Alberta Falls and Bear Lake, RMNP, July 22, 2008

July 22, and once again we were off to Rocky Mountain National Park. This time we headed to the park and ride along the Beaver Meadows Trail to take the free shuttle to the Glacier Gorge Trail Head for a hike to Alberta Falls. The lovely 25-foot high cascade in Glacier Creek is the most popular waterfall in the park. It is also a relatively easy hike along a moderate, well-maintained trail. The distance from the trail head in 0.8 miles. The elevation is 9,180 feet and the elevation gain along the trail is 220 feet. It was a beautiful place to sit and watch the cold ice melt flowing down the mountain.

From here we hiked back to the tail head and then headed up to Bear Lake. It was a 0.5 mile hike and as we discovered later a 330 foot gain in elevation!! John kept telling me that it was an easy hike, but I was not convinced... but I made it to the top.. only to find out that I could have gone back to the Glacier Gorge Trail Head and taken the shuttle up to the Bear Lake Trail Head. Oh well, It was a beautiful hike. From here it was a beautiful hike around Bear Lake, a 0.5 mile walk with only a 20 foot gain in elevation! I like that much better! Bear Lake is a beautiful clear lake with Hallet's Peak in the background. The lake has been a success story in the propagation of the native Greenback Trout, which at one time was an endangered fish species.
There is always so much to see and learn here in the park. I think you could spend all summer here and never see or learn it all!

We have several more days here and then we are off again... until later.

Candy and Johnny

Drive to Nederland, Colorado July 21, 2008

Hi all, we took Sunday off to get some laundry done and generally just hang out for the day. We did have some small showers in the afternoon. Monday dawned to a glorious day and we decided to take off once again. (Guess I just can't get enough photos of "rocks"!)

The middle photo is of St. Catherine of Siena Chapel. We rounded a curve and there it was, sitting on top of a rock. We had no idea exactly what it was so we decided to explore. It is a Catholic Chapel that is part of the St. Malo Retreat Center. It seems that in 1916, Father Joseph Bosetti saw a falling star in the summer sky and in his search to find the crater, he came across a natural wonder: an immense Granite rock in a meadow that held a stunning view of the east face of Mt. Meeker. He looked no further for the meteor. Remembering Jesus' word to Peter, Fr. Bosetti vowed to one day build a chapel on the rock. Twenty years later, on that spot his dream was fulfilled and a lovely stone chapel was dedicated under the patronage of St. Catherine of Siena in 1935.

In 1993 Pope John Paul II visited the chapel during his trip to Denver for the World Youth Day and bestowed his personal blessing on the chapel.

The sanctuary lamp has been in use in this chapel since the first Mass was offered in 1935. Before its arrival in Colorado, the antique lamp hung in a small chapel in Rome which Mussolini ordered torn down in order to make room to build a road.

The Chapel on the Rock is truly a Colorado landmark and a lovely place to visit.

We continued on our way and ended up in the town of Nederland. We stopped to have lunch at the Bear Brothers Bistro. Lunch was great and the beer was even better. Such a cute little town the mountains.

On the drive back to Estes Park the sky clouded over and we thought we might get wet but we were lucky and made it back with no rain.

That is all for today, Hope all is well with everyone.

Love to all,

Candy and Johnny

Old Fall River Road July 19, 2008

We got to Estes Park, Colorado on Friday, July 18, 2008. It was a short drive from Glenwood Springs, through Boulder. Another pretty drive, following the Colorado River for most of the way.

On Saturday we headed out to Rocky Mountain National Park. We headed up the Old Fall River Road. It was built between 1913 and 1920 and was the first motor route to cross Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park. In the 9 miles you travel from the montane meadows and woodlands through subalpine forests to the alpine tundra.

Old Fall River Road remains much as it was in 1920. It follows the steep slope of Mt. Chapin, numerous drop offs and hairpin turns on a narrow dirt road. Today, as it was when the road was built, it remains the edge of wilderness.

During the early construction phase, all work was done by 38 convicts from a Colorado state penitentiary. The road was slightly widened and straightened in 1932, following this the road was designated a one-way route.

The journey begins at 8,558 feet above sea level and ends at Fall River Pass, 11,796 feet. As you climb, the temperature cools by roughly 3 to 5 degrees for each 1,000 foot gain in elevation.


At the end of the Old Fall River Road you come to the Alpine Visitor Center Center, built in 1965 by the National Park Service. We stopped here to stretch our leg and have some lunch. There is a path that leads up to the top of the mountain and you reach 2.3 miles above sea level. It was quite a hike up the side of the mountain but we both managed the climb.

From here, we returned via Train Ridge Road back to Estes Park, 25 miles to the east. Along the way back we found several herds of elk grazing along the side of the road. We also saw some yellow bellied marmot. Cute little critters that don't seem to care if you are there or not.

It was a wonderful drive and we stopped several places and hiked the trails to waterfalls and glaciers and rock formations. As I have said before.....INCREDIBLE !!!!

That is all for now.

Miss you all,
\
Candy and Johnny

Elk Scenic Byway, Glenwood Springs

It was another glorious day on Thursday, July 17th as we headed out once again to tour the mountains. We left Glenwood Springs and back down to Carbondale and from there we turned and headed west this time to Paonia. We passed through the scenic Crystal Valley and then on up to McClure Pass at 8,755 feet. Further on we took a left turn and headed to the Ragglands Wilderness Area. The route passes through pine forests and expanses of aspen. Up up again this time through Kebler Pass at 9,980 feet. During the winter Kebler Pass is closed except to snowmobilers.

