Sunday, February 23, 2025

Rocky Mountain National Park in Winter

 

When my friend Rosemary visited us for a few days from New York early last March, my husband and I were excited to show her a few of our favorite local Colorado sights, We began with Red Rocks Amphitheater, then a drive of the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway, and today I'm showing our visit to Rocky Mountain National Park.



The weather was cold and windy, but the sky was bright blue except over the snowy mountains.

Mountains produce clouds and we certainly saw that scientific fact in action on the day of our visit.




We drove up Trail Ridge Road, which is the highest continuous road in the United States, but it does not stay open towards its highest elevation of 12,183 feet (3,713 m). That portion is usually closed from October to May.


We had a good view of Longs Peak - the highest mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park, at 14,256 feet (4345.22 m).



More clouds were being made!



We usually visit RMNP in the fall, but the snow of late winter defined the shape of the mountains and the vast forests so beautifully! 




We drove along Trail Ridge Road as far as we were able.


We stopped to take photos at different pull-outs along the way




Please click on the photo to enlarge it to read the placard.



Rosemary was excited to see her first Black Billed Magpie, who perched on a pole to rest. 
Surprisingly, we did not see any other wildlife during our visit. In the past, we often saw deer, elk, and an occasional moose or black bear.



The mountain views were so majestic!





We finally reached the giant snowplows and the end of the passable road, as the rest would be too treacherous a drive until it was opened in late Spring.




We drove to a few lake areas but the trails around them were too snow-covered to hike.



Please click on the photo above to enlarge it to read the placard.


After a few more stops in the park, we decided we were hungry and it was time to drive into the nearby town of Estes Park where we stopped at one of my favorite places -- Smokin Dave's BBQ, where we had a delicious dinner and then headed back to our home.

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Monday, February 17, 2025

A Winter Drive on the Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway

When my dear friend Rosemary visited us from New York last March--see my last blog post--we drove north from our visit to Red Rocks Amphitheater to Golden, Colorado, and then west on US 6 through Clear Creek Canyon. The canyon road runs parallel to a portion of Clear Creek, famous as the location of the most intense early mining activity during the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859.  When we reached the town of Black Hawk we turned onto the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway that runs 55 miles along the foothills and valleys along the Front Range with views of the Continental Divide. Established in 1918 it is Colorado's oldest scenic byway.



We have driven this scenic byway many times in the past--you can see some of those posts on this link. 



The beautiful views of the Colorado Rocky Mountains along Peak to Peak never cease to take my breath away!



The Peak to Peak Scenic Byway passes through Allenspark, Ward, Nederland, and Rollinsville, in addition to some smaller communities along the way.



Our final destination was at its terminus in Estes Park where we were going to enter Rocky Mountain National Park.



Please click on the photo to enlarge it

We stopped briefly to look at an informational Placard about the Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway.




Soon we approached the town of Allenspark and St. Malo Chapel on the Rock completed in 1936. This small, stone Catholic chapel is open to the public.




 
The Chapel on the Rock is located at Camp St. Malo and the chapel’s official name is St. Catherine of Siena Chapel. The chapel is framed against the majestic Mt. Meeker – 13,911 feet. In 1999 Boulder County designated the chapel an Historic Site.



We stopped to visit the chapel. An interesting fact about the picturesque chapel is that Pope John Paul II prayed at the chapel during his visit to Denver for World Youth Day in 1993; he blessed the chapel afterward. The pope later hiked in the surrounding woods and spent some time at the Saint Malo Retreat Center.



We stopped again for a few moments at this scenic viewpoint of Longs Peak-- at 14,256 feet (4345.22 m) it is the highest mountain peak in Rocky Mountain National Park.




As we approached Estes Park we had a nice view of the famous Stanley Hotel in the distance. A stay in this haunted hotel was the inspiration for Stephen King's novel The Shining. My husband and I stayed in the Stanley for a special anniversary and I think I might have captured a ghost in one of my photos--click here--to see that post.



