11d. We took a ride to Rocky Mountain National Park

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)

11c. At Glenwood Springs

 

 

 

 

At Glenwood Springs                   

John & Marta arranged for all of us the stay at a Bed & Breakfast named the Red Rooster Inn.

There are three attached structures. The one on the left is the garage, the center is the main house and on the left is the bed & breakfast unit. On the first floor is a kitchen and two bedrooms with full baths. On the second floor is two more bedrooms bath and a sitting area with TV, refrigerator, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An atrium connects the main house with the B7B unit. The roof was walkway/sitting area. It was a good place to sit during the day a star gaze from at night. There was no towns and so, no ambient light.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Looking across the valley, the mountain in the distance is Mount Sopris. It is unique for having twin peaks that are exactly the same height, 12965 ft. and are one half mile apart. The western peak is one of the largest in the state as it rises 6400 ft. above the valley to the west in a horizontal distance of 2.7 miles. It is an inactive volcano but the when it went dormant is not well known.

 

 

We had breakfast on the veranda located outside the main house.

 

 

 



 

 

There were a couple of pastures for their horses, a pond with koi, various benches and chairs to sit on around the property.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was at the pond the owner was feeding the Koi. There was another pond that contained smaller Koi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited the hot springs which have been developed into quite a facility now known as Glenwood Hot Springs. The original resort and spa opened in 1888. It is known as one of the world’s largest hot spring, drawing visitors from all over the world.

 

 

There are two pools. The big pool is between 90 and 93F, with water slides and swimming lanes. The therapy pool is between 102 and104 F and has bubble chairs and submerged marble benches.

The “famous and not so famous” can be seen enjoying themselves in to the pool.  Well known people like Doc Holiday came to get the health benefits of the sulfur springs. There well may be health benefits, however, nothing is guaranteed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to Glenwood Springs Adventure Park. It is located high above the valley and you either take a bus or the gondola. We choose the gondola. The gondola cars are grouped in three’s. The gondola stops each time a group of three cars come to the station to either load or unload passengers. It stopped three time as we ascended so we had plenty of time to look at the scenery and take pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JMGC are starting a gravity coaster ride. A great feature is that when you get to the bottom car is brought to the top much like the start of a rolling coaster ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bear and the chair.

 

 

Colorado has a state flag that you see quite a bit. We passed a donut shop that combined the flag and their business name. Pretty clever and the coffee and donuts were quite good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a great get away that we will remember and enjoy the memories.

There were three of us taking pictures so there are some pictures that are similar.

Pictures at: https://jackbarbic.shutterfly.com/9328