Over the Rockies.

8^th June Over the Rockies, from West to East.

 

 

We de-camped from the West side of the Rockies for the drive over the mountains to the East side.  On the way we spotted a baby moose with its mother – it looked very new.

 

 

 

The RV had no problem getting up the inclines and past the highest point of 12183ft.  The views of the mountain tops were superb.  There was a lot more snow on the west side so as we progressed the scenery became greener with snow melt rushing down the road in places.  We crossed over the Continental Divide.

 

 

 

Once we were set up in the camp site we went back into the Park in the car to spend time at the various overlooks.  We had a small hike around Hidden Valley which involved a log-crossing over a  We then visited the waterfall at Alluvial Fan in Horseshoe Park. 

fast flowing creek.

 

We saw some Bighorn Sheep high up on top of a mountain.  There were a lot of Elk grazing in the meadows in the sun.  Some had some substantial antlers and most were still moulting their winter fur.  We only saw one mother Elk with her baby.

 

We left via the Fall River exit and into Estes Park.  Wow! What a difference once we were out of the rural environment of the park.  Motels and Inns everywhere and then we got into the centre with shops and restaurants and traffic.  We were glad to get back to our quiet campsite next to Mary’s

Lake where Paul spent the rest of the day fishing; although the osprey had more luck than Paul did.

Mary’s Lake is fed from water which travels from the west side of the mountains at Grand Lake via a system of tunnels and lakes, and power stations.  Without this system the east side of Colorado would have some serious water supply issues.

 

9^th June Sprague Lake

Paul was up at 5am in the hope of catching “the big one” – but no luck!

After breakfast we drove back into the park and up to Bear Lake trailhead.  However this was Sunday and everyone else was there today too!  So with no parking space left we drove back down to Sprague Lake.  We had a stroll around the lake watching other fishermen in waders fly-fishing.  After lunch Paul picked a spot and did some fishing whilst Alison went for a hike for a couple of hours; it was so quiet in the woods. 

 

Later in the afternoon we drove up to Glacier Gorge and hiked up to Alberta Falls – again everyone else was there and it was very busy.

 

 

 

10^th June Bear Lake

We got into the Park and drove Bear Lake road before the cut-off time of 9am.  They are doing some major road repairs in the Park and only the shuttle buses can use the road weekdays between 9am and 4pm.  Although there were a lot of holiday makers here again at least it was not as busy as the weekend.

We walked up to Nymph Lake – as easy uphill trail.  Then onto Dream Lake – where we hit snow.  We had hoped to get up to Lake Haiyaha but were not confident with the incline and slippery snow so we branched off to Emerald Lake at 1080ft elevation.  There was still snow on the trail but it was not so steep and slippery.  We passed waterfalls coming out of the snow and then disappearing under it again.  We could see Flat Top Mountain (12324ft) and Tyndall Glacier next to it.  There was far too much snow to consider a hike up to Flat Top.  So we sat and enjoyed the view.  With the binoculars you could see where people had gone up the side and skied back down before the snow started to melt.   Emerald Lake was still partially frozen.  We saw many ground squirrels and even a flash of a marmot but he didn’t hang around with so many people about. 

We chatted to a couple from Florida who were fly-fishing at Dream Lake.  Then we continued down to Bear Lake and walked around stopping to eat our sandwiches just before it clouded over for a very short rain shower.  It had been lovely and sunny up to then but the clouds hung around for a couple of hours.

We spent the afternoon back down at Sprague Lake where Paul fished for a couple of hours.  Just as we were about to leave the couple fly-fishing up at Dream Lake came down to have a go here too.

Unfortunately the camera was left at home so we didn’t get any photos of the wonderful scenery, the snow, the waterfalls, the frozen lakes or the glacier which was a shame as it was such a lovely spot.

11^th June Colorado to Wyoming

All the National Parks are surrounded by designated wilderness areas to help protect it.   The Rocky Mtn NP has the Never Summer Wilderness area to the west and the Roosevelt National Forest on the east and was a lovely scenic drive following the Big Thompson river.

We stopped at an RV repair garage in Loveland, to check out the cost of some repairs.  Then we carried on up the I-25 into Wyoming.  We stopped at the Visitor Centre for some information and then up to Cheyenne.

Our friends from Tucson, Charlie and Doreen, had suggested we visit Charlie’s sister Bev and her husband Dave.  So we drove up to their ranch ( 83 acres in total) just north of Cheyenne.  They have 5 horses, 3 dogs and 3 cats and instantly we felt right at home.  They gave us a warm greeting and excellent hospitality.

More in the next issue.

