It seems like we can never get an early start – partly due to packing up, but partly because we always seem to need gas, groceries or other items. As usual, by the time we left Fort Collins it was almost time for lunch.
The start of the drive from Fort Collins to the Rocky Mountains National Park is truly spectacular. The highway follows a very steep canyon cut by the Thompson River. It is the type of narrow canyon that could create a flash flood in a heavy rain or sudden snow melt, and that has in fact happened in the past. Now a flood control dam about 15 miles upstream, where the canyon widens, reduces that risk.
As you come out of the canyon, you are climbing into the mountains, and the scenery continues to be beautiful.
The first place of consequence is Estes Park, which is a municipality, not the park. This town is crammed with tourists and tourist shops. It took us about 30 minutes to go the 3 miles from the visitor center to the center of downtown. After lunch, we walked a few blocks through T-shirt shops, souvenir stores, candy shops (fudge and saltwater taffy are the popular choices), rock shops (lots of geodes) and of course restaurants. The town runs a free bus to popular hiking and biking destinations, and there are also multiple tour opportunities. And this is clearly paying off in tourist dollars.
After a late lunch we decided to continue on, with the objective of reaching Granby by evening. The drive goes up through the mountains and over the continental divide. It is a paved highway, 4 lanes in most spots, but is still quite challenging due to switchbacks and fairly heavy traffic. There are lots of scenic viewpoints.
In the late afternoon we came across a real traffic jam. A large herd of elk was grazing beside the highway. Needless to say, we and just about everyone else decided to stop to have a look. With traffic almost at a standstill, about a quarter of the herd decided to meander to the other side of the road. With the calves skipping about and the adult males growing in their new antlers, it was quite a sight.
Shortly after this, Chuck began to get nervous about the hour (still a couple of hours of daylight), the weather (lightning visible, although no real rain) and the possibility that all the campgrounds would be full (which had been indicated at the park entrance). We pulled into the first campground we saw, which luckily still had several sites available. Although it is called “Trout Creek” it is actually on the Colorado River, which here, about 9 miles from the headwaters, is just a creek.
We met a very nice couple from Michigan and did mutual RV tours.
On Monday we slept in and awoke to sunny skies and cool weather. We took the “Never Summer” trail to a historic farmstead and resort. It is hard to imagine, but the farm was “homesteaded” in 1902 and the resort closed its doors in 1940. Again, we find it hard to remember just how young this part of “the west” is. We continued on the trail up the mountainside until we heard thunder. Given the danger of lightning strikes, and the very changeable weather, we decided to head back to the RV.
pica 
northern flicker 
red-tail hawk
Chuck has been practicing his wildlife photography. He snapped a few birds and some small mammals. We’ve seen a lot of small mammals such as ground squirrels, chipmunks and picas, and also a lot of birds.
I continue to be amazed at all the wildflowers, many of which are new to me. As well, the trail we took today was well endowed with the poisonous but beautiful Amanita muscaria mushrooms.
Amanita mushrooms (not flowers but still beautiful – and poisonous)
After lunch and a couple of games of “Race for the Galaxy” we hoped to head out for another trail. However, about every 30 minutes the thunder started again. We even had about 10 minutes of heavy rain. In the end, we stuck close to home.
After supper, a few people strolled by and told us that they had seen a moose by the river. This inspired us to take a late evening walk along the river and the nearby marshlands. This is definitely prime moose habitat. However, we still have not seen a moose in the wild, despite a stroll the next morning covering the same ground.
On Tuesday we headed for Grand Lake and Granby. It was a beautiful drive. We both needed to get some work done which required using the internet, so we stopped in Granby where the signal was very good. The Midtown Cafe in Granby proved to be a perfect place to stop for lunch and some work. It has the feel of a cozy reading room, with good food as a bonus. They have booths, tables, small cozy den areas and a large library table for working. It is decorated with books for reading or purchase. We really could have spent the day there, but since they close at 2:00 we then moved to the local library, which is also a very nice place to work. We also fielded phone calls from both kids.
We left with plenty of time to find a campsite at one of the National Forest campgrounds. We found a very nice beachside site on the shore of Granby Lake. However, we decided that, while very scenic, it was less desirable than returning to Frisco, only an hour drive away. Our Frisco location has the lake, the view and terrific biking and hiking.