Rocky Mountain National Park-Day 1

 

The morning started with a beautiful sunrise.

 

 

 

We headed over to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) around 9 am.  Today was National Park Day so entry to all parks was free.  There were quite a few people, but we didn’t have any major traffic problems.  The plan was to drive the 50 miles from one side of the park to the other on Trail Ridge Road.  First we stopped at the Moraine Park Visitor Center to watch the movie and to stamp my National Parks Passport.

We drove to the Sheep Lakes area to see if we could spot any elk.  We saw a ton of cars pulled over so we knew we were in luck :)

 

 

As we drove further into the park, the mountain views grew more and more beautiful.  Out of nowhere a wave of emotion swept over me.  The splendor of the scenery really got to me.  I started thinking about how lucky we are to be living this life; and before I knew it, tears were running down my face.  Kevin just goes with the flow.  He knows I get a little wacky sometimes :)

I saw this bird at one of the lookout areas.  He was sitting on this sign right next to all kinds of people, and it didn’t seem to phase him one bit.  I believe he is a Clark’s Nutcracker.

 

On the western side of the park is Grand Lake.  The mountains on this side of the park are called the Never Summer Mountains.  You can see some of the aspen.  The park didn’t have as many aspen as I imagined, but they are in full color and gorgeous!

On our way back to the east side of the park, we stopped and hiked a few short trails.  We plan on doing some more hiking this week.  Today was a get acquainted with the park day.  One of the hikes was along this small stream.  It’s actually the Colorado River.  The headwaters start in the mountains in the park.  Can you believe this is the same river that roars through the Grand Canyon.

Our final hike for today was at an area called Rock Cut.  This was a mile hike climbing 260 feet.  The trailhead started at 12,110 feet elevation.  It felt like we were on top of the world.

I took lots of pictures, but pretty soon they all start to look the same so I won’t show you anymore today :)

Back in town we stopped at Estes Park Mountain Shop where I bought a pair of Merrell hiking shoes.  I’ve heard from several other fulltimers that these are great shoes for hiking.  They were on sale for $64.99.  I know they regularly run around $100 so I broke down and bought a pair.  My tennis shoes really weren’t cutting it today.

I’m tired tonight, but it’s a good tired :)

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

Rocky Mountain National Park-Day 2

Yesterday Kevin’s cousin Mark, his wife, Dolly and their 20 year old son, Daniel came for a visit.  They live in a suburb of Denver and were kind enough to drive 1-1/2 hours to come see us. 

Mark and his boys are avid hikers and outdoorsmen.  We decided to take a hike in the Bear Lake area of RMNP.  Mark told us he’d choose a trail that wouldn’t be too strenuous.  We took the trail to The Loch.  This trail is 6.2 miles roundtrip with an increase in elevation of 990 feet.  If you figure one story of an office building is 10 feet, that would be the equivalent of walking up 99 stories.  The Loch at the end of the trail was worth it.  What an amazing view.  It’s a crystal clear lake surrounded by mountains with Andrews Glacier visible on the side of one of the mountains.  It was so nice to rest for a while and enjoy the spiritual essence of the place.  There isn’t a cathedral in the world that could compare for a Sunday visit.   We could have continued on the trail to a lake at the base of the glacier.  It would have been only an extra 2 miles with another 700 foot increase in elevation.  Instead we decided to go back.  We appreciated the fact that Mark chose a trail where we could push ourselves a little, but we’re not crazy :)

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.  Luckily, Mark and Dolly brought theirs and will be emailing me a few pictures they took for us.  I’ll post them as soon as I get them.  I’m really glad we did the hike.  It was a bit strenuous, but the exercise felt great and the payoff was an awesome reward.  Both Kevin and I believe our knees are actually feeling better after a few days of hiking.

I’m loving my new Merrell hiking shoes.  The trail yesterday was quite rocky, and I’m sure the bottoms of my feet would have been quite miserable in tennis shoes.  I highly recommend the Merrell’s for anyone planning on doing any hiking.

The weather has been phenomenal.  Highs have been in the 80s and nighttime lows in the 40s.  We have noticed a definite difference in the weather due to the altitude.  The sun feels more intense and seems brighter.  Once the sun goes down, the temperatures drop like a rock.  It’s been sunny every day, and we just couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. And the star viewing at night is incredible!!  An added bonus is no mosquitoes and no flies :)

Something that is very noticeable in RMNP are the amount of dead pine trees.  The park is suffering from a pine beetle epidemic.  I would guess 50% of the pine trees in certain areas are dead.  It’s due to the average temperatures being higher than average for the past 10 years and prolonged periods of low precipitation.  It’s considered a natural phenomenon, but it’s sad to see so many dead trees.  I’m guessing there will come a time when a fire will destroy much of the dead wood.  You can see all of the brown dead trees in the picture.

