We decided to take a hike on our last day in the Rocky Mountain National Park. There are a great number of hikes from which to choose, easy to strenuous. We chose a 2.2 mile (one way) moderate hike from Bear Lake Trailhead up to Lake Haiyaha. The trailhead starts at 9,475 feet and ends at Lake Haiyaha at 10,220 feet.
Jim seemed to do fine on the hike. The elevation has bothered me from the beginning (at the Grand Canyon), but my breathing leveled out a little ways past Nymph Lake.
Everywhere we looked were absolutely stunning views. We had to really concentrate on a good bit of the trail because the snow was still pretty thick in certain areas. We sometimes had to carefully pick our way over snow that was about 2 1/2 feet thick. I did fine going up but busted my rear twice coming down.
Even though we only hiked 4.4 miles round trip, it took us FOUR hours. Of course, a good bit of that time was spent taking photos (with the small camera) or just standing in slack-jawed awe of the place.
At Lake Haiyaha, the last 75 feet or so of the hike is a field of large boulders. You can see some of them in and around the lake in the photos.
This was a perfect way to end a great vacation. I could easily stay in this one place for a whole month. There's so much to see and do.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Rocky Mountain National Park
This by far was my favorite place to visit. The weather is wonderful and the scenery is amazing. Jim got out of the car near the road and photographed a moose and her calf. A couple of mule deer crossed our path on a hike. But the most plentiful wildlife to watch was the elk. They were EVERYWHERE - even in our campground. We found them down in the valleys, alongside the road; and on the Alpine Tundra above the tree line.
The elk were not skittish but were very much aware of anyone coming a little too close. I stood on the asphalt to photograph a herd which didn't seem to bother the closest bull. However, he raised his head and looked straight at Jim for several seconds when Jim stepped off of the road and on to the dirt. Jim squatted down and the bull continued grazing.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Carson National Forest
Just outside Taos is Carson National Forest where we took the dogs for a couple of hikes (with a rest day in between). This particular area has several trails that are shared by hikers, horseback riders, and bicyclists. The weather was warm but not hot and we always carried water with us, even for short hikes.
As always, Amy's nose sent her off into many different directions but she usually stayed within sight of us. Goliath stayed closer and joined Amy in her investigations only when she came nearer to us. The second hike was more strenuous and so his legs gave out before the hike was over. He kept going, but the back legs were shaky and he sat down every time we stopped. He's a real trooper.
As you can see from the photo of Amy's legs, we had a huge cleanup after the first hike because both dogs got into the mud around a man-made pond and in the stream alongside the trail. The dogs were well behaved during cleanup, though, which made the job much easier.
Driving through Carson National Forest reminded us a lot of northern Georgia and western North Carolina.
As always, Amy's nose sent her off into many different directions but she usually stayed within sight of us. Goliath stayed closer and joined Amy in her investigations only when she came nearer to us. The second hike was more strenuous and so his legs gave out before the hike was over. He kept going, but the back legs were shaky and he sat down every time we stopped. He's a real trooper.
As you can see from the photo of Amy's legs, we had a huge cleanup after the first hike because both dogs got into the mud around a man-made pond and in the stream alongside the trail. The dogs were well behaved during cleanup, though, which made the job much easier.
Driving through Carson National Forest reminded us a lot of northern Georgia and western North Carolina.
Taos, New Mexico
We very much enjoyed the weather in the quaint little town of Taos, New Mexico. Historically, it was a center for fur trading, the home and rinal resting place of Kit Carson, and currently home to a great many artists. Many, many art galleries housing high quality art. Jim's words to describe Taos were ecclectic, funky, nice weather.
All of the buildings in the Historic District are made of adobe. I didn't realize it was deliberate until we ventured out into the countryside and saw homes made of other kinds of materials. Even the McDonald's and the Wendy's were built from adobe.
There are 19 Pueblo Indian tribes throughout northern New Mexico. We visited the Taos Pueblo one day. I didn't take any photographs since it cost $10 per person to enter and $5 for every camera plus you have to ask permission to photograph the residents. The shopkeepers were very nice and one particularly nice shop was part retail and part museum. All of the artifacts were from the shopkeeper's family and many items are still worn on feast days.
