My aloe vera plant started to show signs of distress last winter. In June I set it outside as it’s last hope.
I guess it loved the hot summer sun. It thrived, and I’m glad. Now I hope it will survive another winter indoors…
Revived
Tag: Rocky Mountain National Park
Comfortable?
We have returned from a road trip to Colorado, to visit our youngest son and his family. We had a great time and good weather (hot but dry).
We were happy to watch the kids while our son and his wife took off for a few days. The first day of our time alone with the grandkids, we planned to go to Rocky Mountain National Park. Because of COVID-19 one has to make reservations to drive into the park, which we did long before we left for Colorado. This made the park less crowded than normal. What a perk!
Our time for entering the park was 10 am (with a grace period). It would take an hour from our son’s home to get to Estes Park, the entrance to RMNP. That morning, we were on our own to get the kids ready. After packing a picnic lunch, finding jackets, getting shoes and sunscreen, loading up the car and getting the kids settled in their car seats, our first stop was at the neighborhood gas station. We pulled up to the pump and stopped. After the busy morning I turned to the kids in the back seat and asked, “OK, how are you guys doing? Are you comfortable?”
Zoey (5) said, “yes” and Ezra (4) said – in all seriousness – “yes, but I’d be more comfortable with a donut!” It made us laugh out loud and we went into the station and bought some donuts!
The day went well. It was sunny with spectacular views. We drove on the Old Fall River Road, a one-way, gravel road which twists and turns its way up through the mountains.
At the top we stopped at the visitor’s center and hiked the remaining Alpine Ridge Trail to 12,005’. We had brought some children’s binoculars for the kids and they were a big hit.
On our way down the mountain we drove along the Trail Ridge Road, a two-way, paved road. We stopped for lunch in a picnic area, and hiked on another trail along a river.
We had a lot of fun playing in Rocky Mountain National Park with our grandchildren.
It was a “comfortable” sort of day.
Rocky Mountain National Park – Take Two
I had the opportunity to go to Colorado for a week to help take care of my two adorable two grandchildren who live there. Their mother went to her sister’s wedding while my son and their two children stayed behind. So I gladly offered my assistance.
While there, my son and grandkids and I took a day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Our son’s new home in Colorado is about an hour from the park. My husband and I visited the park when we drove out to Colorado in late April so this was my second trip to the park within six months.
In April, the Old Fall River Road was closed to vehicles. It is only open for traffic July through September so Gary and I decided to hike along the popular, historic road to Chasm Falls, a couple miles up the road.
As we started hiking… it started snowing… so we had a peaceful hike up and back down the hairpin-curved road, with snow-globe style snowflakes gently falling.
In August, the Old Fall River Road is open to traffic so my son slowly drove along the winding, nine-mile dirt road to the Alpine Visitor Center, one of the highest points you can drive to in the park.
We parked the car at the Alpine Center and continued hiking up a trail to the top – 12,005’.
It was a beautiful day and the vistas were fantastic, at the top and all the way up the mountain.
We drove down the mountain on the Trail Ridge Road since the Old Fall River Road is one-way only.
The Trail Ridge Road is a wonderful smooth, paved road that crosses through the park. We stopped for a picnic supper part way down and continued to enjoy the beauty surrounding us.
During both visits to the park, in April and in August, we saw elk.
I’m grateful I was able to be in RMNP with my son and my grandchildren. I’m grateful to have a senior pass that gets me, and the passengers in the vehicle I’m in, free admittance to national parks. I’m grateful we have so many national parks in the US to explore.
Memorable Hikes – Rocky Mountain National Park 2019
Towards the end of April, we spent six days helping our son and his family move into their apartment near Boulder, Colorado. The weather was wonderful…sunny skies with temperatures in the 70’s.
Since we were so close to Rocky Mountain National Park we planned to go into the park after we helped them settle in. It was another beautiful sunny day when we arrived at the park.
After orienting ourselves, we took a short hike, on snow-packed trails. I’m glad we had our hiking poles because there were several slippery spots.
The next day we decided to hike the Old Fall River Road at a higher elevation (the peak the elevation is 11,796 feet above sea level but we did not hike to the peak.) The Old Fall River Road is closed most of the year…it is only open July through September. The road leads to a side trail down to Chasm Falls which you can access when the Old Fall River Road is closed. When the road is open there is no room for hikers on the narrow hairpin-curved road.
One July, years ago, when we were in the park with our two sons we drove this one-way road up to the peak and across to the other side. It was spectacular scenery.
We did bring warm clothes on our trip because we know weather can change anytime in the mountains, and we did need them on this cool and cloudy day. In the morning we bundled up, parked the car, took out our hiking poles and started up the 1.3 mile hike to Chasm Falls.
We were the only ones hiking on the road that morning. It was fun to have the wide road all to ourselves. It is an easy hike because of the wide road and because it is hard packed gravel. As we began our ascent, it started to snow…and it snowed all the way up to the falls and continued to snow all the way back down, to our car. It felt like we were in a snow globe. It was beautiful and dazzling and a memorable hike….walking in Rocky Mountain National Park in a snowstorm.
The next day we woke up to eight inches of snow. We did go back into the park for the third day, just to drive around, and we saw a lot of animals this time…maybe because the animals were easier to spot in the snow. We saw a fox, turkeys, three moose, lots of elk, a beautiful blue bird, and several magpies.
Postcards
I have a renewed interest in postcards.
A few years ago a colleague started sending me postcards from her destinations on business trips, now she will occasional send one from a fun trip destination. I soon started reciprocating and sent her postcards from places I’d visited.
Postcards do seem like something from the past…something people do not send anymore. They tend to send their own snapshots from their cell phone in an email or text message…and what can be better than that? Immediate messages and up-to-date photos. But postcards can be fun too.
I found the ZITS comic strip below amusing.
I began looking at postcards again while traveling, and I buy one or two to get a different perspective than I get on my iPhone camera but in some places it’s hard to find postcards.
For instance, last week my friend and I went into a variety store in a tourist town and asked “Do you have any postcards?” No was the reply, and it happened a second time at the next store. As we continued down the street we saw a carousal of postcards and stepped into the shop to take a look. There were winter scenes and fall scenes but it was springtime and we were seeing such vibrant spring colors, but then we found a collage print and that would do.
However, the postcards seemed a bit different…a little smaller than normal and the back was blank…no “postage here” or a line separating the message from the address…so we asked the clerk and he said he made the postcards himself (and he worked for the Post Office so he knew the size was OK.) How fun is that? I bought the postcard and sent it off. The personal connection with the photographer made it so much more fun and interesting.
I will continue to buy postcards, and send some occasionally…keeping a few postcard stamps available in my purse.
by Gustav Klimp
Tree Art
On our first hike in Rocky Mountain National Park two weeks ago we noticed a fallen tree with very beautiful and artistic designs in it’s exposed roots. I took a couple of photos and from then on I began noticing what I have come to call “tree art.”
Below are a few photos of tree art that I took in the park: different trees, tree stumps, and tree roots.
Home Again
We arrived back to an empty house, after helping our son and his family move out of our home, to Colorado. We miss them.
A few haikus about our trip…
Adventure awaits
To Colorado they move
We will miss them so.
Our own caravan
Three vehicles together
All heading westward.
Unload, unpack, rest
Moving is a lot of work
They are settled in.
Hiking in the park
The snow starts gently falling
Spring in the Rockies.
Three moose on the move
Catching a glimpse through the trees
Many elk and birds.
Visiting good friends
Retired and moved away
Fun to reconnect.
The house is quiet
The children have moved away
It feels so empty.
