[Sat 6/18 - Sun 6/19] *** Happy Fathers Day! ***
Not gonna lie... That massage felt pretty good after a week of hiking. Karri loved her spa treatments too.
After pampering ourselves, we headed back to our room to relax a bit and clean up, then hopped on the bikes and rode into town. Stopped for a salad and a couple slices of pizza at Bob & Tony's (good, not great), then walked the bikes along the Estes Park River Walk, before hopping back on and riding to Lake Estes. Rode the length of the park, then turned around and biked back to the room, about 8 miles round trip.
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| Nice riding trail along Lake Estes |
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| Mountain backdrop |
We relaxed a bit back at the room, then cleaned up, stopped at the outdoor bar at our Inn for a cocktail and some live music before heading to dinner at
Bird and Jim. We had a delicious meal (shared a steak, salad and appetizer) and great service. Toward the end of the meal we found ourselves reminiscing about our fathers, sharing some of our favorite memories of each (to the point I felt I should explain to the waitress why we were both getting a little misty!). A great night - capped off with a quick dip in the hot tub before drifting off to sleep.
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| A couple great dads! |
Up at 7am to pack up and drive the
Trail Ridge Road over the Continental Divide to the northwest corner of the park. It's about a 45-mile, winding drive from Estes Park to Grand Lake, CO, climbing 4,000 feet up to 12,183 at it's highest point. Trees can't grow above 11,500 feet so about 11 miles of the drive are through wind-blown tundra. It was beautiful, fascinating and, at times, unnerving as guardrails are few and drop-offs are steep!
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| Moose sighting at the start of the drive; later saw a mama and calf |
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| Longs Peak |
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| Just above treeline |
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| Blue sky trying to push through |
We stopped at several pullouts to soak in the vastness of the Rockies, snap photos, or walk along a trail through the tundra.
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| We hiked a half-mile out to these rocks that, for some reason, have survived the elements that others didn't |
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| Mountains as far as you can see |
We eventually descended and passed through several meadows and valleys on the western side of the park. Drove through
Timber Creek campground to scout out our campsites for the next 2 nights (have to switch sites after the first night), then continued out of the park and on to Grand Lake, CO - a cool, western town on the shores of Grand Lake. Stopped for a great lunch at
One Love Rum Kitchen, waited out a brief rain storm, then walked through town a bit before stopping at
Charlie's Sports Bar & Grill for a couple beers, blogging, and watching the finish of the US Open. Heading now to setup camp.
