Friday night was date-night. After cleaning up from a day of hiking, we drove to McDonalds for a happy meal and went to see Ice Age III. The week was going so nicely, the weather was amazing and we were seeing and experiencing a new place. I was capturing all the happenings of the day in my camping journal before falling asleep and my son had already dozed off, when I heard a diesel turn up the driveway next to our campsite to the private residence next door. The truck had to gun it to get up the incline, pretty loud when it's right next to you, they stalled it half way up the driveway, but got it going to the top to park. Moments later I heard a rumbling getting louder and more extreme, it was getting closer...then yelling to watch out, and what sounded like a travel trailer rolling down a hill. I lept out of the tent, in a night shirt and flip flops to see what happened. 3 sites over, in a very crowded gravel parking lot/campground, the 350 dually king cab slipped out of park, rolled down the driveway, bounced over the drainage ditch and right over a small tree, and crashed into a cargo trailer parked in front of a tent, which was providing a little more privacy for the inhabitants. The people inside were asleep. They were not injured and other campers ripped open the tent as the door was cruched up against the trailer. A young woman ran down the hill behind the truck. None of us thought it was her truck. Although her dog was in the back seat. She didn't seem to understand just how bad this mishap could have been. She was smiling and laughing about it, that is until all the cops in Estes Park showed up at the KOA. Her boyfriend arrived and backed the truck away from the trailer. The group had asked her to back it up before so they could remove the people but she couldn't find reverse so they told her to just stop. Those poor folks had to spend the night in the TV lounge. The second night they could move to a Kabin, the third night to yet another Kabin. By Monday, the insurance adjuster still had not made it out there to see the damage.
Estes Park KOA, Colorado RV Park Campground. Estes Park Colorado camping
Saturday's hike began by taking the shuttle to Glacier Gorge TH and hiked to Alberta Falls and Mills Lake. It was a brilliant sunny day with many people out for a hike. It never felt crowded and people on the trail were friendly and courteous. Back on the shuttle we went to Moraine visitor center, and arrived in time for a talk on geology. The seats were very comfortable couches inside, where it was a little warm, and well, the talk a bit boring. I put on my sunglasses and dozed off! Not very respectful. But we have been going strong all week. Back at the KOA, we visited with our neighbors.
Sunday we planned an Italian potluck with the neighbors and headed to the park. We shuttled to the Bear Lake TH and hiked to Bierstadt Lake. It began with a moderate uphill and then was downhill, most of the way. We met a family with kids and after having a great day with the other family, hiked with these folks. It began raining, drizzling and it felt great. We are in such a drought right now at home I can't rememeber the last time I saw rain. We did have horrible floods about 10 years ago, but now there is nothing. We made it to the lake for a lunch break. We all hunkered down under a Ponderosa, stretching our ponchos over the lower branches to give us a little more dry space to sit. The rain stopped for a little bit but we could hear the thunder coming so we gobbled up the food and split. On the way down the switchbacks from Bierstadt it poured. I told the kids that if they could jog down, please do so. Only slowing down for the occasional boulder, we ran down the mountain. We were a mess when we got to the shuttle waiting area.
Before leaving the park we drove over to the alluvial fan, an area washed out by the Lawn Lake dam breaking some 20 years ago. My son climbed over the boulders and enjoyed playing with some other boys in a rock cave. On the way out, I saw a animal jam and drove over to see what everyone was looking at. There was a herd of sheep on the rocks.
What an amazing park. I could have spent another week hiking more of it but don't have enough time.
Monday we broke camp, drove to Golden to see the geology museum at the school of the mines, then drove to the Denver museum of Nature and Science. That was a wasted trip, it was 'free day" and it took 30 minutes just to find a parking spot. It was to crowded to see anything and anything hands on was full with people waiting. Dude, we don't have all day, we had to get to Colorado Springs before dark. We got a great cabin at Garden of the Gods Campground and a host guided us to our site from his golf cart. He made mutliple rounds past our site. I asked about ice. He said they had some and it was $2. I said if I give you 3, could you get me some? I had my son chilling out, dinner on the stove and really didn't want to hike across the compound for that. He was super sweet and brought my extra dollar back with the bag of ice. Once supper was done, I wrapped him up a hot dog "to go". We swam after supper in the adult pool with the hot tub for a little while, before someone came up to turn on the pool llights and asked my son to leave ( adults only). Ok, time to hit the sack, we've got places to see in the morning.
Colorado Geology Museum-Golden
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Garden of the Gods campground
Garden Of The Gods | Home
Whirlwind day ahead, Manitou cliff dwellings, Florissant fossil beds, colorado dinosaur resource center, Woodland park Wal-Mart, Downtown Manitou springs, stagecoach restaraunt, and a pre-dusk hike through Garden of the Gods park. Back in time to clean up, pre-pack, and get some much needed sleep.
Wednesday we left Manitou SPrings by 9am, stopped at Capulin volcano NP in NM. Did the junior ranger book, hiked into the volcano, and made it to Big Spring
TX, 11 hours of driving.
National Park Service - Experience Your America
Thursday just over 3 hours to Junction, swam all day, forgot the sunscreen, had a little trouble sleeping with sunburn and 80+ degrees at night, Friday, packed up, swam until 1 and headed back to reality.
What a trip. I am taking suggestions on next summer's trip, something driveable.
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