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).