What We Did on our Summer Vacation

[calfoxwc]

Started out early morning on Aug 17th, camped out three nights on our way to N. Colorado, Ft. Collins, N. of Denver. Now, the Denver stadium is called "mile high". But we and our friends went on a Hummer tour jeep adventure from Estes Park at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, on a dirt road up to 12,100 feet. It was one of the most awesome adventures anyone can have. A mile is 5,280. We ended up over two miles high. Not at all the highest point of the Rocky Mountains, but hiking up there got us light-headed because of the thin cold air. We were fascinated - saw a big harem? of elk...

Stopped at a JAX store - camping/hiking/outdoors etc - I clerk asked me where we were from - we said Oho...he laughed - he was from Wadsworth Oh and was a big Browns fan !

From there, we went to our base camp at Custer State Park in South Dakota for a week and saw most all the sights - including over a hundred American bison surrounding our car and other cars. Sights so gorgeous you have to be there and be taken in by the beauty of it.

   A lot of amazing adventures - got home Sept 1st. We love tent camping - met fellow campers from Connecticut ... Arizona, Georgia.... have a nice quick set up tent - used a safe ceramic electric heater when it got down into the forties at night. Took many, many pictures and videos....

Adventures of a lifetime. Learned a lot about the Lakota American Indians - from Ryan Little Eagle - gives a whole different amazement at the greatest? movie "Dances With Wolves".

Oh, the guy Wadsworth - he met his now Wife in College - they went on vacation with her parents - and fell in love with N. Colorado. He is excited about the Browns - thinks they may very well go all the way to the super bowl.

If anyone goes out that way, feel free to ask me stuff -

BTW, our third night of camping, a Nebraska camping night - it roared wind, rain and lightning. About 3 AM - I decided to ....go look at the stars, and got up to leave the tent. I stepped in about a half inch of ice cold water. The wind, we found out that morning - had pulled out a few of the stupid wire stakes - and when I nearly tripped over the sagging door way, I put my had up to the roof of the tent to steady myself, and about two gallons of ice water fell on me and a lot went into the tent. - it was the rain fly that was staked and holding rain water.

   But we laughed about it - and our tent dried out really well in the few days we spent with our friends.  Our two week trip was just beginning, but it's great to be back home. Haven't watched the Atlanta game yet on record...... All in all, we drove about 2500 miles. Adventuring all the way.

 

[D Bone]

That sounds awesome!! 

[mjp28]

5 hours ago, D Bone said:

That sounds awesome!! 

• Location:Ohio
• Interests:Traveling, fishing, camping, gardening/farming,groundhog/squirrel/turkey hunting,
  ***BROWNS***

Cal certainly enjoys his interests, well done there Cal and........

GO BROWNS !!

[TexasAg1969]

That is a great ride up to the top in RMNP ending at the visitors center. Had to be Fall River Road. Lots of great views along that old dirt road. Did you go down the other side into Grand Lake? You would have likely seen moose along the way and the results of the biggest forest fire in known Colorado history (The East Troublesome Fire). Now you know why I love to go to Estes Park every chance I get. There are some really awesome hikes throughout RMNP and yes, they take your breath away in every way.

Sounds like a really great trip!🏞️👍

[calfoxwc]

3 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

That is a great ride up to the top in RMNP ending at the visitors center. Had to be Fall River Road. Lots of great views along that old dirt road. Did you go down the other side into Grand Lake? You would have likely seen moose along the way and the results of the biggest forest fire in known Colorado history (The East Troublesome Fire). Now you know why I love to go to Estes Park every chance I get. There are some really awesome hikes throughout RMNP and yes, they take your breath away in every way.

Sounds like a really great trip!🏞️👍

Yes It was  !!! ends at the visitor center. Saw a national monument log cabin, falls, and the ride up was priceless. Eleven of us were in the jeep, and one gal changed places to the center because the look down the edge of the road scared her. lol. She laughed, but her fear was legit.

    Hiking up there like you do, Tex... the dramatic beauty is tough to describe in words. I don't know how you do it - the thin air is seriously thin. lol and we all were putting on extra t-shirts and jackets etc. at a certain elevation.