We’re off to do some more hiking today, and I won’t be forgetting my camera!

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

Estes Park, Colorado

Last night we stayed at McGreer Camper Park in Big Springs, Nebraska.  It’s a Passport America park about a mile off of I-80.  The cost was $12.50 for a full hook-up site with 30 amp service.  That’s it.  The office is on the right and we’re parked just to the left of it.

It appeared to be the outer boundaries of a farm field with some sites put in.  Very rustic :)  There was a small office building, but we never saw a soul.  You put your money in an envelope and slid it through a mail slot.  The building was open and they had some coin operated washer and dryers.  The bathrooms had free showers and were clean.  It was an OK place to spend a night, but other than that, it had no “it” factor at all.  We were the only ones there for a while.  Towards evening, two more RVs pulled in.

We left about 9:00 this morning.  The landscape quickly turned from fields of crops to range land; lots of cattle.  I kept searching the horizon for mountains.  It seemed like they just appeared out of nowhere.  One second there was nothing, and the next second you could see mountains.  Very cool!  We’ve been to the Rockies before, but it’s been a while.  I love mountain views.

It was a steady uphill climb all day.  Once we got past Loveland, Colorado, there was a 22 mile stretch of switchbacks right in the mountains.  Kevin did a great job driving.  Here’s where my knuckles started turning a bit white :)  This was the first time our truck pulled our new camper in mountains.  It’s heavier than our last camper was, so we weren’t sure how the truck would do.  It performed like a champ :)

We’re staying at Mary’s Lake Campground in Estes Park about two miles from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.  It’s a county park so we have to pay $7 a day for an entrance pass plus $30 a day for the camping.  It was still less expensive than any other private campgrounds so close to the national park.   Everything is very brown here.  They have had a very dry spell and the fire danger it high. 

Here’s the view at the front of the camper.

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s the view looking towards the back.

 

 

 

 

The mountain views are beautiful.  The campground has full hook-ups with 50 amp electric.  The pull-through sites are pretty level and have a concrete pad.  There is free Wi-Fi which is good because our air card has no bars.  We can barely get a signal on the cell phones.  The satellite dish is set up with a great signal.  I called DirecTV to change our location, and believe it or not, it went very smoothly.  We now have Denver local channels so we can record our favorite shows while we explore.

The ground here is rock covered with some scrawny pines.  I’m really surprised how desert-like the landscape is.  I was envisioning more green space.  There is a Mary’s Lake, but it’s across the road from the campground so no lake views.  All in all, it’s not a bad campground, but doesn’t have a real “it” factor for me.  On this leg of the trip, it’s all about location.

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

“The Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plain”

Part of the lyrics of the title song of the musical Oklahoma is “where the wind comes sweeping down the plain”.  Today I think that song must have been written about Nebraska.  We battled wind all day, really sending our gas mileage into a tailspin.

We had un uneventful night sleeping at the Love’s Travel Plaza in West Des Moines, Iowa.  They actually had a little side drive they let us park in so there were no other vehicles next to us.  It was relatively quiet, and we got enough rest to continue our journey.

The scenery yesterday and today has consisted of fields; corn and wheat for miles and miles.  It’s very clear why this is called our country’s bread basket.  We did witness a beautiful sunset last night. 

  Yesterday was the autumnal equinox and there was a full moon.  I heard this hasn’t happened in almost a hundred years.  Also, Jupiter is the closest it will be to earth all year; only 400 million miles away.  In case you missed it, here’s a picture of the full moon above the truck stop.  If you look closely, you can see a star under the moon.  I don’t know if it was Jupiter, it might be Venus or some other star.  All I know is that is was a beautiful sight.  I’m looking forward to looking at the sky in the clear dark mountain air!

We’ve been driving about 8 hours again today.  We’re almost at our stop for the night.  Tonight’s the season premiere of Bones and Grey’s Anatomy.  What more can a person ask for :)

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

We’re Finally On Our Way!

We spent another night in Burlington RV’s parking lot last night.  Here’s our lovely spot.  We did have water and electric and didn’t have to find a place to stay, so we were happy with that.

Yesterday they repaired our bedroom slide so it is working properly and no longer sitting too low.  We had a few other minor things we noticed so we had them do those, too.  They still weren’t sure if the leak was fixed.  They wanted to water test it again today.  After rain last night and running water on it for 1.5 hours this morning, everything was dry so we were out of there!

Jayco has given me written confirmation that they will honor our warranty beyond its expiration date regarding any leaks.  Hopefully, we won’t have to take them up on it.  I must say they have been very good about honoring the warranty and fixing anything we found lacking.

We are, however, somewhat disappointed with the quality of this Jayco.  It’s the fifth Jayco we’ve owned, and we’ve never had any serious problems before.  This time there were some major problems caused by shoddy workmanship.

