Great Time in Denver, Colorado and Raton, New Mexico

 We spent five nights at Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora, Colorado. This was our first time at this park, and we really enjoyed our time there. Kevin's cousin Mark and his wife Dolly came and camped for two of those nights. We hadn't seen them in a few years, so it was great to get together and catch up. 

Here's the lake formed by a dam built across Cherry Creek. There is a very nice sand beach. We saw lots of boats out on the lake.

This is our full hookup, pull through site which was huge. I love the big sites at state parks. Colorado State Parks are quite pricey, though. Cherry Creek is in the suburbs of Denver, and extremely popular. I was actually surprised to be able to get a reservation when I went online in spring. The site cost was $41 per night. We also were required to pay the $11 per day entrance pass fee. That put the total at $52 per night.

We saw this unusual tent setup in the area without hookups. A sleepwalker or restless sleeper could be in trouble up there!

On Friday we drove up over Guanella Pass to see some fall color. Colorado is known for the colorful beauty of the aspens in fall. We were not disappointed. We saw lots of amazing color on a clear day, and stopped for lunch at a scenic picnic spot.

So much beauty up here!

We stopped near the top for a bathroom break. We were around 11,000 feet which is right about where the tree line ends. Kevin and Mark enjoying a cold one.

There were some ponds up there. You can really see where the tree line ends.

Back at the campground, we were entertained by the black-billed magpies. Usually, we see pigeons or black birds as the scavenger birds in our travels. These magpies were very beautiful, but not at all afraid of the humans.

Friday Mark and Dolly treated us to a Dutch oven campfire dinner. Mark really knows his way around campfire cooking. He made a chicken stew with dumplings in the pot and corn on the cob to go with it. Delicious!!! 

On Sunday Kevin and I ran a few errands and stopped at Peak View Brewing Company. Kevin tried a flight of four beers including an Octoberfest and peanut butter porter. I had a hard cider. 

Monday we left Colorado and headed to Raton, New Mexico. We're here for four nights on the way to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. On Tuesday we went golfing at the Raton Country Club. They had a special, if you showed a lodging receipt, golf was free. Our campground receipt counted, and we each got 18 holes for free. All we had to pay was the $20 cart fee. 

The course is at the base of some mountains and has beautiful views. It is only 9 holes, but was quite challenging. Accuracy was a must. My score was not great, even the second time we played the 9 holes. Oh well, we had a great time on a spectacular day.

Wednesday we drove about 30 miles west of Raton to the Capulin Volcano National Monument. Another place to use our senior National Parks pass. We paid $80 for the pass two years ago in Alaska, and have made good use of it already. I still have quite a few National Parks on my bucket list. The admission at Capulin was $20 per carload without the pass.

Capulin Volcano erupted about 60,000 years ago and formed an outstanding example of a volcanic cinder cone. There is a visitor center at the bottom where we watched the 10 minute movie and stamped my parks passport. Then we drove up the road to the top of the volcano.

At the top was another parking lot with a one mile paved path around the rim. The elevation was over 8,000 feet with about a 350 foot increase on the path. We're not used to climbing in this elevation, and needed to take our time. We enjoyed all the amazing views as we slowly made our way around the rim. Here's a panoramic view of the rim.

And a view to the bottom of the cone.

In the distance there were lots of hills and mesas, which were all formed by volcanic activity.

Tomorrow we head to Albuquerque for the International Balloon Fiesta. I'm really looking forward to our five days there. 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!