Aug 3, 2020 - Mad Creek Trail Hike

We went on this hike at about 11am, and didn’t expect it to take as long as it did - 3.5 hours. It was a total of 4.54 miles round trip. The total elevation gain was 566 feet from 6757ft to 7236ft max. The temperature was 85 degrees. We bought sandwiches and had (we thought) enough waters in our backpacks to tide us over.

Aug 2, 2020 - Wild Basin

Estes Park, CO This was our last hike of our stay. We decided to tackle Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascade and Ouzel Falls in the Wild Basin area. We were out the door fairly early because the weather people were again promising rain and warning that it could be a bit heavier than we had been having every day. We were able to get the second to last parking space big enough for our vehicle so things were off to a good start. The trail begins as a leisurely walk through the forest. We arrived at Copeland Falls fairly quickly and delighted in...

Aug 2, 2020 - One Million Dollars!!!

We started this week’s adventure on the Million Dollar Highway. The Million Dollar Highway is the portion of Highway 550 between Durango, Colorado and Ouray, Colorado. It is unclear how it got this name. We’ve heard several explanations....It cost a Million Dollars to build, It has Million Dollar views, and "I wouldn’t drive that again for a Million Dollars!!" It is a treacherous highway - a very steep, twisty mountain road with numerous hair-pin turns, sheer drop-offs and no guardrails (in many places). Our start on the Million Dollar...

Aug 1, 2020 - July

2020 is a very different year in so many ways. No 4th of July cookout here at Riverview Resort. So we got together with a bunch of our friends & had our own potluck on the 4th. These were all people we'd been around for at least a month so no worries about social distancing or masks. Smaller groups of us get together at least once a week. Don't know how people can stand to be isolated for months! After so many Moto rides in May & June, July was almost a dud. Our working schedule didn't coincide with the people we usually ride with so we...

Aug 1, 2020 - Alberta Falls

Estes Park, CO For most people a hike to Alberta Falls would have been a quick in and out. Afterall, the falls are only .6 miles from the trailhead. We do not do things that way. The falls parking lot was, of course, completely full but we were again able to score a spot at the Bear Lake lot. This added .4 miles to our hike, but it was a beautiful walk. Along the way we, of course, had to climb rocks and explore everywhere. Our group provided entertainment to fellow hikers by finding challenging rocks on which to perform a box jump –...

Jul 31, 2020 - Lily Lake

Estes Park, CO We, of course, had to get a hike in for the day. Today we chose Lily Lake. It is amazing how a 1-mile trail can take 3 hours when there are rocks to climb, vistas to view, logs to balance on, and rock cairns to be built. It was a beautiful day with beautiful views and we added to our wildlife sightings by spotting a coyote. We also had a little culture for the day. Built in 1917, the Baldpate Inn was named after the mystery novel, SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE by Earl Derr Biggers. In the novel, each of seven visitors traveled to...

Jul 30, 2020 - Wildlife!

Estes Park, CO What an amazing day! We drove up Old Fall River Road, taking our time to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings. Old Fall River Road was the first auto route that led to the high country in Rocky Mountain National Park. It opened in 1920. The 9.4-mile gravel, one-way uphill road is dotted with some really serious switchbacks. It follows along the steep slope of Mount Chapin's south face past waterfalls, pine forests, and leads to Fall River Pass (11,796 feet above sea level). The posted speed limit on Old Fall River Road...

Jul 29, 2020 - Lake, hike, lake, hike, repeat

Estes Park, NE Today was a major hiking day. Because Bear Lake is THE most popular trail in the park, we got moving early today. Perhaps that is why we encountered an elk on our way. Normally they are higher in the mountains at this time of year. That was our first stroke of luck. Our second was when we arrived at the Bear Lake parking lot. We intended to drop off the group and one person would take the car back to the park-and-ride, returning on the shuttle. Instead, we scored the last parking space. We had started in Estes Park at 7,522’....

Jul 28, 2020 - Shopping

Estes Park, CO Our home in Elkhorn, Nebraska has an elevation of about 1200'. Surprise, AR has an elevation of about 1,100'. Estes Park has an elevation of 7,522'. With such a severe change in altitude, we all needed a day to acclimate before we begin hiking in the mountains. So we went shopping. There was so much to see that it easily took us the entire day. There were so many treasures! We even visited Estes Ark, a building shaped like a giant ark, as in Noah’s Ark. It is over-filled with stuffed animals. We also played a bit in Fall...

Jul 27, 2020 - Estes Park

Estes Park, CO Most of today was spent just getting to our destination with few of those little side trips we love. We reached Estes Park in the late afternoon and met up with the rest of our group: sister-in-law Diana, niece Elizabeth, grandniece Kayla, grandniece Lily and grandnephew Sawyer. We got settled in to the condo with a minimum amount of fighting over who got what bedroom. Everyone being tired, rather than cook we headed to town to grab something to eat. We intend to do a thorough job exploring the shops tomorrow.

Jul 26, 2020 - Feel the Thunder, Smell the Sulfur!

We’ve spent this week in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Pagosa Springs (at over 7000’) is a beautiful mountain community and resort town. Natural sulfur hot springs (think rotten egg smell), the San Juan River Walk, Wolf Creek Ski Run, National Forest hiking trails and scenic drives make Pagosa Springs a 4-Seasons Outdoor wonderland. The weather was sketchy during our stay - thunderstorms rolled in almost every afternoon - so we had to curb some of our outdoor adventures. Being caught in a thunderstorm, while on a hike, is not quite as fun when...

Jul 25, 2020 - Two Months in New Rig

It has been two months since we left Benson traveling with our new rig. This year is certainly far from a normal year but there is not much we can do about it. We have formed some impressions of our new life style. One thing to keep in mind is that normally we would not spend as much time within a rig. We are usually enjoying outdoor activities but as you know, that has been drastically curtailed. So here it is: The Good - what we like and The Bad - what we don’t like. We also have some changes and modification that we’d like to make to...