Today is going to be very difficult to really describe. There are not enough superlative words in the English language to adequately convey the incredible beauty of the Rocky Mountain National Park and the drive on Trail Ridge Road from Estes Park to Grand Lake.
I was somewhat concerned how the RV would handle the high altitude (over 12,000 feet) and strenuous climbs. The 300 HP easily propelled this 15 ton box up the steepest of slopes. And the engine brake took care of the descents in an equal fashion.
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| The GPS provides an indication of Trail Ridge Road |
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| The poles on the side of the road are to help the plow crews find the road in the Spring. They are sometimes over 25 feet tall. |
We left Estes around 9:00 and took our time, stopping at any and all overlooks that seemed to be interesting - and they all seemed interesting.
The pictures below just do not do justice to the beauty and majesty of this incredible place.
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| I did change out of shorts. It got cold. |
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| A herd of elk in the valley |
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| The "Other" Continental Divide |
We were very surprised on arrival at Snow Mountain Ranch. Kent had forewarned us that it would be different, but we weren't ready for what we saw. The pine beetle has completely wiped out the lodge pole tree on the property, and most of the trees were lodge pole.
Snow Mountain Ranch (one of the two facilities of the YMCA of the Rockies) is a 5,000 acre property near Granby, Colorado. It holds a special place in our hearts and memory. First was our friend Kent, who had previously managed a small YMCA camp in Western NC moved out here 25 years +/_ ago to manage the camp on the property, Camp Chief Ouray. He is now CEO of YMCA of the Rockies, which includes Snow Mountain Ranch and the Estes Park facilities.
Slade then came out here as a camper and then as a counselor. We started coming out to see him in the summer, and that led to coming out to snow ski in the winter. We brought Candace and Slade out here before they were married for snow skiing one winter. Then a group of friends from Asheville and I started coming out in the summer for backpacking. So it has become both familiar and special to us.
Tonight we are staying in the Snow Mountain Ranch campground and it is probably one of the most awesome views we have ever had from a camp site.
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| Snow Mountain Ranch RV campground |
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| Moonrise over the Continental Divide |
Today, we have relaxed and tried to take in all of the incredible beauty of the area. We went for a short bike ride, then took the RV to Winter Park ski area. This time of year, mountain biking down the ski slopes is the activity.
It was interesting to see how these bikers were dressed. They all had on full protection helmets, chest and shoulder protection, arm protection, leg (both upper and lower) protection, and in some cases snow boot type protection on their feet. They obviously fall! Coming down these steep slopes at breakneck speeds would seem to be rather dangerous.
This afternoon, I took a hike to the cabins where Slade stayed when he was a counselor at Camp Chief Ouray. It is vastly different today from Slade's time here with the complete deforestation caused by the beetle.
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| The view that Slade never saw from the cabins |
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