Back from a Coast to Coast Travel Interlude

I'm going to interrupt my Rocky Mountain National Park posts to tell you why I've been rather quiet the past two weeks, both on this blog and commenting on your blog.  I was traveling! I had a rare break from full-time babysitting of my granddaughter during the week, to take two back to back trips--one to beautiful San Diego, California, and one to upstate New York, where we attended the wedding of our friend's daughter.

California is one of my favorite states to visit--I have written almost 50 posts about this state that you can see under the label: California. When my husband had a business convention to attend in San Diego I was excited to be able to accompany him!  This was my third visit to San Diego--you can see my prior posts about it under this specific label: San Diego.

I think my photo collage tells the story of why I love this city so much. (You can enlarge this photo and all photos on this post by clicking on them once, and then clicking on it again to see it enlarge to full size).  It really is a paradise on earth! It's year-round moderately warm temperature keeps it in bloom, and it's blue skies and Pacific Ocean Bay waters give it an azure glow. It is also a large US Navy base, so there are always carriers and other Navy ships in the bay to see, and I was fortunate enough to see a submarine changing crew out in the bay when I went on a seal boat tour. The city's historic Gaslamp District has some amazing restaurants, and I happily indulged in as much seafood as I could! I also finally heard a free organ concert at Balboa Park that is held every Sunday at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion-- one of the largest outdoor pipe organs in the world!

One of my favorite places to visit in San Diego is Coronado Island, located across the Coronado Bridge, and where the magnificent historic Hotel Del Coronado is located. You can read a prior post I wrote about the hotel at this link. The hotel is celebrating it's 125 anniversary this year! I enjoyed walking along the beach and dipping my feet into the Pacific Ocean again. It is always fun to see the creative sand castle structures that are usually on the beach--there were even some festive sand pumpkins!

I was also able to visit the nearby valley town of Temecula, on a full day wine tasting tour of three different wineries.

After leaving California, my husband and I flew across the country into JFK airport in Queens. We then rented a car and spent the night at my brother and sister-in-law's home on Long Island. The next day we drove upstate New York to Rhinebeck, where we would be attending a wedding weekend.

The further north we drove the more colorful the early autumn foliage became. It was such a  pleasant drive!

We stayed in the historic Delamater Inn in Rhinebeck. The Delamater was erected in 1844 and was designed by one of America's first architects, Alexander Jackson Davis, and is considered one of the finest examples of American Carpenter Gothic.

The Delamater Inn is part of the Beekman Arms Inn-- established in 1766, it is the oldest continuously running inn in America. It once housed Revolutionists George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and Alexander Hamilton. It was here that Aaron Burr and Hamilton exchanged insults that lead to their famous duel and Hamilton's death!  Franklin Delano Roosevelt began every one of his political campaigns from the front porch of the Beekman Arms Inn. You can read more about the history of the inn at this link. Rhinebeck is full of historic buildings, including the Rhinebeck Reformed Church which you can see on the right of the photo collage above. It was established in 1731 by Dutch settlers who formed Dutchess County, New York. They were having an apple pie festival on the weekend we visited, and we bought two pies to bring back to our NYC families.

The town of Rhinebeck is a wonderful destination! It's scenic tree-lined streets and slate sidewalks lead to charming specialty shops on the avenues, and a multitude of Victorian style houses on the surrounding streets

I could not resist taking photos of some of the delightful houses in the town. Each and everyone was well maintained and very appealing!

There were many autumn touches everywhere I looked, and I felt fortunate to be here during one of my favorite seasons.

Of course, the best part of the wedding weekend was the gorgeous wedding my friend's daughter had in nearby Germantown, New York. Her ceremony took place on the banks of the Hudson River on a spectacular autumn afternoon. They had their reception in a large tent on the historic property they rented for the day, with dancing in the refurbished barn space. My friend Rosemary not only made her daughter's dress by hand but all the decorations! Yes, she made these paper chandeliers, the wedding arch and even the linens for the tables.  She is such a marvel!  It was a stunningly gorgeous wedding!

I'm now back home in Colorado, enjoying watching my neighborhood's aspen trees turn their fabulous shades of autumn gold! Unfortunately, I also came home with a bad cold which knocked me out a few days with sinus headaches and a cough. After babysitting all day all I had the energy for was to go to sleep. Thankfully, I'm all better now and will be catching up with you all as much as possible.

