Saturday - August 31, 2019 Travel from home to Salina, Kansas
We got up and on the road by 8:45 am. It was a nice day for travel, especially after the stressful week we had. In less than one week I had taken Mom to an eye appointment and 2 dental appointments (she had lost her dentures and we were getting them replaced). Also, Mom had a UTI that we had to get looked at, Mike and I had a leak in our house that we had to get fixed before leaving, found a soft spot in the floor of the trailer by the door and had a tire going low so had to get some tires replaced. It all turned out okay, just a lot going on in one week. We took Hwy. 62 to I49N to hwy. 400W to 77 N to 56W to I135N to I70 in Salina, Kansas where we stayed at a KOA. It was an okay KOA for an overnight stay. We had taco salad for dinner that I had fixed before leaving home. It was a good dinner because it was a very hot day.
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| Heading down the driveway ready for vacation |
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| A 'three-story' barn we saw in Kansas |
Sunday - September 1, 2019 Salina, Kansas to Strasburg, Colorado
We left camp by 8:05 am and stopped in Russell, Kansas at McDonald's for breakfast. It was another hot day. We saw 17 pronghorn after we got into Colorado. We traveled I70 all the way to the KOA in Strasburg, Colorado. We got to the campground around 3:15 and just sat in the trailer since it was so hot (95). At least our site had some shade. We had taco salad for dinner again. This was a good KOA with nice clean bathrooms..
Monday, September 2, 2019 Rocky Mountain National Park - Glacier Basin Campground
I got up at 6:30, made coffee, and cooked sausage, egg, and cheese burritos for breakfast. The sausage was leftover from breakfast the day before. This made a good breakfast. Mike and I took showers because there are no showers in the national park. We will have to drive to Estes Park and pay to take a shower.
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| Sunrise at Strasburg, Colorado KOA |
We left camp at 9:30 and took I70W to 79N to 52W to I25N to 36N to Estes Park. We bought supplies at a Safeway and had lunch while in town. We got to Glacier Basin Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park and had camp set up by 2:00. It was warm and sunny and the campground had very little shade, but the views were great. We put up our awning and sat in the shade of it and it was pretty nice. On our way to the campground we saw a herd of elk in the park. This campground does not have any hookups, but we were so high in the mountains that it wasn't very hot. The bathrooms had flush toilets and water, but no showers.
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| View of the mountains from Hwy. 79 |
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| View of the mountains from our campsite |
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| Mike is enjoying the shade |
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| Our campsite for the next week |
We had leftovers for dinner then sat out until full dark. There was a crescent moon and the stars were very visible. A good first day at camp.
Tuesday - September 3, 2019
After a sausage and egg breakfast we took the park shuttle to Bear Lake. This park has a good shuttle system that goes to most of the places we are interested in seeing. We did a 2 1/2 mile hike to Nymph Lake and Dream Lake. We couldn't hike any further because we were not acclimated to the altitude. This was a very pretty hike. Dream Lake was beautiful. We ate lunch there before heading back down the mountain.
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| Nymph Lake |
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| View on the way up the trail - trees are beginning to change color |
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| At Nymph Lake |
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| Dream Lake - Beautiful! |
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| Mary at Dream Lake |
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| Mike at Dream Lake |
On our way back to camp we saw a large bull elk. We got back to camp about 2:00 and just sat around enjoying the views. There was a large number of mountain blue birds migrating through the area this afternoon. While we were sitting outside of the trailer many of them were feeding off of berries in a bush next to the trailer. We also saw some yellow rumped warblers. This was fun to watch.
I made cornbread and chili for dinner and it was very good. While Mike and I were washing dishes at the bathhouse it started to rain. I ran back to the trailer to shut all of the windows so things wouldn't get wet and put the camp chairs away. After that we both sat in the trailer reading until time for bed. We really enjoyed the day.
Wednesday - September , 2019
Got up, went to the bathhouse to use the toilet and wash my hands and face, and dropped my glasses on the concrete floor. UGH! It made the lens pop out and we did not have a screw driver small enough to fix it. Luckily I had an old pair of glasses with me to use when I wasn't wearing my sunglasses. Not a very good start to the day. We had been told that there was a couple of moose hanging out at Sprague Lake so we went there after breakfast. It wasn't far from the campground so we walked to the lake and then walked the trail around the lake. It was a 2 1/2 mile hike total. We didn't see any moose, but it was a very pretty hike.
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Trail between the campground and Sprague Lake -
the piles of timber will be burned in the winter while snow is on the ground |
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| Mike and Mary by the lake |
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| Sprague Lake |
When we got back we just sat around the campsite reading before having leftover chili for dinner. This was another nice, enjoyable day.
Thursday - September 5, 2019
We got up at 6:00 and took a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and coffee with us to Sprague Lake. The moose were eating at the lake early in the morning so we wanted to make it there to be able to see them. We drove to the lake and walked 1/2 way around. The sunrise was beautiful and we were rewarded for our efforts by seeing a cow and a calf moose.
