Rocky Mountains National Park and Snow Mountain Ranch

Sept 12, 2011

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.

The GPS provides an indication of Trail Ridge Road

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.



I did change out of shorts.  It got cold.



A herd of elk in the valley

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.

Snow Mountain Ranch RV campground

Moonrise over the Continental Divide

Tuesday, Sept 13

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.

The view that Slade never saw from the cabins

Tomorrow we head out.  We think we may head toward the Dinosaur National Monument in Northwest Colorado bordering Utah.

Estes Park Colorado area

Wednesday, September 7

This morning we stopped by for a few minutes with Ron and Barbara to return their car and to thank them.  It was really great seeing them and we hope to get to spend more time with them on a return trip.

 

We arrived at Marys Lake Campground in Estes Park around 3:30.  After checking in, we went over to the YMCA to find Kent Meyer.  Instead he found us.  His office overlooks the campus and he saw us driving around and "We don't get many RV's up here, so I knew it must be you".  We spent a few minutes getting reacquainted and plan to get together some more while here.

Kent and I go back a long ways, through the Air Force Reserve, a lot of backpacking trips in the Rockies, and through Slade's participation in YMCA summer camps when Kent was running them, both in Western NC and at Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby, Co (which is a part of the YMCA of the Rockies of which Kent is now the Chief Executive).





I then took a nice swim in the Y pool.  I wasn't to sure I was going to be able to make a mile after a couple of laps - I forgot we're at 8,000 feet - the air is a little thinner.  But I made it.

When leaving the pool, we saw a herd of elk just walking around the Y grounds.  Apparently they are regulars here.

Thursday, September 8

We had lunch with Kent at the Y and then he took us on a tour of the facilities.  This place is really set up well for families and family reunions.  They have complexes that can accommodate up to 40 family members in one building.  The campus has all the amenities for family fun.  I highly recommend it for any family seeking out a place to share family time or family reunions. 

Thursday evening we went to Kent's home, met their 3 beautiful grandchildren, had a great dinner and got reacquainted.

Friday, September 9

Today was a fun filled day at the 35th Annual Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highlands Festival.

Clara and I spent all day at the festival, enjoying a wide range of activities from music, military demonstrations, dance and bagpipe competitions, and learning more about the Scotch-Irish history.

 

Friday evening, we had Kent and Betty over for supper in the RV and then went to the Scotch-Irish  "Tattoo".   This was a great evening of military bands performing.  They had the Marine Band, the Air Force Drill team from Washington, DC, Scottish Band and others.  It was a stirring evening of remembrance of September 11, 2001.

We came back to the RV after the "Tattoo" for dessert and more remembering.

Kent and Betty Meyer

Betty learns to play the Bowed Psaltery



Saturday, September 10
After a leisurely morning catching up on washing clothes, Clara and I took off for a ride in the rental car to Nedderland, Colorado.  It is a rather eclectic town that had been a mining town in times past.

The drive was on one of Colorado's Scenic Byways, and it was indeed scenic.

 




Ice Cream in a railroad dining car, Nedderland, Co

Tonight we went over to Kent's to meet Jo Jo.  Jo Jo (now better known as Jo) is their daughter.  We first met Jo Jo when she was three months old when we baby sat for her on New Years eve about 25 years ago.  We remember (and reminded Jo) that evening well.  Jo Jo screamed all evening.

She is now the mother of three beautiful children and working in HR at the local hospital.

Bella



Mason



Mason, Bella and Riley

Betty and Jo

An absolutely great evening.  We hated we missed seeing Ethan, their son, but we got a minute with him when we picked up the pizzas where he works.

Sunday, Sept 11

This morning Kent picked me up and we went hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park at Wild Basin into Calypso Cascades.

In the afternoon Clara and I rode up into the National Park a while to get some information.  Tomorrow we will take the RV over Trail Ridge Road across Rocky Mountain National Park.  It will be interesting to see how well the RV handles the altitude - we will be going well over 12,000 - a 4,000 foot climb and descent.  It should be an interesting day.

Colorado Springs Area

Monday September 5 (Labor Day)

Last night, we had Barbara Taylor visit us in the motorhome.  Barbara is the former wife of a cousin of mine and we have always stayed in touch.  Unfortunately, her husband Ron, had a heart attack Saturday morning and is in the hospital.  He is doing well and will be out of the hospital tomorrow (Tuesday).  They were kind enough to loan us a car for our stay here.  We hope that he continues a speedy recovery and that we are able to get together under better circumstances in the future.


Looking out on the plains from campsite



The view behind the campsite

We moved a few miles to the most spectacular campground we have ever seen - Cheyenne Mountain State Park. It has the best camp sites and the most spectacular views of any place we have ever stayed, or are likely to ever stay.

After getting settled in, we decided to take the Pike Peak Cog Railroad. 
 
We forgot that today is a holiday.  We couldn't get reservations so we took a chance on the standby list and were able to get aboard.
 
We left the bottom of the mountain the temperature in the high 70's/low 80's and ascended to 14,100 feet where the temperature was in the 40's. 
 
It took about 1 1/2 hours to make the trip up.  They say we went through four life zones, from the high plains to the alpine tundra.  It was truly a spectacular ride - and the view from the top was breathtaking.
 
This is the first time I've been on a mountain this high since Slade and I backpacked up a 14,000 peak in Colorado when he was a teenager (over 20 years ago).  We actually climbed two fourteeners (as they are known) in that one trip.
 



Spectacular Views





This is the Cog Rail Train

The grade got up to 25%

 
We got back to the RV in time for a nice dinner and watching a spectacular light show as the sun set and the lights in the valley started coming on.

Tuesday, September 6

This is the view out the front of the RV this morning.  We got up to early.  Actually, Clara got up early and saw some balloons flying in the valley and woke me up.

We regretted having to leave this spectacular setting.  We could have stayed here a week and been perfectly content to not leave for any reason.

Today was another day of spectacular beauty and diversity.  This is what we suffered through Kansas for.

We went to a remarkable Colorado Springs City Park - Garden of the Gods.  There are no pictures that can do this remarkable rock formation justice.

We left here and went to check in at the military campground at the Air Force Academy.

We spent the afternoon touring the Air Force Academy.  It is one of the best colleges in the country.  I hope that one day, Anna and/or Evan will choose to come here for their college education - and maybe become Air Force pilots like their Papa. 

The Academy is located in one of the most beautiful settings in the world.  Probably the most recognizable feature is the chapel.

In the visitor center, they have the cockpit portion of the T-38, the plane I flew in pilot training.

And at one of the gates, they have a memorial to the B-52.  This particular B-52's claim to fame is that it is one of two that actually shot down an enemy aircraft in combat.

It may also very well be one that I flew on one of my 94 combat missions in Southeast Asia.  I wish there were someway that I could confirm this, but I didn't keep a log of the aircraft tail numbers that I flew and don't know where that record may be.

The two biggest machines I ever drove!

Tomorrow we travel up to Estes Park