TRIP TO THE ROCKIES-Part Three

After a somewhat restful sleep at Lake Dillon, we got up and headed out.  I slept ok, but Brian was worried about me, so he didn’t sleep very good.  Anyways when we woke, the temp had to be near 40 degrees and tearing down camp became very cold on our hands.




In our haste the night before, Brian accidentally spilled what coffee grounds we had, so we had no coffee to help warm us up until we got to a gas station.  After fueling the car and our tummies with hot coffee, it was time to adventure on back home.  My breathing went back to normal and the wheezing had stopped-but I still felt low key and low energy-but I wasn’t going to give in.

As we headed westbound on I-70 the temps slowly warmed up.  It was time to shed the jogging outfits and put on shorts, and finally put more than coffee into our bellies, oh and of course-feed Leah.

We made a stop at a rest area that also was the entrance to the Hanging Lake Trail.  We had all good intentions of hiking on this trail.  However, first sign we saw said no dogs allowed on the trail!  Well that sucked, for we obviously could not leave her in the car either!  So the trail would have to wait for another time….We do understand why and the reasoning why dogs are not allowed on the trail, and therefore will by by the rules.

So back on the Interstate heading homeward bounds.  Next rest stop and pull off was fascinating to us.  We discovered where they put in for rafting on the Colorado River and was fun to watch them get ready to head down the river.  This was called Grizzly Creel Rest Stop.



We had to laugh at this one poor guide.  He was trying to get those on the right side of the raft to start paddling-and all they wanted to do was wave at us while I took their pictures.  The river guide had to do everything from keeping them from going in constant circle with no help from his crew mate!  It was funny, and they did finally headed downriver-in the right direction.

Next stop was back to Rifle where we picked up a pizza and headed towards Rifle Gap to rest and eat.  After a rest, we headed to Rifle Falls where we finally was able to hike a little and even taken our little girl with us.






Wished we would have grabbed our flashlights our of the car.  We knew there were some caves, but not sure how far they really went in and without flashlights and having Leah with us-we didn’t explore any farther than the entrance to the caves.

After walking a while, I was once again feeling not so good and it was just time to head back home.  I think with the elevation I may have developed a sinus infection.  We will do this trip again, when we have more time to allow are bodies to adjust to the elevation.  It’s trip well worth and hope that others enjoy the beauties of the Rockies as we sure did!

TRIP TO THE ROCKIES-Part One

It’s Sunday afternoon and been a bit of a stressful week for me, I’m so ready to get out and go adventuring,  Our first plan was to head out early Monday morning, but instead we finished packing and headed out Sunday afternoon.

First stop was to the Wal-Mart in Rifle to get just a few groceries for our little trip.  As Brian is getting supplies, I looked at the map and found maybe a possible campground near exit 133 off of I-70.
Our first night out was near a place called Dotsero,Co.  I know a weird name for a town or rather a very small community.  Anyways we got off onto a dirt/gravel road that at first we thought was all private land.  Then we crossed a cattle guard and now we are in the White River National Forest with pull off campsites.  We saw the first site, but it appeared that we would be camping right on the roadway, so we moved onto another spot. 

the site we choose was big with many shade trees surrounding us.  First order of business was getting the tent set up and getting supper.  Brian sets up the tent, while I cooked burgers and fried potatoes over our camp stove.  Leah’s job was to alert us of any unwelcome visitors that may happen by-since we were in bear country-her job was very important.



After getting set up and filling our tummies, it was time to explore our surrounding.  We had a rushing creek very near to us and it would lull us to sleep that night.



A third mile up the road we found a fairly new vault toilets and a huge area where it appears they use to load and unload horses.  We also discovered that the road did a few switchbacks that climbs higher up the ridge above us.  We also found a trail that we did not take-due to it becoming dark and not safe to be out on at that time of the evening.  So it was time to go back start a campfire and enjoy a few drinks and each others company.  But most of all-time to RELAX and ENJOY mother natures beauty.

We did have one visitor-human nature.  Some road construction guys wanted our spot to camp at for they were going to be in the area working.  Brian told them they could have it the next morning a we would be moving on.  They were cool with that and apparently found another spot for the night.
After a very restful sleep and using our new air mattress, it was time to tear down camp, brew some coffee and head on down the road on I-70.  First stop for the morning was at rest stop to feed Leah her breakfast and to fill our tummies as well.

We found the drive on !-70 from West to East to be spectacular with views of the Rockies.  It was hard to try not to constantly take photos of the scenic drive.  What amazed me the most was the ski resort towns and communities.  One in mind was Vail Colorado.  The town was banked up against the Rockies on both side of the Interstate.  When traveling through most towns and cities along any Interstate, usually gives you exits about every mile or so-not so with the towns in the Rockies.  You were lucky to come to an exit about every 5 miles.  So could you imagine that you live on one side of the Interstate and then have to travel a ways to cross over to the other side-specially during the winter time when snow is the heaviest?  All the ski resort communities along the Interstate remind me the homes and business that one would see in the Swiss Alps.

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There were several scenic pull offs that we took to stop and take some photos.  The air was refreshing and the view just awesome! 



At one point we were ascending, but it appeared we were descending and I thought we were having transmission trouble.  After pulling over to have Brian check on our engine, he stated that even though it looks like were going down hill, we actually were not.  Then it was time to head through the Eisenhower Tunnel.

We traveled as far as Georgetown before deciding to turn around and head back towards Lake Dillon.  Our plan was to stay out on National Forest once again.  I had found a place near Lower Chrystal Lake where we would make our camp for the night and do some hiking in hopes of finding some old mining camps.

Part two of our trip coming up next….