A lot has happened since RAGBRAI

We've covered a lot of territory since RAGBRAI, with the highlights being visits with friends and family in Ohio (Dan and Linda Houston), Kentucky (Tom and Sally LaBaugh and all our great friends from 1992-1997), Arkansas and Oklahoma (Jean and Jim Lemmon and Alice and Ray Henson), Missouri (Cam and Lindsey Pence); and Denver (Alicia and Darren and Angie and Rick). 

 

Since then, back to the Grand Tour, starting with:

 

 Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park, the third week of July

 

 During an early-morning hike on Bear Lake (around 7:30 a.m.), we saw a big group of elk coming down to the lake.

 

 A draft horse competition at the fairgrounds in Estes Park turned out to be an unexpected highlight of our stay.  The horses were beautiful.

 

 On our best hike in the park, we took a break and had lunch at Lake Haiyaha.  The only way to actually see the lake was to climb over a bunch of boulders between the trail and the lake itself.

 

 One of the more magnificent views on our hike looping around Nymph Lake, Emerald Lake, Dream Lake, Lake Haiyaha, and finally to Alberta Falls (about 7 miles, total).

 

.One of the great scenes on the Trail Ridge Road, a highly trafficked ride into the park.   Here you see we are getting just above the tree line.

 

In sum, the Rocky Mountain National Park is now one of our favorites.  We've never seen such magnificent mountains.

 

Next came Durango, Colorado

where we have been for the past almost six weeks.  Highlights here have been:  the Durango-Silverton Train Ride; the visit to Mesa Verde National Park; and the drive around the Alpine Loop to see the fall color.  Also enjoyed lots of great meals, a couple of great evenings listening to ragtime music by a wonderful piano player, some bike rides, and just hanging out at the RV park where we have been surrounded by lovely scenery.

 

Durango-Silverton Train Ride

 

 The engine was an authentic steam engine powered by coal-fired steam on a narrow-gauge railroad.

 

 The train ran alongside some dramatic steep drop-offs.  The views were jaw-dropping.

 

The train ran alongside the lovely Animas River virtually all the way up to Silverton.  We gained about 3500 feet in altitude, in total.

Our rail car had a glass roof and open sides, letting us see what was above us as well as alongside.

 

The town of Silverton is a small former mining town high in the mountains, now mainly dedicated to tourism.  The population here in winter drops to about 400 people.

 

 

Alpine Loup Drive to see the Fall Color
 

This ride was done on Sept. 28th and 29th, the height of the fall color in the mountains.  We have never seen such intense yellows and golds, all against some of the most dramatic mountain landscape we've ever seen.

 

 

 We stopped in Ouray for lunch (that's Harold), a great small town crowded into a narrow valley at about 8000 ft.

 

 These are some of the 14,000-foot peaks, already covered with snow from a storm last week.

 

 

 

 

What a treat.

 

See our next post for images of Mesa Verde, another great national park.