Pacific Northwest; Day 17
The day did not look promising as we drove away from our motel in Leadville, CO at 8:15 this morning. It was 40 degrees with a drizzling rain and fog. It snowed in the night at higher elevations and we could see snow on mountains where there was none yesterday evening.
We drove Hwy 91 north to I-70 and along the way we saw beautiful aspen trees and a pretty reservoir.
I-70 took us east to Silverthorne and Hwy 9, which took us north to Kremmling, where we turned eastbound on Hwy 40. The highway pretty much followed the Colorado River and the yellow-gold aspen and narrow leaf cottonwood trees in the river valley were gorgeous. As you can see, we had blue skies by this time.
At Granby we turned north on Hwy 34 headed to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Before arriving, we stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center for a bathroom break and to look around. While there, we found out about Adams Falls, a water fall nearby that we could hike to see. It was back down Hwy 34 at Grand Lake so off we went. We enjoyed the hike and the falls except that there were a bunch of other people there too. Here is a video of the falls that I recorded and put on YouTube: Adams Falls
We drove back to RMNP and at the entrance there were some very pretty aspens. A kind young man took our picture so we did not have to do a selfie.
On the way up into the park we stopped at Lake Irene. Our daughter-in-law and our granddaughter both have the middle name of Irene so we wanted to stop and get some pics. Later I sent the photos to our Irenes back home.
As you can see, skies were blue with a few clouds at Lake Irene. As we drove up to higher elevation in RMNP we drove into a cloud, as you can see in the pic below.
Believe it or not, the fog got thicker than it was in this photo. All across the really scenic portions of Trail Ridge Road we were in dense fog. You win some and you lose some.
We drove in rain all the way to our lodging in Fort Collins, CO. Along the way we passed some elk and some mountain goats (or sheep, whatever you call them). Due to the rain and the people already stopped along the road I did not attempt to get any photos. We arrived at our motel at 3:45 to find out they had a plumbing problem, no water and no idea when it would be restored. We canceled our reservation there and got a room across the highway that had running water. We drove 213 miles today and our high temperature was 67 degrees. Another great day of travel and sightseeing.
To see all the photos taken today click on this link: Day 17 Photos
We drove Hwy 91 north to I-70 and along the way we saw beautiful aspen trees and a pretty reservoir.
I-70 took us east to Silverthorne and Hwy 9, which took us north to Kremmling, where we turned eastbound on Hwy 40. The highway pretty much followed the Colorado River and the yellow-gold aspen and narrow leaf cottonwood trees in the river valley were gorgeous. As you can see, we had blue skies by this time.
At Granby we turned north on Hwy 34 headed to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Before arriving, we stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center for a bathroom break and to look around. While there, we found out about Adams Falls, a water fall nearby that we could hike to see. It was back down Hwy 34 at Grand Lake so off we went. We enjoyed the hike and the falls except that there were a bunch of other people there too. Here is a video of the falls that I recorded and put on YouTube: Adams Falls
We drove back to RMNP and at the entrance there were some very pretty aspens. A kind young man took our picture so we did not have to do a selfie.
On the way up into the park we stopped at Lake Irene. Our daughter-in-law and our granddaughter both have the middle name of Irene so we wanted to stop and get some pics. Later I sent the photos to our Irenes back home.
As you can see, skies were blue with a few clouds at Lake Irene. As we drove up to higher elevation in RMNP we drove into a cloud, as you can see in the pic below.
We drove in rain all the way to our lodging in Fort Collins, CO. Along the way we passed some elk and some mountain goats (or sheep, whatever you call them). Due to the rain and the people already stopped along the road I did not attempt to get any photos. We arrived at our motel at 3:45 to find out they had a plumbing problem, no water and no idea when it would be restored. We canceled our reservation there and got a room across the highway that had running water. We drove 213 miles today and our high temperature was 67 degrees. Another great day of travel and sightseeing.
To see all the photos taken today click on this link: Day 17 Photos
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