First stop as usual, the Beast off to be boarded. The back of the vehicle is quite packed, so no room for a kennel. Dog fur and smell all over me, hooray. The cat was being tended by a neighbor kid, and the gecko (a new addition) was spending time over at the cousin's place.
Then off westbound on I70. We stopped for lunch at Arby's in Hayes Kansas...which was completely torn up in terms of road construction off the highway and we lost probably 20-30 minutes trying to get to a gas station and drive-through. The rural heartland of course has still not lost its sense of quiet dignity and aesthetic charm:
A couple rest stops along the way. This one feels like we've stopped there before.
Around Colby we saw a sign for a Chinese restaurant, that we thought too good to be true. Debra was too late to snap a picture, and our attempts to see it from the highway were fruitless. But City Wok was / is a real place and there is now a franchise in Western Kansas. Reading a bit about it now, it sounds like the South Park writers who coopted it were familiar with and frequented the southern California franchises. (This pic was pulled from online after the fact.)
On the outskirts of Colby is an interesting billboard, noted on Google Maps as "Wheat Jesus". We're not really sure of the exact message here...is it referencing the parable of the tares and wheat? Is it "Jesus loves farmers like you?" Is it an angry response to low carb diets?
So on and on we barrelled through Kansas, and West Kansas / East Colorado. To keep ourselves amused we listened to audiobooks of Harry Potter...and growing a bit bored of that, we started scanning rural radio. Livestock and grain prices seemed to be the constant. I wonder if folks from rural areas are as mystified by constant updates of highway traffic on our radio as we were by hearing realtime price updates on winter wheat every few minutes.
Then we found more fun fever-swampy radio and talked to the kids about the lures of conspiracy thinking. The first one, well not so much conspiracy based, but it started out like a normal Christian lady but gradually started introducing the concepts of anointing your house with oils and "Jesus blood". That one got pretty wild, but she eventually got a bit more conventional and therefore less entertaining, so then we found Alex Jones. Now, I knew about this lunatic decades ago when he actually represented the utterly insane and paranoid fringe of the libertarian right...it is depressing, these days, how much he has moved into the mainstream of the dumber elements of the political right. Well, not so much that he moved, but that the party base moved to meet him. Anyway, the kids were interested (in a highly skeptical way), so I think it was somewhat instructive, until we got out of range and had to stop.
We ran into traffic issues around Longmont, on our way in, due to a large truck fire right next to a dispensary. So we had to take back roads and go the northern route in. Which was pretty, admittedly.
We got in, got unpacked in our cabin, and I did a Safeway grocery pickup. It is strange to order groceries for pickup the day before, two states over, but it worked.
NOTE THE RULES:
Next day we got up and it was rainy, but we had a Bear Lake Corridor reservation, so we thought we'd at least try Bear Lake.
On a whim we decided to follow the route Debra and I took in 2019, up the Flattop Mountain trail. This was a good choice for several reasons...Bear Lake trail itself is packed with (mostly non-hiker type) people whereas Flattop Mountain weeds out much of them (let's face it, it weeds out us too, eventually). And it was a good "get everybody used to elevation gain with low oxygen" starter hike.
I was hoping to goad us on to at least the point where Debra and I gave up...a beautiful overlook of Dream Lake, interestingly titled Dream Lake Overlook. That may have been slightly unreasonable given this was our first of several hikes, so I relented...
Visibility wasn't great due to clouds and fog...although that was true all week...later due to smoke from wildfires.
A big bull elk right by the road on our way out of the park.
We took it easy the rest of the day, eating taquitos for dinner and watching a copy of Napoleon Dynamite from the resort DVD library.
Next day, we had 7am Bear Lake Corridor entry reservations, although our goal was not Bear Lake...it was Deer Mountain. This was intended to be the kids first real summitting of a mountain (Lily Mountain, they never did the final scramble up to the top for safety reasons). Peak visible in the background.
The views on this hike (with some of the only properly clear skies of the week) were exceptional...even during the first third of it before we got to switchbacks.
A flock of utterly unconcerned turkeys...if turkeys acted like this in Missouri I wouldn't be quite as inept of a turkey hunter.
A panorama of the views of the mountains from the lower section of the trail.
Snacks remain a principle motivator, as ever. Dried fruits, jerky, water that tastes like plastic...
The middle third of the hike had the most elevation gain and switchbacks, but the climb was rewarded with views at regular intervals.
The final third, I think near the top, flattened out quite mercifully. At least until the final staircase climb to the summit, which was only 0.2 miles or so, but steep.
An older pair of tourists from Joplin, MO insisted to us that these were pika. We kept them at arms length, not for their taxonomical inaccuracy, but given that southwestern Missouri at that point was a CoVid hotspot.