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful autumn season, wherever you live!

Rocky Mountain National Park--Part Two--The Roof of the Rockies

In my last post, part one of the Rocky Mountain National Park Trail Ridge Road at this link, we traveled Trail Ridge Road--the highest continuously paved road in the United States--until we reached the alpine tundra region. We were at elevation 11,716 feet in the tundra protection area, far above the tree line, where winter conditions are harsh.  Trail Ridge Road closes to the public before winter, for the safety of the public, and most times it can only be traveled in late spring through early autumn.

Traveling the Trail Ridge Road at such a high elevation, one sees spectacular sights!

We approach scenic stop number six, called "Rock Cut," at elevation 12,110 feet.

Here, on the "Roof of the Rockies," the climate is very rigorous. Severe weather can come at any time. In fact, as we stopped and stayed for a while, threatening thunderclouds began to gather in the distance. Temperatures remain below freezing here all winter and sometimes even in summer, and there are frequent blizzards in winter. Luckily, the day we visited, the temperature was in the high 50's.  Wind speeds here can exceed 150 miles an hours and ultraviolet radiation is extreme. We did see plenty of wildlife here--look closely at the photo above -- bighorn sheep!

Just look at this handsome ram!

In fact, there were quite a few Bighorn sheep rams looking for food on the tundra!

The views of the mighty Rocky Mountain ranges never seemed to end from this vantage point! You can see the continuation of the Trail Ridge Road if you enlarge the photo above

Click on the photo above, and then click on it again to enlarge it to full size to read this placard about the construction of Trail Ridge Road at Rock Cut.  (All photos on my blog can be enlarged this way for easier viewing)

As you can see, the sky looked threatening, but my husband and I decided we would hike up the Tundra Communities Trail to see the panoramic scenery and views of the tundra. The Trail Ridge Road pamphlet we were using (see my part one post) suggested that this one-mile trail would take 45 minutes to complete, and they were right!

The trail was long and winding and very steep! It is only a little over a half mile long each way, but at 12,300 +  feet elevation the oxygen level was 35% less than sea level, and I found myself needing to stop to catch my breath quite a few times.

Fortunately, there were many informational plaques along the way that gave me a chance to rest as I stopped to read and photograph them. Again, click on them once, then again, to enlarge to read them.

Despite the severe weather conditions, more than 100 species of flowering plants live on the stunningly rich tundra. Most plants are small, low growing and compact perennials.  Many alpine plants are covered by hairs or waxy surfaces that reduce their water loss.

Because we were visiting the tundra at the end of the growing season, in early September, there were not too many flowers in bloom, but we did see the tiny yellow ones above called Dasiphora fruticosa (shrubby cinquefoil).

As we climbed we heard a squeaking sound - can you see what was making it way off in the distance, on the top of the hill?

It was marmots! These relatives to the groundhog live in burrows and hibernate much of the year. They hide when they feel in danger, so we felt fortunate to have seen them. Beside marmots, pikas and ptarmigans live year-round at these elevations. Other wildlife such as ravens, hawks, coyotes, long-tailed weasels, bighorn sheep, and elk will also migrate onto the tundra during the summer months.

We almost turned back on the trail a few times, as the sky above kept getting darker, and the hike became more strenuous, but since I came this far I was determined to reach the top!

I made it! I was on the top of the Roof of the Rockies! It was such a fabulous thrill!

 Looking down, I saw another bighorn sheep running along the rocks of the steep cliff. How fast and agile these wild sheep are!

I could see the four major mountains of the Mummy range in the distance, including Mummy Mountain, Chiquita, Ypsilon, and Chapin.

On the other side, I could view the 14,000+ high Long's Peak in the distance surrounded by many 12,000+ high mountain tops. This really was being on top of the world and the feeling was indescribable!

Now at a safe distance, the ram stopped running and posed beautifully for my camera.

More ancient rock formations on the Roof of the Rockies, including the Mushroom Rocks that are formed of granite stems and schist tops. I was so thrilled to see all of these unusual sights but I did not want to linger much longer as darker thunder clouds continued to gather and lightning is always a danger at such high elevations. We walked back down the trail to our car, to go on to the next scenic stop along Trail Ridge Road.

To quote naturalist John Muir:

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

Our drive on Trail Ridge Road has more stops and more wondrous sights to see!  Click here to read part three.  Click here to read part one.