Search for Aspen Gold; Day 2
At 7:20 we were scooting out of Burlington, CO westbound on I-70. It was sunny and 63 degrees. Our route today was I-70 westbound to Seibert, north on 59 to Cope, 36 west, 71 north to Brush, and I-76 and Hwy 34 into our destination, Estes Park.
Just south of Cope, a heard of turkeys crossed the road in front of us causing us to stop. A car coming the other way also stopped. The turkeys acted as though they owned the road. Just west of Cope we spotted two antelope in a field. As we turned north on 71 the temperature also reached 71 so the top came down. Somewhere west of Wiggins on 34 the temperature dropped from the high 70's to 64 all at once and when it dropped to 61 the top went back up.
We stopped at the Loveland, Colorado visitor's center and walked around the grounds.
They had an amazing little robot moving around that cut the grass for them. I took a video of it working so you can check it out by viewing photos with the link below. At the end of the video it appears to get stuck but we continued to watch and it was able to back up, turn, and move on. There was a sculpture titled "Grandmother's Joy" so I took a picture of Grandma standing beside it. Down the road a little farther in Loveland we stopped at 3 Margaritas for a very good Mexican lunch. Then it was westbound through Big Thompson Canyon along the Big Thompson River and into Estes Park.
In Estes Park we tried to ride the tram up a mountain but the line was too long and was moving too slow. We decided to do a hike, located a hike online, and had Google maps lead us there only to find the gate closed. It was a very busy day in Estes Park because they were celebrating "Elk Days" this weekend and it was also a weekend for free entry into the national parks. People came from all around to access Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) free of charge. We heard some folks say it was such slow going into RMNP that they gave up and turned around. Driving around Estes Park we did see a huge elk with a huge rack of antlers. I did not try to stop for a photo because there already many cars stopped and people milling around. Yesterday we saw on the news that a lady actually got attacked by an elk in Estes Park.
We returned to our hotel and watched most of the second half of the Chief's game and were happy to see them win in the closing minutes. Then we hit the hotel's hot tub to round out the day.
We drove 263 miles today. The high temperature was 80 and the low was 61. It was a beautiful day, though a little windy, and it is great to see the mountains again.
To see all the photos taken today click on the following link: Day 2 Pics
Just south of Cope, a heard of turkeys crossed the road in front of us causing us to stop. A car coming the other way also stopped. The turkeys acted as though they owned the road. Just west of Cope we spotted two antelope in a field. As we turned north on 71 the temperature also reached 71 so the top came down. Somewhere west of Wiggins on 34 the temperature dropped from the high 70's to 64 all at once and when it dropped to 61 the top went back up.
We stopped at the Loveland, Colorado visitor's center and walked around the grounds.
They had an amazing little robot moving around that cut the grass for them. I took a video of it working so you can check it out by viewing photos with the link below. At the end of the video it appears to get stuck but we continued to watch and it was able to back up, turn, and move on. There was a sculpture titled "Grandmother's Joy" so I took a picture of Grandma standing beside it. Down the road a little farther in Loveland we stopped at 3 Margaritas for a very good Mexican lunch. Then it was westbound through Big Thompson Canyon along the Big Thompson River and into Estes Park.
The aspens are changing. This photo was taken from in front of our hotel room using a zoom lens. We found aspen gold and hope to see much more.
We returned to our hotel and watched most of the second half of the Chief's game and were happy to see them win in the closing minutes. Then we hit the hotel's hot tub to round out the day.
We drove 263 miles today. The high temperature was 80 and the low was 61. It was a beautiful day, though a little windy, and it is great to see the mountains again.
To see all the photos taken today click on the following link: Day 2 Pics
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