 

 

 

 

Curecanti to Rocky Mountains, CO

4th June

We set off on the road by 8.30am for the long drive up to Grand Lake on the edge of the Rocky Mountain Nat Park.  The first mountain pass we came to was Monarch Pass at 11312ft.  We drove over the summit then stopped for coffee break and were most surprised to see a cyclist making his way up the 11000ft climb!

We invited him to join us for coffee whilst admiring the view.

We followed the valley of the Arkansas River and then up the Fremont Pass at 11318ft.  The mountain views were lovely – so long as you ignored the quarry and mining activities.

We drove 10 miles on the I-40 and then north towards the Rockies via the town of Hot Sulphur Springs.  Our camp site is right on the edge of the National Park and catered for people bringing their horses with them too and so had numerous corrals for visitors, as well as their own stabling. 

We went for a walk in the evening and spotted some Elk in the field.

 

 

 

5th June Grand Lake

We spent a relaxing day in the town which is surrounded by snow-capped mountains.  We walked up to Adams Falls which feeds into Grand Lake. The Colorado River is the main feed into Grand Lake and this is the largest natural lake in Colorado.  Can you believe they have actually diverted water from here, UNDER the Rockies to Denver on the other side, via the ‘Alva B Adams tunnel’!?!

In the afternoon Paul did some fishing in the Colorado River which runs behind the stables at the camp ground. Only one fish caught but not worth keeping.

6th June Rocky Mountain NP

We drove up into the Rockies along the Trail Ridge Road which is the highest continuous paved road in North America.  This is the world’s longest chain of mountains of 2700 miles, from Mexico to Alaska.  Nearly one third of the park is above the treeline of 11400ft.  It holds 72 named peaks above 12000ft; the highest being Longs Peak at 14259ft.

 

We stopped at the Holzwarth historic ranch site which was one of the first ‘resorts’ for tourists in the 1920s – basic accommodation in rustic log cabins in a very picturesque meadow setting surrounded by snow-capped mountains.   

As we gained height we came across more and more snow.  This road is closed in the winter and had only opened a month ago.

Finding a picnic table was challenging ……………..

 

We stopped at a number of over-looks, passed the ‘2-mile’ high marker and crossed the Continental Divide.


We enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies at the Alpine Visitor Centre where Paul spotted a Marmot on the snow.

We spotted Elk on several occasions.  On the road home there were also two young Moose grazing.

It was Paul’s birthday so Alison treated him to an evening at the Grand Lake Lodge restaurant.  Situated half way up the hill it overlooked the lake. As the sun set on the surrounding mountains we enjoyed a meal on the (covered) Terrace.  The Lodge also had a ‘Nuptials Terrace’ where weddings are conducted with the mountains and Lake Backdrop.  On the way home we spotted two adult moose in the semi-dark. The sunset on the clouds was pretty good as well.

7th June Friday
 

We spent a quiet day sorting out admin and enjoying the surroundings.  On the one trip out in the car Paul spotted a coyote – but did not have the camera ………… (darn, or words to that effect).

CURECANTI NP

1st June San Juan Skyway Drive

We set off from Cortez along Route 145 which is part of the San Juan Skyway Drive.  The full drive is a very picturesque circular loop, of 232 miles, joining Route 62, 550 and 160 and would normally pass through Durango but we were advised that a portion, known as the Million Dollar Road, is not suitable for RVs.

 

So our route took us up through the San Juan Mountains with 14000ft peaks still covered with snow. 

 We turned left at Montrose and passed the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River NP.  The road was very twisty and we gained and lost elevation several times.  Elk Creek campground is within the Curecanti National Recreation Area – right next to a lake, created as a reservoir, fed by the Gunnison River.

Paul got the kayak out ready for a trip on the lake.  He discovered more chewed paper in the cupboard – evidence from the mouse that travelled with us – hopefully it had not chewed the kayak!

2nd June Blue Mesa Reservoir

We spent most of the day on the lake of the Blue Mesa Reservoir which is 20 miles long.  We saw again the effects of water shortage, even up here in the Rockies.   The lake is around 48% full: with a drop in water level of nearly 50ft.  We could see bare land and rocks which were covered in water 5 years ago.  We stopped on the shore line for coffee and lunch.  We almost had the place to ourselves with only 3 or 4 motor boats passing further out in the lake.  Paul fished from the kayak.  He caught a few but they managed to jump off the barbless hook – no fish for dinner tonight then!

We stopped again on a shore across the lake for an afternoon drink.  Suddenly we got a face full of sand.  The wind had suddenly picked up.  We were about to board the kayak when a gust lifted the kayak out of the water; luckily Paul was holding onto it.  We headed home immediately – which meant paddling across the lake into the wind! We got home tired but had had a very enjoyable time.

