We took a ride to Rocky Mountain National Park
As we left the area I took a picture of the Flat Iron Range
which is a prominent view from the view from the Boulder – Superior area. There
is a lot of rock climbing here and the Flat Irons are favorite place.
Plan on a slow trip through the park. The speed limit varies
from 35 to 45 mph but the actual speed is much lower due to sightseers. The
park road is the highest major highway in the U.S. The elevation at the highest
point is 12183 feet. There is an Alpine Visitors Center nearby at 12090 feet.
There are several named ranges in the park. One of the
catcher ones is the “Never Summer Mountains”.
The Gore Range
We drove through the park and met some friends, Dick & Wilma
Proctor, who were on a trail ride and staying at the Winding River Resort located near the park exit. On the way back
we drove through the park and took the Peak to Peak Highway (Rt 7 & 72) which
included the drive down Boulder Canyon from Nederland to Rt 36.
One of the sites we wanted to stop at was the Saint
Malo Center. Unfortunately it was closed due to two destructive events. The
first was a fire in November, 14, 2011 that destroyed the main part of the
former 49-unit residence hall, a 60,000 square foot complex (http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_23856747/st-malos-future-uncertain-20-years-after-famous ) and major rock slides
during September, 2013. The room that Pope John Paul slept in during his visit
in August 1993 remains intact after the fire. The property belongs to the Archdiocese of
Denver. So far there has been no decision of what to do with the property.
The chapel (officially
known as Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel) remains intact. There was a
pond in front of the building which you can see is now dry. We did see some
earth moving equipment on the property.
Here are a couple of other pictures we took along the way.
What a great day, good weather, good scenery, saw old
friends and Dick even bought lunch. (You hear that Don M. J)
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