Snack time at the summit.
The views were incredible, and the wind wasn't terrible. Quite a pleasant little spot to relax...the location is fairly central to RMNP so you can see much of the park from here.
I think this is to the north...oh no, it isn't...this must be towards Estes, with Lily Mountain, Twin Sisters, Estes Cone, and I bet Longs shrouded to the right.
Time to gather up the packs and head back down.
The last section after the switchbacks where it levels out again and opens up to prairie. We saw some deer down the hill.
The "after" picture. Kids' expressions are rather...well, expressive. Pete was the cheerleader here and Gretchen, while a good sport and not terribly complainy, was not vigorously enthusiastic about the whole affair.
Bit of Hawaiian guitar on the back balcony during a sleepy afternoon with the rest of the family resting and recovering.
We hit the pool...it was (quite) heated, which was nice but the cool mountain air was brutal when you get out.
Then my brother, sister-in-law, and baby nephew Felix arrived, to share the larger cabin with us, which was great. I made chicken Marsala that night in our tiny ship's galley of a kitchen, and we ended up watching Napoleon Dynamite again, with them.
Next morning we got up really early for one more bigger hike with the kids in the Bear Lake area. The kids this day (perhaps a bit tired) were reversed in enthusiasm from yesterday, Gretchen being more of a good sport and Peter being tired and not terribly enthused. So off to one of our favorites, the three lake circuit of Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lake, in the valley between Flattop Mountain and Hallett Peak. It was quite busy, and we barely got parking even as early as we got there. Spotted some muleys close at hand:
Nymph Lake our first stop.
Stellar's Jay. Lots of wildlife here.
Longs visible to the south.
This would be Dream Lake, we're halfway there.
Boardwalk through marshy areas.
Other end of Dream Lake (it's fairly long).
There's a fair amount of ascent...and plenty of waterfalls.
And we made it to Emerald...
Took a brief snack break here and started our way back down.
On our way back we were slowed by a cow and her calf...Debra made sure we didn't get too close (plenty of other tourists were not so deterred). Gretchen loved this though.
Back in town, we got McDonald's breakfast as a reward for the kids, and later I drove to pick up some groceries...happening on a large group of elk off the road.
Meanwhile Derek, Jessica, and Felix did a nice hike to the south, using trails near the YMCA there; they definitely preferred the less well travelled trails and did a pretty good job finding them. We rested, and hit the pool again when it cleared out.
That night we made biscuits and gravy for dinner (at Debra's insistence-I-mean-request) and I also did my usual Thursday lesson with Alan Akaka, via Skype. Worked surprisingly well. He gave me a fun arrangement of Pagan Love Song...that I need to start practicing post-haste!
The next day was supposed to be the day when Debra and I went and attempted our CCY hike...fulfilling my longterm goal of bringing Debra to the pika. But we both (and especially Debra) slept -awfully- that night, lots of insomnia, and we knew by early morning that attempting that hike was a nonstarter. So we slept in and bailed on the prospect. I hopped up at 6, parted the curtains, and hello there!
So our unscheduled recovery day wasn't a complete waste. We decided to drive up into the park, and do Trail Ridge Road, the high alpine road. On our way up, some nice views at pullouts.
The Mummy Range as viewed from the southeast...
And the same range from the other side at the Alpine Visitor Center. In the foreground is the smaller Marmot Point, and from right to left you have the ascending mountains Chapin, Chiquita, and Ypsilon.
While the kids were happily watching people's dogs (including this sort of miniature Siberian Husky looking thing), I did a quick hike up the Alpine Ridge Trail...basically a big staircase.
Another view of the peaks that we were to attempt...
And then back down, and driving back into town. Saw some elk, and a marmot on the way.
We hit McDonalds again (which became a pattern for lunch or breakfast), did a quick pool visit cut short by thunder, and that night we did marinated skirt steak and chicken grilled with salsa, tortillas, guacamole, all the usual stuff. Early to bed.
Next morning we tried again...up at 04:15 and out by 5am on our way to Old Fall River Road. We got there early enough to not need a reservation to get in, and the drive was about as white-knuckley as I remember...speed limit of 15mph, tons of switchbacks on a one-way cliffside dirt road.
Debra was not keen to take a bunch of pics of that as she was obsessively following GPS to help us anticipate switchbacks and sharp curves. So we got to the trailhead and there was a decent amount of free parking. This is already well into our ascent at this point:
Chapin looming up ahead.
Wildfire smoke kept us in a haze, but you could still see the Alpine Visitor Center in the saddle in the distance.
Sun rising as we made our way across the western flank of Chapin.