   Bison, elk, pronghorn antelope, lots of deer, bighorn sheep.....

https://www.sdpb.org/blogs/images-of-the-past/animals-of-custer-state-park/

Yes, it was Fall River Road ! We didn't go down the other side - our trip was 4 hours. I would go back and to the other side. Being up there is so much a one-time adventure for many. Driving all that way was great fun for us. Saw a lot of side stops like the Archway in Kearney, Nebraska (historical dioramas about the pioneers on two floors), ...Fort Dodge on the way back. The excellent Wall Drug old time western shopping mini-mall. The "largest truck stop in the world" lol.

The famous Needles Highway, drover all over the Badlands on our way back....an actual homesteader historical farm still maintained today. Boy, that was a rough existence for a family of six.

   But feeling the wind and the wild flowers/pine scents, and the scenery...you have to be there.

We couldn't hike that elevation Tex, but I'm impressed that you can. And now I know why you love it.

The next trip, if ever, we think we'll fly there, and rent a camper van. lol.

[TexasAg1969]

57 minutes ago, calfoxwc said:

Yes It was  !!! ends at the visitor center. Saw a national monument log cabin, falls, and the ride up was priceless. Eleven of us were in the jeep, and one gal changed places to the center because the look down the edge of the road scared her. lol. She laughed, but her fear was legit.

    Hiking up there like you do, Tex... the dramatic beauty is tough to describe in words. I don't know how you do it - the thin air is seriously thin. lol and we all were putting on extra t-shirts and jackets etc. at a certain elevation.

   Bison, elk, pronghorn antelope, lots of deer, bighorn sheep.....

https://www.sdpb.org/blogs/images-of-the-past/animals-of-custer-state-park/

Yes, it was Fall River Road ! We didn't go down the other side - our trip was 4 hours. I would go back and to the other side. Being up there is so much a one-time adventure for many. Driving all that way was great fun for us. Saw a lot of side stops like the Archway in Kearney, Nebraska (historical dioramas about the pioneers on two floors), ...Fort Dodge on the way back. The excellent Wall Drug old time western shopping mini-mall. The "largest truck stop in the world" lol.

The famous Needles Highway, drover all over the Badlands on our way back....an actual homesteader historical farm still maintained today. Boy, that was a rough existence for a family of six.

   But feeling the wind and the wild flowers/pine scents, and the scenery...you have to be there.

We couldn't hike that elevation Tex, but I'm impressed that you can. And now I know why you love it.

The next trip, if ever, we think we'll fly there, and rent a camper van. lol.

I will admit that on my trip this summer I was worn completely out after a long hike of about 10 miles RT from 9,000 up to just over 11,000 ft. Back in the day I could do that one and another like it the next day. Now I need a day in between of just taking a leisurely bicycle trip around Lake Estes which is fairly flat and only around 8,000 ft. This past winter I did about an 8 miles trip up similar heights above 11,000 with ice cleats on. Now that was something else because you get to see the whole place winterized with snow everywhere and lakes frozen enough to ice cleat over them. Feet thick, not inches and pretty cold. But the hike kept me warm. All the elk are down lower then too, all around Estes Park and the lower valleys in RMNP.

I'm glad you had a great trip there. Too hard to get across in words what John Denver was singing about with Rocky Mountain High. "He was born in the summer of his 27th year..."

PS-I usually take a week of shorter hikes to acclimate to the higher altitude. So don't feel too bad about getting short of breath on a one day drip up that high. Next time try to do it by acclimating first if you can. It does make a difference.

 

 

[calfoxwc]

8 minutes ago, TexasAg1969 said:

I will admit that on my trip this summer I was worn completely out after a long hike of about 10 miles RT from 9,000 up to just over 11,000 ft. Back in the day I could do that one and another like it the next day. Now I need a day in between of just taking a leisurely bicycle trip around Lake Estes which is fairly flat and only around 8,000 ft. This past winter I did about an 8 miles trip up similar heights above 11,000 with ice cleats on. Now that was something else because you get to see the whole place winterized with snow everywhere and lakes frozen enough to ice cleat over them. Feet thick, not inches and pretty cold. But the hike kept me warm. All the elk are down lower then too, all around Estes Park and the lower valleys in RMNP.

I'm glad you had a great trip there. Too hard to get across in words what John Denver was singing about with Rocky Mountain High. "He was born in the summer of his 27th year..."

 

 

 That is amazing hiking Tex.

Wow.

And our Tour Guide, an excellent driver - played that John Denver song way up on high. lol. I still have one bad knee - would never make it in that terrain very far........