September 2004
Colorado, USA
From 1 to 14 September we made a road trip with Amy's parents to Colorado, where visited National Parks, saw magnificent mountains and lots of elk.
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1/39 On 1 September we left Deerfield, IL with Amy's parents Mary and Ramon on a two-week road trip to Colorado. On our second day of driving we arrived in Colorado Springs in the afternoon and we visited Pikes Peak. Here we are at the lodge on Pikes Peak.
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2/39 At the top of Pikes Peak we are at 14,110 feet above sea level. It was extremely cold up there and some of us were feeling a little light-headed from the thin air.
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4/39 North America's tallest dunes rise over 750 feet high against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The wind-shaped dunes glow beneath the rugged backdrop of the mountains. This geologic wonderland, containing over 30 square miles of massive dunes, became a national monument in 1932.
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5/39 On Saturday 4 September we drive to the Four Corners Monument, where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah's borders come together. It was the only rainy day we had on our trip.
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6/39 Before returning to our hotel in Mancos near Durango we headed south into New Mexico.
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7/39 Shiprock is a mountain suddenly rising from the desert floor to a height of 1800 feet over the Navajo Reservation. The Navajo word for Shiprock means "Rock With Wings." The rock was surrounded by low clouds as we approached it.
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8/39 After Shiprock we visited the amazing Aztec Ruins National Monument, which preserves structures and artifacts of Ancestral Pueblo people from the 1100's through 1200s.
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10/39 Durango was founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1880. The railroad arrived in Durango on August 5, 1881 and construction on the line to Silverton began in the fall of the same year. By July of 1882, the tracks to Silverton were completed and the train began hauling both passengers and freight.
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11/39 After 3 1/2 hours we arrived in Silverton where we stayed for one to two hours before the train took us back to Durango.
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12/39 On 6 September, our last day in Southern Colorado, we visited Mesa Verda National Park. The culture represented at Mesa Verde reflects more than 700 years of history.
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13/39 From approximately A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300 people lived and flourished in communities throughout the area, eventually building elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls.
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14/39 Today most people call these sheltered villages "cliff dwellings". The cliff dwellings represent the last 75 to 100 years of occupation at Mesa Verde. In the late 1200s within the span of one or two generations, they left their homes and moved away.
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15/39 Amy and Arthur visited Cliff Palace and Balcony House. The Park Rangers made us climb tall ladders and crawl through narrow spaces on our tour through the impressive sites.
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16/39 On Tuesday we left the Durango area and headed north to our next stop in Montrose. We passed some magnificent scenery along the way.
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17/39 Somewhere between Durango and Montrose.
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18/39 In Ouray we rented a jeep for a half day and did the class 2 (of 5) jeep trail to Yankee Boy Basin.
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19/39 Our jeep in Yankee Boy Basin.
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20/39 .
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21/39 We had rented the jeep at Switzerland of America Jeep Rentral in Ouray.
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22/39 On our way back down to Ouray we came along a small ghost town with several deserted buildings and mines. We explored the area which was a lot of fun.
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24/39 The Black Canyon of the Gunnison's unique and spectacular landscape was formed slowly by the action of water and rock scouring down through hard Proterozoic crystalline rock. No other canyon in North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and startling depths offered by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
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25/39 On Thursday we left the Montrose area on our way to Estes Park.
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26/39 Here we are all taking pictures and looking at a train coming by in the mountains.
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27/39 Close to Estes Park we shortly stopped at Nederland. Here Arthur is in front of the city hall of Nederland, Colorado.
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28/39 After our first night in our Tiny Town cabin in Estes Park we visited Rocky Mountain National Park on 10 September and stopped here at Chasm Falls on Old Trail Ridge Road.
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29/39 After surviving Old Trail Ridge Road we stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center.
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30/39 On our way back through the park to Estes Park it suddenly started to snow when we were near the Alpine Visitor Center. The dark clouds and low sun gave a magnificent visual effect on the mountains -- something we had never seen before.
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31/39 Some of the mountains were bright and the background was dark which made everything look very cool.
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32/39 On Saturday in Estes Park there was an Irish and Scottish Festival going on and we were right in time to see the (very impressive) parade.
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33/39 We did some of the attractions (for kids) in Estes Park, such as this slide ...
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34/39 ... and these Go Karts.
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35/39 On Saturday we played a round of mini golf at Tiny Town, which was very close to our cabins. Here is a view from our two cabins (Lone Pine and Sweet Dreams) from the mini golf area.
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36/39 On Sunday 12 September Arthur and Amy did the hike to Ouzel Falls in the park, which was 3.7 miles one way. Here we are at Copeland Falls.
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37/39 The hike was great and it was a wonderful way to enjoy RMNP.
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38/39 A large part of the area that we hiked through was burnt down in 1978 in a large forest fire. Here you can see a part in the background that is still gone after more than 25 years.
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39/39 When we left Estes Park in the early morning of Monday 13 September the mountains around us had a beautiful colour from the rising sun.
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