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| Beautiful reflection |
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| Hard to see, but there is a moose on the other side of the lake |
After watching the moose for a while we drove the Trail Ridge Road about half way up the mountains. As we were driving on Bear Lake Road on the way to the Ridge Road there was a bull elk in the road walking toward us. He wasn't in any hurry to get out of the way of the cars in the other lane. We got a nice view of the elk though. While on the Trail Ridge Road I saw 5 mule deer bucks. We stopped at the Rainbow Curve overlook, looked at the views, and turned around. We decided that we didn't want to go all the way up the mountain.
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| This elk 'owned' the road |
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| View at Rainbow Curve overlook |
On our way back down we stopped at another overlook and at Hidden Valley and at the Beaver Ponds and did a short hike at each location. We saw a turkey and 2 doe deer at Beaver Meadows on our way to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. We watched a video about Rocky Mountain National Park then headed on to Estes Park. We took showers ($8.00 each, but unlimited time) then shopped at Safeway before having lunch. We ate lunch at the Mountain High Cafe. We both got a hamburger and fries and it was really good. Mike fixed my glasses with a eyeglass tool we got at Safeway.
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| Rainbow after the storm |
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| Another shot of the rainbow |
We cooked pork in the cast iron skillet and steamed corn on the cob, potatoes, and carrots while it was not raining. After dinner we sat inside because it rained the rest of the evening. Even with the rain, this was a wonderful day.
Saturday - September 7, 2019
This was our last day at Rocky Mountain National Park. It was cooler today. These were the temperatures we expected. After breakfast we caught the shuttle to Cub Lake Trailhead. On our way to our stop, we saw a large elk herd by Moraine Park and 2 large bull elk right by the road. Cub Lake Trail was an easier trail than we had been hiking because it was mostly level. It only got steep at the end. We hiked 5 1/2 miles total. We turned around before getting to the lake because we knew that we had gone as far as we were able.
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| Mike on the trail |
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| Mary on the trail |
We got back to camp about 1:00. It was the best weather day we had in the park. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up and getting camp ready for our trip the next day.
Sunday - September 8, 2019 Ridgway State Park - Pa Co Chu Puk Campground
We left camp by 9:00 am. We stopped and got gas and a breakfast sandwich in Estes Park. We took Hwy. 36 to 92 to 6 to 285 to 50 traveling to Ridgway State Park near Montrose. We saw about 20 pronghorn and a marmott while driving on 285. This route took us through some very pretty areas and near Buena Vista. It rained some while we were traveling.
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| Mt. Princeton |
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| Reservoir on the Gunnison River east of Montrose |
We got to our campsite at Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Campground around 3:00. This is a nice campground with very level, concrete sites and full hookups. Also, the views of the San Juan Mountains were pretty from our campsite.
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| Our campsite |
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| Views to the east at sunset |
We talked to Scott and Eric since we had not had cell service at the national park. We had leftovers for dinner. This had been a good day for traveling.
Monday - September 9, 2019
We both slept in this morning. After breakfast we both had a shower ($1 for 4 minutes). We drove to the visitor center to buy fishing licenses then went to Wal-Mart in Montrose to get bait and fishing supplies. We got back to camp and ate lunch then sat around resting for a while. I made hamburger soup to have for a few days. I had to move the cooking inside the trailer because the yellow jackets were attracted to the smell of cooking meat. There were about 30 of them around the pot of meat.
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| Morning view of mountains |
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| Ridgway Reservoir |
We ate an early dinner then went to the reservoir to fish. . There is the large reservoir (Ridgway Reservoir), 2 fishing ponds, and the Uncompahgre River in the park. While we were here we fished everywhere except the river. You needed waders to fish the river. Shortly after getting to the reservoir, Mike caught a nice rainbow trout and we both got several bites. Then we stopped having luck at all. The fish had started feeding on some insects on the surface. We packed up and went back to camp for the night.
Tuesday - September 10, 2019 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
We got up about 7:00 and made coffee to take with us. We had decided to go to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park this day. We stopped at McDonald's in Montrose for breakfast. The South Rim of the park is about 30 miles north of Montrose. We stopped at the visitor's center where we watched an interesting video about the park. After that we walked a short trail to a view point of the canyon. We drove the entire South Rim Road, stopping at several viewpoints. The canyon is very pretty.
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| Entering the park |
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| View from the Visitor Center overlook |
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| Mike outside the Visitor Center |
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| Mary at the Painted Rock Overlook |
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| Painted Rock |
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| View of the canyon |
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| At the last view point |
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| View to the east |
When we were finished at the park, we stopped at Wendy's in Montrose for a late lunch. We got back to camp and rested for a while before going fishing at about 2:40. We walked about 1/2 mile to the larger fishing pond. We both caught several rainbow trout. We didn't keep any, we had decided to just catch and release on this trip.
It started raining so we went back to camp for the night. We had leftover soup for dinner then sat outside enjoying the views until time for bed. This was a very enjoyable day.