Some of our windows weren’t sealed properly when they were installed.  One wall in the bedroom slide wasn’t attached to the floor which caused a leak.  The big slide had numerous gaps in the caulking which caused a leak.  The siding under the part that hangs over the truck was not attached to the plywood underneath and eventually began pulling loose.  I don’t know if we’ll buy Jayco again.  We’ll have to see.  Maybe we just got a lemon :( 

Now on to the adventure.  We had to change our plans and skip visiting Galena, Illinois and Kevin’s brother in Iowa.  We have reservations in Estes Park, Colorado Friday night.  We were told to make reservations because this time of year the aspen are in full fall color and the elk are rutting so the campgrounds tend to fill up. Since we planned to arrive on a Friday, I made a reservation.

Now we have to hustle to get there on time.  We’ll be driving about 8 hours today and spending the night at a Love’s Truck Stop in West Des Moines, Iowa.  Tomorrow night we’ll stop at a Passport America campground near North Platte, Nebraska and then onto Estes Park on Friday.  Hopefully, this will be the last time we have to do this much driving in such a short time.

I’m writing this in the truck.  I sure do appreciate our Verizon air card.  We’re in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  At least we are finally out of Wisconsin :)

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

Fall is Here, Or Is It?

We spent the weekend camping with our camping club at Green Lake Campground in Green Lake, Wisconsin.  We had a great time.  The weather was cool and gloomy.  Highs were in the low 60s and it was overcast all weekend with a few showers thrown in.

Green Lake Campground has a 9 hole, par 3 golf course.  Golfing on the course if free for campers.  It’s not very well tended, but it’s fine for a little fun for all levels of golfers.  We had a scramble tournament with members of our club.  In the evening we had a mini golf tournament.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves regardless of their golfing abilities. 

The camping fees are $45 a night for water and electric sites.  We got a club discount and paid $35 a night.  I think that’s just too much even if they do have a golf course and 2 pools. 

Some of my friends were teasing me by saying all I talk about in this blog is the weather.  Since we were camphosting in the same place all summer, sometimes I didn’t have anything new to tell you.  This summer the weather was so strange so I had lots to say about that :)

Fall is definitely in the air.  Tree leaves are turning colors and many leaves are already falling.  The other morning when I was walking through some leaves, it smelled so much like fall.  It’s funny how each season has smells associated with it.

Last night we camped at Cliffside County Park in Racine which is close to Burlington RV.  We had an appointment this morning for more warranty work.  These beautiful leaves were on the ground when we got there.

I’m sure you’re dying to know how our repairs went today :)  Since I am writing this blog from Burlington RV’s parking lot tonight, I guess it wasn’t exactly great.  They fixed some loose moldings and adjusted the awning arm which was not closing properly since they replaced the awning fabric last time.  They also tried to fix our leak.  The technician thought he had found the leak and fixed it.  After water testing it, water was still leaking in.  They’ll work on the leak again tomorrow.  They also didn’t get to fixing our bedroom slide today.  We sure are hoping they can get it done tomorrow so we can get on our way to Colorado. 

They did allow us to park in their parking lot tonight with electric and water hookups.  So, I’m enjoying the season premiere of Dancing With the Stars and hoping we can be done with these repairs once and for all tomorrow.

We spent all day today running errands and doing some shopping.  We went to an outlet mall and found some Christmas gifts for some wonderful young men in our lives.  They read this blog, so I can’t tell you what we got them :)

I’m not sure what we’ll do tomorrow.  No more shopping; we don’t need to spend any more money.  It’s supposed to be a nice warm day tomorrow so maybe we’ll try to find a nice park.  It’s supposed to be 83 degrees tomorrow with higher humidity.  Summer seems to be making a comeback!

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

Invasion of the Flies

We had the strangest thing happen a few nights ago.  Kevin was grilling supper outside, and there were a bunch of flies around.  We didn’t think much of it since we’ve had flies bothering us since July.  Well, the flies just kept coming and coming.  The whole side of our camper was covered with them.

Kevin brought the supper in along with dozens of flies.  After that, we didn’t dare open the door.  They were everywhere including all over the outside of the window screens.  Take a look.

I took the pictures from inside.  I wasn’t going out there.  We figured the food must have attracted them, and they’d go away once it got dark.  But, they didn’t.  They were still there in the morning.  Kevin had to take a broom and brush them all off.  Many were dead; some were still alive.

We don’t know what to make of it.  Maybe it was their last hurrah since there haven’t been many flies since that night.  Maybe it is some sort of dying ritual.  All I know is it was really strange!

We’re leaving our camphosting position today.  We’re camping with our camping club this weekend, taking the camper in for repairs on Monday and then heading towards Colorado.  I’m excited for the next part of the adventure to begin!!!

I’ll keep you posted :)

I wish everyone a terrific weekend.

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