A Small Taste of Colorado

Colorado may well be our favorite state, but it was not a destination state this year.  We made the most of our four nights and driving time there as we made our way to Utah.  The drive south on I-25 from Cheyenne became more scenic as we approached the Loveland area.  Highway 34 to Estes Park, especially in the Thompson Canyon area, was a beautiful route.  Those canyon walls were HIGH!!

Rocky Mountain National Park provided a free shuttle service to the various points of the park.  It was so nice to let someone else do the driving!  After viewing the park introduction film at the Visitor Center, we shuttled to Bear Lake and hiked the loop around the lake.  

This picture was taken at the trailhead of Glacier Trail.  How many glaciers do you 
see?

Jellystone Park of Estes Park was a fun park with steep roads & trails and a lot of altitude.  The altitude just about kicked our butts.  We had to push ourselves to hike the trail behind the park, the one that ends up in a national forest when you miss the trail marker.  Here's the view from the trail.

Traveling Interstate 70 from Denver to Grand Junction was such a treat!  I've never before been through so many tunnels at such a high altitude.  This route was a "first time" for both of us and went beyond our expectations of beauty and grandeur.  The road signs were quite interesting, too!

  

The Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel was fun (so were all the others). We crossed the Continental Divide while driving through this tunnel at 11,000+ elevation.

Lots of tunnels!

 I-70 is an engineering marvel, built along the Colorado River.  The cliffs and canyons of the Rockies were breathtaking.

An overnight stop was made in Grand Junction at the Junction West RV Park.  Plans to visit the Colorado National Monument were cancelled due to tunnels too small for our RV to go through.

That was a short but sweet time spent in Colorado!!  More in the future, please!

coming soon:  Utah