Valley to our left.
Ah the talus fields! Quite a few of them we had to negotiate but the payoff was there...a constant squeaking of the pikas, sounding like chew toys of a sadistic and overactive corgi, and Debra saw at least one. I failed to photograph it appropriately, but if you've seen one pika, you've seen them all.
Then the slog up Chapin, the first mountain. This is the view to the north of Chiquita, next on our agenda. Our -original- plan was for Debra and I to do Chapin and Chiquita, like I did in 2018, then Debra to take a breather in the saddle between Chiquita and Ypsilon while I round out the third mountain and check that unfinished business off.
But if I've learned anything in the past year, it is to be able to adapt to changing plans and evolving conditions. The wind was utterly brutal in a way I didn't recall, and our hands and extremeties were freezing. We were using socks as gloves, having forgotten to pack them.
We had to take 50 steps at a time, followed by a breather, on our ascent, but we did it. Incredibly windy, cold, and unfortunately suboptimal visibility at the top, but we made it!
This is the smile of a woman who has recently been told "you know, this mountain is 12,500, that's pretty good, we can call it and head back down." The windbreak was a good respite, although Debra was not keen to get up again.
I insisted she march just a bit further over to the actual summit location...she registered her disinterest in this proposal in salty fashion but was a good sport nonetheless. Note the "corgi paw" socks as gloves.
Then back down and the long walk back via the lower valley trail. Debra fell over at one point barely missing hitting her head on a rock but was fine...she lost her balance trying to keep her hands warm in her shirt...
Then on the short length of Old Fall River Road from the trailhead to the Trail Ridge Road area, we got stuck behind these guys who drove about 3-5 miles per hour...when they were moving at all. They stopped and piled out of their cars to point and gawk at the valley below. Wondering if it was a bear, although being tired and impatient enough to not really care, I hopped out and the tourists told me "look, there are a couple elk down there!". Way down in the valley below, barely visible for distance, were a couple elk. I mean, maybe this is the first elk they've ever seen but we were tired and slightly surly about this...
We got back and got a fast food lunch / reward. Back at the cabin, this little squirreline butthole was sitting just outside of our back door...staring at us ominously. He knows. He knows.............
Last night with Baby Felix before they head back to KC. They made dinner for us, chili and cornbread...
Next morning they were off early, and we had one more day of mostly taking it easy before we did likewise. Cooked some bacon and eggs to make bacon egg and cheese biscuits. Later, saw some CH-47s heading towards the mountains...possibly firefighting operations?
Took an early trip to the game room before people filled it with their virus laden outgassing...unfortunately the foosball table was not in operation. So pingpong instead...
Then playing PIG. Probably the first time I've touched a basketball in a long time. My helicopter dunk form has suffered.
Debra absolutely CRUSHING her second-born at tetherball.
Pete managed to beat me at PIG with the ingenious tactic of standing so close to the basket (almost underneath it) it was supremely awkward to shoot for me, but he managed to do it just fine. Well-played son!
Then over to Lily Lake area. In the parking lot, I was chuffed to spot an honest to goodness QAnon nutcase in the wild!
Lily Mountain, probably still appearing in the children's nightmares, was the venue for our first attempts at Bataan-style mountain hikes.
Recently we like to do Lily Ridge which is a mild offshoot of the main Lily Lake trail. Longs, Meeker, and Lady Washington are over here but visibility obscured by smoke.
Lily Mountain from the other side of the lake.
Lots of ducks (and baby ducks too).
Kids loving the nature watching side of this hike.
Interesting berry bush at the side of the lake...not sure what it is. Dare me to eat a pound of them and find out!
Twin Sisters mountain across the highway.
Baby ducks...
There's not really an elegant way to do this.
Back at the cabin, had lunch, hit the pool, and started packing in earnest. Ate a smorgasbord of leftovers for dinner to minimize what we needed to bring back.
I pitched an early wake up time to the family with the idea of getting to KC before the vet closed at 6PM, thus allowing ourselves to rescue the corgi from one night of boarding. They were reluctantly acquiescent once I worked the angle of that poor dog being so lonely by himself, etc etc etc and missing his humans.
So up early, final packing, and out on the road. As we were packing a local housecat (with the door propped open) admitted himself into our cabin and Debra had a fun time trying to kick him out. He -really- wanted inside, meowing at the door later...quick photo with the gregarious local and off we went.
"A Red Sun Rises...Milk Has Been Spilled This Night" as the elf-guy said in that movie, or something like it. At least the haze kept the glare down, while driving into the sun.
The "C OOL BUS", oh how very Colorado...
And then back to pick up this little maniac. Pretty good trip!
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