That was the worst night yet! I thought John was going to slash the air mattress. Neither of us thought about what would happen to the air mattress as we went up in elevation. I felt like we were in one of those comedy’s where the characters are in a very small space with a life raft that is expanding.
So first order of business today will be to find a Wal Mart type store and by a smaller mattress, and also a bath mat to stand on for bathing. We used our pail to heat water on the Coleman stove for our baths this morning and it worked great.
With our plan in hand we are ready to start our journey through Colorado. The route we have decided on will take us through the Rocky Mountain National Forest with a stop in Estes Park along the way.
We can’t get over the “bigness” of everything.
We aren’t sure if it’s just that we can see so far or if it really is that big.
On our way through the Rockies the road brings us close to some sort of a river or stream, I’m not sure which one. Black Canyon Creek maybe.
As we meander down the mountain road we pass through what seem to be natural cuts in the mountain.
We come to an opening where we can sit and relax a while just enjoying the space.
I have to get my feet wet, of course, just to see how cold the water is, and it is pretty cold too.
We stop at a few more turnouts.
It sure is beautiful.
Estes Park is a quaint little tourist town that reminds us of Eagles Mere, with it’s shops and town square. We had the most fabulous hamburgers at the Grub Grilled restaurant. Now that our tummies are full we turn towards the Rock Mountain National Park. The sky looks a bit ominous.
Unfortunately, by the time we get to the top it is raining. That kind of kills our plans to hike a short trail at 11,000 feet just to see if we can. That is OK, just sitting and breathing in the truck at 12,135ft is hard enough.
The alpine tundra and it’s ecosystem are remarkable. I would like to learn more about it someday.
It’s getting late so we are looking for a camping spot. We haven’t liked the campground choices so we are heading into the BLM land to look for a spot.
John wants to find a spot with a view. It takes a bit but he finds a good one. I’m ready for bed.
Total miles traveled: 2394
