We spent the last two nights at the Fernweh Hostel. We had our own bathroom with an old school cast iron clawfoot tub. We also had radiators for heat. Because of these two items, this place reminded me of my grandparent's fourth floor walk up apartment in Queens...and that made me smile.
So did the reading material above the toilet. FYI, my grandparents did not have this book in their bathroom.
We had Cajun for dinner last night, so why not Creole for breakfast this morning.
We drove to Estes Park and decided to drive the Trail Ridge Road across Rocky Mountain National Park.
This is the highest paved highway in America. It is over 12,183 feet at it's highest point and very fucking windy.
Since I am a dork for stuff like this, I insisted we stop here. When I left, I still thought it was pretty damn cool to be standing on the Continental Divide.
We stopped several times along the way from Estes Park to Grand Lake. This is not Grand Lake, it is Poudre Lake at Milner Pass.
We stopped to look for elk and moose...
...sometimes Christy took pictures while I kept driving...
...other times I had to stop because the scenery was incredible.
It is rut season so many open pastures are off limits to foot travel from 5pm until 7am. These are where you will probably see elk for sure and maybe moose.
Chrissy and I have been petting every big dog we have seen on this trip. I saw this cool license plate in the parking lot at...
...this trailhead. We are still trying to get acclimated to the higher elevations by taking short hikes.
This is the mighty Colorado River just downstream from it's headwaters.
This trail takes you into the beautiful Kawuneeche Valley.
Chrissy relaxed in the sun...
...while Kennedy and I hiked further up the valley.
Some very tall lodgepole pines in the parking lot.
After lunch at a deli in Grand Lake, we hiked out to Adams Falls.
A perfect day for a hike.
The Adams Falls
I must have been ahead of Chrissy on this hike.
Fall colors at Grand Lake
Grand Lake is outside of RMNP. So we stopped to take a picture at the Grand Lake entrance.
One last short hike before we leave Kawuneeche Valley.
The late afternoon sun lighting up the valley.
A little perspective on the height of these trees.
The tundra along Trail Ridge Road above the tree line.
This herd of elk stood around while the bull elk chased off a young challenger to his harem.
Playing with shadows on the tundra thanks to the setting sun.
We saw mule deer and elk along the Trail Ridge Road at dusk.
This big male elk was eating about 75 feet from the road after the sun set. This was the best picture I got of him.
We ended our trip all the way across RMNP with this local saying goodnight to us as we passed by.
Awesome travels. The great pictures gives us some idea how big and beautiful God's country is.
ReplyDeleteit does feel like God's country to me
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