3rd June Morrow Point Reservoir

We drove to Pine Creek for a guided boat trip down the Morrow Point Reservoir which took us through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  The Gunnison River has three dams creating three consecutive reservoirs.  Blue Mesa serves as the main storage reservoir.  Morrow Point Dam generates most of the power and Crystal Dam maintains an even flow through the rest of the canyon.

 

 

The initial walk down to the boat took us along an old railway line, as there used to be a narrow gauge (3ft) railway right through the canyon until 1949.  Most of it is now under water.

Along the way we came across a bush loaded with caterpillars.

 

Once on board we floated along with rock faces rising up around 1000ft either side.  Chipeta Falls is now a waterfall of 140ft but used to fall for 200ft before

the water level was raised.

We saw geese and four goslings, some ducks and a mink on the far shore. 

 

As we neared Kokanee Bay, where the boat was to turn around, Paul spotted a log floating in the water – only the log was moving across the lake at a steady pace …………… it was a black bear!!!

 

A bear was swimming across the canyon from one shore to the other. It was a strong swimmer and kept a straight line all the way.  Our boat pulled up nearby and we watched it get out, water pouring off its fur, and it ran off into the bushes. 

 

It was really exciting and the highlight of the day.

We sat by the lake and had lunch, then headed back to camp for a rest and get things put away ready for our move in the morning.

 

On to Colorado

30^th May Cortez Colorado

We drove back out of the park via Newspaper Rock which had many petroglyphs on it – although it
was difficult to tell which were original.

We drove from Utah into Colorado and immediately noticed how the countryside changed from rocks and scrub to grassed areas, and then into farming land with ranches of cattle and horses.  We also spotted alpaca in some of the fields.

 
After settling into the campsite we spent the afternoon at the Anasazi cultural museum.  The Anasazi lived in these regions 1500 years ago, building pit houses and farming the land.  They then moved down below the mesas and built cliff dwellings such as Mesa Verde.

31^st May – Mesa Verde Nat Park

Mesa Verde Nat Park contains thousands of dwellings both up on the mesas, and below the overhangs as cliff dwellings dating from 500 to 1200AD.  Only a few of the dwellings have been excavated and open to the public.  Some dwellings the public have free access to but three others are
by tour only; we booked all three of the Ranger guided tours.

The drive to the first dwelling, “Balcony House”, took 45 minutes from the visitor centre, along a twisty drive up onto the mesa.  The tour was about an hour and was the more challenging cliff dwelling to tour as you had to climb up 30ft wooden ladders and crawl through a 2ft square narrow tunnel.  The people from ancient times were a bit smaller than they are nowadays!

The second tour, “Cliff Palace”, is the largest of the cliff dwellings in the park.  This entailed climbing back up more wooden ladders through the   How the ancient people accessed their cliff dwellings is anyone’s guess.  Foot holds can be seen in some places going down the rock face.
narrow rocks.

 

The third tour was another 45 minute drive to the other side of the park.  The road took us along the top of the mesa that looked down on the town of Cortez where we were staying.  To the south west we could also make out Ship Rock in the distant desert. We passed some wild horses grazing.  They are discouraged in the park as they can destroy the artefacts.

 

We had time to quickly look around “Step House” before our next tour started.  This dwelling was a pit house and cliff dwelling side by side and we could wonder around on our own.

Our last tour was around “Long House”, the second biggest dwelling, and was the best of the tours.  We got to walk around a lot more of the site, including getting to the back by the cliff where water seeped out and where there were drain holes that would have collected the water in  ancient times.  We could see inside the Kivas and towers. 

 

All the dwellings we saw were quite amazing.  To think they were built around the same time as Salisbury Cathedral but had not intentionally been built to last, so we are lucky that they are still standing now.  There has been some restoration work but mainly to stabilise and enhance necessary safety issues.

 

The nearby “Canyons of the Ancients National Monument” also has several thousand dwellings but very few have been excavated so we decided not to visit there.

 

Dead Horse Point State Park

24^th May

It was a Holiday weekend in USA and Moab was having an Arts Festival so we were unable to stay in our campground. We moved to Horse Thief BLM campground, which is just outside Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands NP. 

Dead Horse Point is a plateau of grass lands you could imagine wild horse roaming on. We visited the State Park in the afternoon and were amazed by the scenery as we looked down on a panorama of sculptured pinnacles and buttes.  It was fantastic!  It reminded us of the Grand Canyon with similar vistas carved by the same Colorado River which at this point is 2000ft below us.  We have often thought of State Parks as being for Recreational purposes, we were surprised to find that this area has not been designated national status for its outstanding scenery.  The area has been used for film locations as a substitute for Grand Canyon shots.  It was in this area that they filmed the last scenes from Thelma and Louise (when they drove the car off the cliff.)