Some of the pueblos date back 1000 years and are still inhabited today. We were instructed to only enter pueblos clearly designated as shops. Some outside areas were also off limits. A large percentage of the indians are Catholic as evidenced by the beautiful and well maintained church in the center of the village.
On our last evening in Taos, we visited the Kit Carson home and museum. The 20 minute film about his early years was very informative, and the man in the film who portrayed Kit Carson was a fourth generation grandson.
After five nights in Taos, it was time to move on - to the Rocky Mountains.
All of the buildings in the Historic District are made of adobe. I didn't realize it was deliberate until we ventured out into the countryside and saw homes made of other kinds of materials. Even the McDonald's and the Wendy's were built from adobe.
There are 19 Pueblo Indian tribes throughout northern New Mexico. We visited the Taos Pueblo one day. I didn't take any photographs since it cost $10 per person to enter and $5 for every camera plus you have to ask permission to photograph the residents. The shopkeepers were very nice and one particularly nice shop was part retail and part museum. All of the artifacts were from the shopkeeper's family and many items are still worn on feast days.
Some of the pueblos date back 1000 years and are still inhabited today. We were instructed to only enter pueblos clearly designated as shops. Some outside areas were also off limits. A large percentage of the indians are Catholic as evidenced by the beautiful and well maintained church in the center of the village.
On our last evening in Taos, we visited the Kit Carson home and museum. The 20 minute film about his early years was very informative, and the man in the film who portrayed Kit Carson was a fourth generation grandson.
After five nights in Taos, it was time to move on - to the Rocky Mountains.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
RV Ballet
I thought you might like to see some photos from our RV Experience. Traveling with two fair sized pets required us to quickly develop what we call the RV Ballet.
We have to be extremely careful not to touch even the end of one of Amy's hairs or she either jumps up and moves or looks extremely put out. It's even trickier with Goliath. We have to be careful to move slllooowwwly over him or he too jumps up. This could be disasterous for Jim and me both. We've landed on our feet each time but not without outlandish swinging of the arms and balancing on one foot for several precarious seconds.
Goliath always looks like we're trying deliberately to cause him bodily harm.
When we take my niece's children for a week long vacation in July, they are all going to have to learn the RV Ballet.
We have to be extremely careful not to touch even the end of one of Amy's hairs or she either jumps up and moves or looks extremely put out. It's even trickier with Goliath. We have to be careful to move slllooowwwly over him or he too jumps up. This could be disasterous for Jim and me both. We've landed on our feet each time but not without outlandish swinging of the arms and balancing on one foot for several precarious seconds.
Goliath always looks like we're trying deliberately to cause him bodily harm.
When we take my niece's children for a week long vacation in July, they are all going to have to learn the RV Ballet.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A Day at Arches National Park - Utah
Jim had planned for us to spend three days in Moab, UT near Arches National Park. But it was HOT, HOT, HOT. (Did I mention that Moab was HOT.) Anyway, we stayed only one night and toured the park on our way out the next day. Fortunately, the drive was easy on the RV.
Besides the many arches, the park had some really interesting rock formations. All aptly named. I've included detailed descriptions with each of the photos.
From here we moved on to Taos, NM by way of Durango, CO. Once we were in Colorado, I felt more at home. Lots and lots of trees and grass. Durango itself is a nice city, very clean, very civilized.
Besides the many arches, the park had some really interesting rock formations. All aptly named. I've included detailed descriptions with each of the photos.
From here we moved on to Taos, NM by way of Durango, CO. Once we were in Colorado, I felt more at home. Lots and lots of trees and grass. Durango itself is a nice city, very clean, very civilized.
Monday, June 23, 2008
A Look Back at the South Rim
I uploaded some more photos of our time on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We only had one day on the South Rim but saw a lot, took a short hike on Bright Angel Trail, and enjoyed photographing different aspects of the Canyon.
This photo was taken late in the day and I was trying to capture the high altitude plane through the tree branches. The plane was so faint, I had to use a Photoshop feature called "Equalize". It made for an extreme photo but you can definitely see the plane.
This photo was taken late in the day and I was trying to capture the high altitude plane through the tree branches. The plane was so faint, I had to use a Photoshop feature called "Equalize". It made for an extreme photo but you can definitely see the plane.
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