Wednesday - September 11, 2019
We slept in today. After breakfast we drove to the marina to fish. Mary caught 6 rainbow trout, and Mike caught 1. We went back to the trailer, ate lunch, and both took a nap. Later in the afternoon we walked to the big pond to fish. Mike caught 6 trout and Mary caught 3. While we were there a ranger came by and checked our licenses. It was very windy at the pond. We stopped fishing about 5:30 and went back to camp for the night. We didn't do a whole lot this day, but still had a good time.
Thursday - September 12, 2019 Ouray, Colorado
We slept in, ate breakfast, and took showers before driving south 16 miles to the town of Ouray. The town was okay, but not as interesting as we had been led to believe by other people. We walked up and down the main street. While there Mike bought a new sun hat. He lost his other one somewhere and had been wearing mine.
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| Ouray Main Street |
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| Another shot of Ouray |
After walking around and going to the visitor's center, we went back to Main Street to have lunch at Colorado Boy. We both got an enchilada and a steak taco. It was a very good lunch. It was so large that we both had leftovers to take back with us.
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| Colorado Boy |
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| San Juan Mountain range |
We drove back to camp and rested a while before going to the big pond to fish. Mary caught 7 trout and Mike 4. When we got back to camp we saw the full moon coming up by the mountains to the east of the park. It was very pretty. This was a very good day.
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| Catching a trout at the big pond |
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| Mike enjoying fishing |
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| Full moon - this picture didn't do it justice |
Friday - September 13, 2019
Our last day in Colorado. We slept in again. It was a very cold morning, we even used the small electric space heater to warm things up. After breakfast we hiked about 2 1/2 miles on the Oak Leaf and River Side Trails. Both were pretty and nice trails.
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| Big Pond |
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| Uncompahgre River |
When we got back, we had lunch and rested some before cleaning the trailer to get ready for a travel day. We went to the big pond to fish one more time and both caught several trout. We really enjoyed our time at Ridgway State Park.
Saturday - September 14, 2019 Raton, New Mexico
We left camp by 7:15 traveling to Raton, New Mexico where we spent the night. We took 550E to 50E to I25S to Raton. On our way out of the park we saw a couple of mule deer and another one by the side of the road as we traveled through Big Horn Canyon. We got lunch at a Burger King in Trinidad, Colorado.
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| Scenery on the road to Raton |
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| The prettiest sunset that we saw on this trip |
We spent the night at a KOA in Raton. It was an okay place to spend the night, but was in a kind of dirty part of town. We spent the evening in our trailer since there was no shade and was hot out.
Sunday - September 15, 2019 Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
We got up at 7:00, took showers, and were on the road by 8:30. We took Hwy. 64S to 87E to 335E to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. While driving in New Mexico we saw over 300 pronghorn. It was a very windy day and hot once again. We stopped for lunch at a Wendy's in Dalhart, New Mexico. We got to our campsite in the Juniper Campground of Palo Duro Canyon State Park by 3:00. We were glad that we had electricity because it was 90 degrees. We walked around the campground and saw a tarantula in the road. Mary saw a deer while going to view the scenery at sunset.
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| Nice campsite in the canyon |
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| Tarantula |
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| Scenery at sunset |
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| Another shot of the scenery |
We had a small dinner then went to bed early. It had been a tiring driving day.
Monday - September 16, 2016
We got up early so that we could go hiking before it got too hot. We were rewarded by seeing a very pretty sunrise.
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| Beautiful sunrise |
We hiked Kiowa Trail from 8:15 to 10:15. It was a pretty 3 mile hike with some shade and not much elevation change. We were glad that we hiked early because it was already hot by 10:15.
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| Beginning of the trail |
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| View on trail |
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| Saw lots of prickly pear |
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| Mike on the trail |
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| Interesting rock formation containing lots of gypsum |
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| Another trail view |
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| Kiowa Trail |
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| Interesting tree by trail |
After our hike we went to the Visitor Center. This V.C. is paid for by a volunteer organization out of Amarillo and was a very interesting place with nice views of the canyon.
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| View at the visitor center |
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| Another view of the canyon |
We went back to the trailer and spent the rest of the day inside out of the heat. After dinner we hooked the trailer up to be ready for an early start the next day. It was a good day, but we were ready to head home.
Tuesday - September 17, 2019
We were up by 6:00 am ready to head home. We got up so early because we knew that it was going to be a long day. We made coffee to take on the road, planning to get breakfast when we stopped for gas in Amarillo. We drove to the dump station, dumped the tanks, and were on the way out of the park by 6:30. It was still pitch black. As we drove heading out of the park, there were 2 cows on the road. We had to follow them until they went back to the corral area. We also saw 2 buck deer. When we got to the steep area heading up out of the canyon there were 2 landslides, one small, and one large enough to block the road. I got out of the car and moved enough rocks that we could drive around the slide. Luckily the rocks were not very heavy. By the time we were heading out of the park it had started getting light and we saw a very pretty sunrise.
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| Sunrise |
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| Another sunrise shot |
We stopped in Amarillo to get gas and a breakfast sandwich from Burger King. We drove I40W most of the way home. It was a 10 hour day and we got home by 4:30 tired, but glad to be back. This was a very fun 2 week trip. We traveled 2272 miles, always thankful for no trouble on the road.
