Began the day with showers. The showers here are very nice although we have to pay for them but 75 cents for 4 minutes is sufficient. The shower building is very clean and the water is hot. What more could we want. We decided to do laundry and do some shopping.
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| This was a very nice laundry. The washers were very up-to-date. They had machines that held up to six loads of laundry. I used the double-loaders at a cost of $2.50. That is cheaper than in Mt. Zion. There was a homeless man doing his laundry which consisted of a sleeping bag and the clothes he was wearing. He actually took off his clothes and put them in the washer. Underneath he was wearing long Johns. He had plastic bags wrapped around his feet. I don't think he had shoes. After he got the laundry started, he laid a mat of some kind under a clothes folding table and laid on the mat and slept. He must have had mental problems because he kept talking to himself. John says this part of Colorado has a huge homeless problem. This is a beautiful place to be homeless and the people seem to focus on helping them. |
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| Breakfast was in order after laundry. Our options in this part of Longmont were Perkins or Aunt Alice's Kitchen. Their parking lots helped us make the decision. Perkins' lot was empty and Aunt Alice's was full. Locals know where the best food is. The food was delicious and the portions large. This year we will be able to celebrate Aidan's 8th birthday so we found a Walmart to buy a gift. After that, we were able to do some sightseeing. |
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| We saw this young man along the road. I appreciated his honesty. After I snapped this picture, he jumped up and ran toward the cars waiting at the stop light. We both got nervous thinking he was upset about the picture, but he had seen a hand from a car behind us offering him something. |
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| As the pictures show, it was an overcast day with rain and mist off and on. |
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| I don't know what kind of bird this is but I thought he was pretty so I took a picture. We also saw a couple of eagles flying above us. |
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| We decided to drive through the park along the eastern border instead of taking the Trail Ridge Road which crosses the center of the park. All the pictures are taken along that road. For an hour or two the sun chased the clouds away but a few wispy clouds hung over the tops of the mountains. |
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| This is the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. |
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| This time of year is mating season for the elk in the park. We were fortunate enough to encounter this male elk with his "harem." Several people were along the road taking pictures. He bugled to let us know that this group of cows were his. Special areas in the park have been designated prime elk mating meadows. Signs are posted that from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. no people can walk within these areas. Several years ago we camped near one of these meadows and it was so neat to hear the elk bugling in the evenings. |
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| The aspens are beginning to turn their golden yellow. We saw patches of the aspens on the mountain sides. |
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| We came around a curve and saw up close and personal this bull elk. He was oblivious to the stir he was causing among the park visitors. |
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Along with the bull elk, there was a mother and her baby. They crossed the road right in front of us. We also saw a moose standing in a small pond but the roads were so packed with people taking pictures that we didn't stop.
We took a new route into Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove US 66 to US 36. The road isn't as dramatic as the one through Big Thompson Canyon but it is very pretty and if we were to take our RV to Estes Park, would be the one we would take. It does go through a canyon and at one point we saw a sign that said, "In case of flood, climb to safety." Duh!
As we left Estes Park, we could see the clouds over the mountains and canyon we would be driving through. We made it back to camp about 5:00 p.m. We had chili for supper to help warm us up. The temperatures most of the day were in the mid-50's and with the exception of an hour or two, the skies were overcast making those temperatures feel even colder.
I think we will drive the "Peak to Peak" road tomorrow. I hope the sun shines for us. |
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