According to legend cowboys used the point to drive wild horse onto and fenced them in by putting a wooden barricade across the 30ft wide ‘neck’ of land.  They then roped the horses they wanted to keep but left the others to die of thirst and hence the point got its name Dead Horse Point – which is a very sad story.

Again it is very windy today and the dust hanging in the air affects the long distance views.

In the evening, whilst taking an evening stroll around the campground, we got chatting to Jo and her husband Woody and met their cat Pumpkin.  By the end of the evening they had invited us to join them the next day on a hike around Canyonlands.

 

25^th May  Syncline Trail, Canyonlands NP

Woody drove us in their RV through Canyonlands NP down to the trailhead.  Pumpkin was to stay in the RV in the car park whilst we were off hiking.  The Syncline Trail is classed as a ‘strenuous trail for experienced hikers’ and at 8.3 miles was one of the longest.  We chatted to a Ranger, who advised us that it can be difficult to find the trail in places and this is the trail they have the most people getting lost on and having to call out search and rescue …….. Do we really want to do this??

In fact it was not that difficult to follow the series of Cairns marking the trail.  There was a lovely canyon we walked down and then we came to the Boulder Garden …….. This was a little more challenging for Alison and involved clambering down huge boulders. At one point Jo gave Alison instruction on where to find hand and foot holds.  It was a walk in the park for experienced rock climbers, Woody and Jo!
 

We had lunch by the rock pools, at the bottom of the canyon, in the shade of the Cottonwood trees. We continued down the canyon and then followed a dried up wash. 



The sun by then was getting hotter and hotter. As we started the climb up and out of the canyon we encountered steep switch backs which were hard work in the heat.

We eventually got back to the RV nearly 7 hours later, just within the recommended trail time.   

26^th May Canyonlands NP

After yesterday’s hike we needed a rest in the morning.  In the afternoon drove back into Canyonlands to see the remainder of the Park.   Canyonlands is split into three distinct regions.  This region is in the north and called the Island in the Sky and is bordered by the Green and Colorado Rivers.

We drove around the various ‘Overlook’s where we could see down to the rivers.
 

 

We hiked up to Upheaval Dome Overlook to see the crater that we had hiked around the day before.  Having only seen 6 other people on our hike yesterday we were a bit overwhelmed by the number of visitors we met today on the top of the plateau. (None were brave enough to hike the lower trail)

The trip up to Mesa Arch was a pleasant surprise, with its delightful views of the distant La Sal Mountains visible through the Arch – Paul had to wait several minutes for the other visitors (Dam tourist) to get out of the way for the photo opportunity!

We spent the evening chatting with Woody and Jo. 

27^th May Horse Thief Campground

We spent the day in the campground chilling out and doing all those “one day” jobs that we hadn’t got round to for the last couple of months.  The constant travelling and movement means that things work loose in the RV and need tightening up from time to time – little jobs that Paul loves.

Woody and Jo joined us around the camp fire in the evening.

28^th May Moab again

We drove back to the camp site in Moab and picked up our mail as well as filling up with water and other necessary chores.  We used the camp site wifi to skype friends in UK and also make some advance camping reservations for other national parks.  We are getting into school holiday season at the end of June and camp sites are getting full.

Moab is a major centre for Mountain Biking and there are trails all over the area.  Woody and Jo had been out on their mountain bikes for the day and met up with us for an evening meal in town before we said our farewells.  It rained during the evening.  We have seen rain about 4 times this year and this is the second time this month – definitely time to move on!

29^th May Needles, Canyonlands

We visited the second district within Canyonlands called the Needles which was around 65 miles from Moab.  We chose another BLM campground but this one required driving up a rather rough dirt track.
 

In the Needles district the rock formations are quite different from those in the Island in the Sky district.  We are at a lower elevation here and hence we are looking up at the pinnacles and mesas rather than looking down into a canyon.

We spent the afternoon driving around visiting a number of viewpoints and hiking a couple of short trails.  One trail took us up a couple of ladders onto the top of the rocks and we saw where the cowboys used an overhanging rock as an open air camp site.

In all the NP there are signs about the fragile Biocryptic layer of the soil.  It is a knobbly crust which forms over time and enhances nutrient and moisture retention which aid plant germination.  Treading on the crust damages it and it can take years to re-form.  Yet the signs are being ignored and there are footprints all over the sand in all the parks we have visited. It seems a shame that in the world today there are still people who cannot read. (These are adults not children)

There were lovely views around our camp site.  In the evening we sat watching the sun set behind the mesas listening to the silence of the desert ..( it’s difficult to get a good sunset when you have  
temperatures in the 80s, clear blue skies and 0% humidity, the things we have to put up with?)