the Gods and then headed back to our little place in the woods.

More Black Canyon of the Gunnison

June 10th - The next day we moved to the National Park campground. We had a great spot in the oak trees with lots of privacy. From here we toured the South Rim and did several short hikes. The last two days a big storm blew through…. Hail the size of grapes (big grapes), thunder, lightning and hard rain. So we decided to run errands, do housework, and catch up on our reading.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison & Blue Mesa Reservoir

June 7 - We drove the north rim of the Black Canyon on hwy 92 and had some spectacular views of the canyon and the river which in parts was 2700 feet down with very steep walls. The hike at Chasm View was through a lovely pine forest and ended at …..a chasm view.

I was holding on to the handrails at the overlook with all my might. I’m not crazy about heights and this was HIGH! Our favorite day at the Black Canyon was the ranger led tour on the pontoon boat. It was a perfect blue sky, sunny and 80 degree day. To get to the boat on the river you hike down 232 stairs and then another half mile hike along the river. So gorgeous with a creek tumbling down the side of the canyon and long views up and down the river. The ranger explained the history, geology, and the current day uses. We went with Ed & Bunny (new friends from Wisconsin that we met at House Ck Campground). Just a terrific tour and I would recommend it to anyone in the area.

Grand Junction region

June 3 = Grand Junction is a nice town with an art walk including close to 100 sculptures.

We spent an afternoon walking main street with a nice lunch outside and some shopping. There is a great bike path nearby called the Colorado River Trail and we biked the 12 mile loop. Next we moved to the state park at Palisades which is heart of the Colorado wine country so we had to go wine tasting;-) Some good wines for a young wine country. Above the Colorado River at Palisades is the Grand Mesa. The last day we were there it was 100 degrees so it seemed like a great day to head to the top which is 11K feet. Lovely views and lots of snow at the top so we took a short walk on a forest road. By the time we got back to camp it had cooled all the way down to 95 degrees. Which made us happy to leave the next day and head up into the high country near Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Our first stop was Elk Creek Campground on Blue Mesa Reservoir which is the largest body of water in Colorado. Very pretty.

Colorado National Monument June 2010

Our next stop in the Colorado exploration was the Fruita/Grand Junction area on the western border with Utah about the middle of the state line. The main attraction here is the Colorado National Monument which has an amazing display of canyons and formations. We loved the hikes and walks to lookouts especially since every stop had tons of wildflowers. There were purple and lavender; fuchia and soft pink, flaming orange and apricot, buttercup and pale yellow, and multiple shades of white and green everywhere you looked. So pretty.

More at House Creek & SW Colorado

May 2010 - House Creek Campground was a favorite and we stayed here for 9 days while exploring the SW region of Colorado. The scenery and wildlife was terrific. Views from the front window of the coach.

A great hike in the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument is Sand Canyon. It is a beautiful trek through red sandstone canyons with cliff dwellings that are tucked away in places that you “discover” as you go. We felt like the first people to find these places since they were remote and no one else was there. A surreal experience.

We did come upon a resident who wasn’t too happy to see us.

Before we left the area we took a very long day trip into Utah to see the Valley of the Gods which is a miniature version of Monument Valley. It was a crude, dusty road with the most spectacular views of sandstone monuments.

Mesa Verde National Park - May 2010

Mesa Verde is the highlight of the ancestral pueblan ruins and the national park has done a fantastic job of displaying the ruins while preserving them. The information and viewpoints set off the ruins and the lovely scenery at its best. We even saw these wild horses just across the meadow from the Visitor Center.

At Spruce House there was a pretty trail down to the ruins. You could walk around, through and underground to the kiva. The whole area is fascinating and pretty at the same time.

House Creek, Telluride, San Juan Mtn Skyway

After Canyon de Chelly we continued into SW Colorado which is still part of the 4 corners region. We found another terrific campground near Cortez, CO on the McPhee Reservoir. We liked it so much we stayed 9 nights. It must have something to do with the bluebird of happiness that perched nearby.

We also had hummingbirds that continually buzzed us at the campsite. One day trip was a drive on the San Juan Mountains Skyway. Spectacular views for hours including multiple 14K ft mountains and 3 10K ft passes. Lizard Head Pass was almost 11K and had the loveliest little lake.

Stopped in Telluride to view the waterfall and had a picnic lunch by the river.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Canyon de Chelly NM is in the NE corner of Arizona very near the four corners. It has a wonderful campground in the middle of Cottonwood trees. The scenic drive of the canyon and the ruins is spectacular.

Our last evening, we went to a ranger program conducted by two Navajo men. They told stories of the creation, the legend of the spider woman (rock formation in picture), and how the coyote put the stars in the sky. They also sang Navajo songs accompanied by drums. Loved it!

Petrified Forest NP & Painted Desert

The Petrified Forest National Park was a surprise. The variety of things to see was terrific. We took a ranger tour of ancestral pueblan ruins and also one of the Painted Desert Inn. The tour of the Inn was our favorite. It was renovated by the CCC in the 30s and a famous Hopi artist painted several murals that are still lovely today.

The scenic drive had great vistas of the painted desert and then further south there were trails to colorful petried wood areas. Then we hiked the Blue Mesa which was a surprising mix of blue and lavendar layers in the Mesa.

Acoma Pueblo aka Sky City

Acoma Pueblo is built atop a sheer-walled, 367-foot sandstone bluff in a valley studded with sacred, towering monoliths. Since 1150 A.D., Acoma Pueblo has earned the reputation as the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America. The mesa-top settlement is known worldwide for its unique art and rich culture. (pictures from John, text from website)