As we continue we come to the town of Crested Butte and around to Gunnison. After the mountains, the broad valley between the two towns is an interesting contrast. The open pastures provide ample forage for cattle, deer,and elk. Three dams on the Gunnison River have transformed the semi-arid area into a recreation mecca. The high, dry vistas are now interrupted not only by the Gunnison River's narrow thread, but also by three lakes, Blue Mesa, Morrow Point and Crystal.

Around past the town of Mahr and Crawford we are back at Paonia and then back along Hwy 133 to Redstone and Carbondale and back to Glenwood Springs. We did pass the town of Marble where marble was quarried for many notable structures including the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

John says that what we really need is a jeep to go through these mountains but I kind of like the convertible with the top down.

Next we are off to Estes Park...so much more to see... what a great big country this is that we live in with so much to see.....
Until later...

Candy and Johnny

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Monday, July 14 and we were off to Glenwood Springs, Co. We stayed at the Glenwood Canyon RV Resort, right along the Colorado River. The top photo was taken just around the bend along the walk/bike path from the RV park. On the far side of the river are train tracks and trains go by several times a day. The best part is that there are no road crossings so the train whistle is not blowing during the night!. We are parked up on a bluff with a beautiful view of the canyon walls. Another beautiful place to stay and as John says... another opportunity for me to take pictures of more "rocks". But he does like the photos that I take, I wish that I could up-load more of them than can be posted here.

The Historic Hotel Colorado is here is Glenwood Springs and is an icon in the quaint mountain town. In the late 1880's, Entrepreneur Walter Devereux had a vision to create a world-class resort with a grand hotel and therapeutic natural hot springs. The Hotel Colorado made its debut in 1893 attracting visitors from across the globe. For more than 112 years it has been the place of legends. The teddy bear, Teddy Roosevelt's western White House, gangsters, and a World War II U.S. Naval hospital, all have roots here. Because of its cultural significance and commitment to preservation, the National Park Service has recognized the Hotel Colorado on the list of National Register of Historic Places. It has recently undergone a huge renovation

that is still ongoing today.

The world's largest mineral Hot Springs Pool is only steps away, and known for its health benefits. We did not go to the pool but each time we passed the pool was a busy place.

We decided to go out wandering again and to drive around the area. We left Glenwood Springs and headed toward Carbondale and then to Snowmass, Aspen and up through Independence Pass. Independence Pass ( which is closed from November to May) is on the continental divide. As you can see we were are 12,095 feet above sea level . You feel as if you are on the top of the world and the views from here are spectacular in every direction!

As we continued on around on CO-82 we came to Twin Lakes and then headed past Mt. Elbert and up to Leadville. Leadville is a coal mining town and still has mining today. If you saw the movie "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" this is the town where Molly and husband Johnny Brown were from in Colorado. The National Mining Hall of Fame is located here.

As we left Leadville, we headed back toward I-70 and back to Glenwood Springs and our little home away from home. It was a beautiful drive through the White River National Forrest.

There is so much more to see here so we will be off another day, but that is all for now.

Take care,

Candy and Johnny

Grand Junction/Gateway, Colorado

I am finally getting back to my blogs and I hope that the wifi connection holds for me to post this.

We finally left Moab, Utah on Saturday, July 12 and headed to Grand Junction, Colorado. It was a short drive, only 105 miles. We stayed at the Monument RV Resort for two nights. It was near the Colorado National Monument (top photo). As we decided to go out exploring we discovered that the area has many winery's!! They have some wonderful wines...how fun! We also found the Colorado Wine Tasting Room, where you can go and taste most of the Colorado wines in one place without driving around. We stopped there and tasted several of the wines from winery's that were further away from where we were and then decided to go to some of the winery's near by. We did some tasting and some buying!!!


We also discovered that the Palisade area also grows lots of fruit along with the grapes. John found a small shop along the road where a lady was making fresh baked pies. The one that we brought home was blackberry/raspberry, and it was wonderful!

While in this area we took a side trip down to Gateway, Colorado. Just when we had decided that there was not much there we rounded the bend and in the middle of no place was a huge complex with hotel, spa, ranch and all the amenities. Someone had really put a great deal of money in the place. The ride there through the mountains was beautiful and I am always surprised at all the different scenery that you come upon . The bottom photo was taken just across the road from the rocky cliffs.
On Monday we headed over to Glenwood Springs....I will post more photos and information later. That is all for now. Take care,

Candy and Johnny

River Raft Trip Friday, July 11,2008

I have the photos! So there can be no doubt.... I was on a river raft trip on the Colorado River!

Yes, I, Candace Kane Badger! I know that my family will never believe this!!! (I am the one in front with the white hat)

What a fantastic ride!! John has been on them before but this was my first time. We took a full day trip that was a 14 mile journey down the river through some 1 to 2+ rapids.
We were on the raft with our guide Becky.
She is a 21 year old student at BYU, but we won't hold that against her! She was great and also the leader of the entire group of 8 rafts, four kayaks and 81 people. As the leader she was to make sure that all went well...and as it turned out we had to help participate in several rescues as

there were several of the kayaks that overturned and the occupants had to be retrieved. All survived and a good time was had by all..I would do it all again!

We began at 8am, stopped for a break along the bank and then down to the Red Cliffs Lodge for a wonderful BBQ lunch and finally were taken out at about 3pm.

Have to say that it was a good way to keep cool in the warm temperatures of the Moab Summer! John went over the side and into the river to cool off but I stayed in the raft as I was wet enough with the water gun fights with the other rafts and water from the rapids.

I am ready to go again!! Next time John wants to take a two or three day trip. I am not sure about that, but never say never!

We are off to Grand Junction, Colorado next so stay tuned for more later...

Until then, Candy and Johnny