Denver

We reluctantly left our campground at Lake McConaughy on Saturday, April 24th to head for Denver.  We were looking forward to two reunions while there -- one with our niece, Rebecca, who we haven't seen since she was 4 or 5 years old (she is now 44!) and also with Maureen Jones (known as Moe or Moey), an old childhood friend of mine.  She lived across the street from me when I was growing up and, although she was a year behind me in school, we played together all the time and were close friends.  We reconnected a few years ago -- neither of us can remember whether it was through Facebook or a mutual friend or what -- but in any case, we have been communicating via email and a few phone calls since then.  I always said if we got out to Denver we would definitely visit her.

As we approached Denver from the east, we could see the beautiful Rocky Mountains on the horizon and also the ever-present fields of black-eyed susans all around us.  Our GPS led us to our campground with ease -- it was serious culture shock as we pulled in and saw what looked more like a paved parking lot than a campground.  The entire place was paved, with campers lined up close together.  No trees at all.  There was a dog walk on the other side of the campground from where we were staying -- a good long walk for poor Poppy when she had to go!  We couldn't put up our R-dome, even if there was room for it, there would have been no way to drive in the stakes.  So this is camping in a city and we vowed to avoid it in the future.  Still the campground had a nice laundry and bathrooms and was convenient to lots of shopping and we could put up with it for a few days.  I wish I had taken a picture so you could see it but it never occurred to me that it was "photo worthy" until I started writing this blog.

On Sunday we did some shopping and maintenance on the RV.  The campground was supposed to have wifi but neither my phone nor my iPad could even see it.  I was able to connect to it with my laptop but it was such a weak connection that it took forever for each page to load.  I know, I know, I am way too dependent on being connected to the internet!

Sunday evening we went to visit our niece, Rebecca and had a lovely time with her.  She is a go-getter software executive and was charming and so interesting to talk to.  She lives in a nice neighborhood in Denver and we were able to leave Poppy in her back yard and walk to a Thai restaurant for dinner.  Great food and conversation -- we hated to say goodbye.

Monday morning, Moe and her friend Nancy Roses came by our campsite early (7:45).  They had planned a trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park -- about an hour and a half north of Denver.  We followed them in our truck (with Poppy) and went through Boulder and on up to Estes Park, CO just outside of the park.  We stopped at an overlook to get some pictures.  Wow!

This is the group:

On the way into Estes Park, Moe pointed out this hotel which was where the movie "The Shining" was filmed.  I have't seen the movie (I don't do scary movies) but thought others might be interested.

We were able to enter the Rocky Mountain National Park for free, thanks to our Senior Passes.   Nancy had been to the park many times before so she was our guide.  She led us up Trail Ridge road, a steep and winding road that traveled up a mountain with a maximum height of over 12,000 feet.  On the way up we saw a herd of elk grazing by the side of the road and I got these pictures:

The views along the road were awe inspiring -- at times it was a little scary as you looked over the side of the mountain but the roads were well maintained and we did fine.  Here are a few pix of mountain views.

As we got toward the top, it got really cool and windy.  We had been warned to bring sweatshirts and were glad we did.

We turned around at the top and went back down the mountain and saw another herd of elk on the way down.

Stopped to climb on these rocks for a photo opp.  Bob wanted me to climb to the top but I was picturing the rest of our trip with a broken ankle so declined.

All day we were looking for bighorn sheep which are said to inhabit the park but didn't see any.  We did see lots of deer and many different types of birds.

When we got down to a mere 8,000 feet, we went to a picnic area to have the meal we had brought.  Moe and Nancy had brought charcoal and started the grill.  They grilled steaks, zucchini from their garden and a piece of salmon for Bob and heated up some baked beans.  We contributed potato salad, cole slaw and some dessert.

After we cleaned up from the picnic, we headed out of the Park.  Stopped in the town of Estes Park to see some of the shops. 

 It was a really pretty town but we were tired (not used to breathing at this altitude I think) and we didn't spend long there.  We said goodbye to Moe and Nancy and headed back to our campground.  We were leaving for western Colorado in the morning.  So glad we got to see Rocky Mt. National Park.