We finally arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park! It was a windy and cold day but I wanted to show Rosemary one of our favorite places in Colorado. More about our visit in my next blog post.

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Sunday, February 9, 2025

A Winter Visit to Red Rock Amphitheater With a Dear Friend


 Last March my good friend Rosemary visited us from New York, as her daughter had a business trip to the Denver area, so she decided to go along with her to visit us. My husband and I were thrilled to show Rosemary some of our local sights for the few days she was in Colorado.  First, we showed her some of the red rocks that are in our Littleton neighborhood. (All photos in this post will enlarge if clicked on)


Click on the photo collage to enlarge.

We then drove to Morrison, Colorado, where the iconic outdoor Red Rocks Amphitheater is located, nestled among red rock formations in the Colorado Front Range foothills. My husband and I have attended many concerts in Red Rocks since we moved to Colorado, and I've blogged about it many times. Most days it is also open for visits to its Visitor's Center Museum and many surrounding hiking trails. 




On this visit, we decided to take one of the trails to sightsee the scenery.


The elevation of this area is 6,391 feet---1948 m---so the views east show the Colorado plains and the mile-high city of Denver in the distance.


Looking even further east I could see the iconic white triangles of Denver International Airport in the distance.



We enjoyed all the sights along the trail...



...until we wound around to steps leading up to the amphitheater's stage area.





There we could stand on the stage and see the two giant red rock formations on either side of the seats, which are named Shiprock and Creation. 

One of the most interesting aspects of the Red Rocks Amphitheatre is its exceptional natural acoustic qualities. The rock formations create a natural sound system, providing unmatched acoustics for concerts and performances.





Driving out of the Red Rocks Amphitheater Park area we passed many more beautiful natural red rock formations that were formed around 160 million years ago!



Rosemary was amazed by all the beauty of the red rock area, and we were looking forward to showing her more of our favorite places--see more in my next posts.


PS: Thank you so very much for all the kind comments on my prior post about my husband's surgery. He continues to do well and is getting back more of his strength all the time.  I'm happy to be back blogging again! I missed you all!

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Sunday, February 2, 2025

Update!!


I took a long blog break after Christmas as my dear cowboy--my husband-- underwent open heart surgery for a double coronary bypass in early January. Thankfully, he is doing well and has been home three weeks. We feel fortunate that his only symptom pre-operatively was shortness of breath.  Because of that, his cardiologist felt he should have a cardiac stress test and then a coronary angiogram which showed the blockages of two major arteries of his heart. He could have suffered a myocardial infarction -- a heart attack--at any time, so that was avoided with surgery.


 


We had a few weeks to prepare as my husband was otherwise in good health so his surgery was scheduled after the holidays, which was ultimately better for many reasons, as we avoided the "quademic" of three respiratory viruses and the GI norovirus was prevalent during the holidays  Being prepared mentally also helped in his recovery. He came through his 6-hour surgery well and spent five days in a cardiac ICU before going home. I am an RN, so I felt capable to taking care of him at home at that time.




Our local hospital had this uplifting mural by the elevator bank--click on the photo to enlarge it to read the scripture.


The views from his hospital window were gorgeous and also uplifting!



My husband was soon up in a chair and walking with assistance in the hospital within a day, and now that he has been home a few weeks we are beginning to follow post-operative instructions to walk every day until he builds up to a half-hour walk 5 to 7 days a week. Thankfully, the very cold "Arctic Blast" sub-zero weather we had the first few weeks of his time at home has passed and our weather has been much milder. Because his sternum (breastbone) was completely cut open and then reattached during surgery he has to be careful not to use his arms strenuously and not lift anything heavy, etc, for about 6 to 8 weeks. Full healing takes 10 to 12 weeks.  We are confident that he will continue to improve every day, and be better than ever!
Thank you to all for your encouraging comments and messages, etc, on social media! It is good to be back on my blog and I now hope to be able to return to a regular weekly post.

Please take care of your heart and make sure to see a doctor if you have any cardiac symptoms. Modern medicine is a miracle!

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