Rocky Mountain ...again

We woke up to a cold (35 F), but beautiful morning. The sun was shining and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The stars the last night were amazing!!!! We cooked breakfast in camp - bacon, eggs, and polenta. Then we had to move sites because when we made reservations we couldn't get the same site for three nights.

We went to the Grand Lake visitor center and then started on the Colorado River hike. We were hiking to Lulu City, a former gold and silver mining town. The town had 200 people from 1879 - 1884. Then suddenly, it wasn't producing what it thought it would, and everyone left. Supposedly there are some remains of buildings but we didn't see any. Just beyond the town marker, the trail led to a very peaceful river edge. We rested and enjoyed the scenery before heading back. The scenery was different from yesterday's hike. There were some burnt trees but far less and many, many pine trees. We saw chipmunks, squirrels, and yellow bellied marmots (like groundhogs). When we got close to the trailhead, we soaked our feet in the cold Colorado River. As we got to our car, there were 8 or 9 elk grazing by the parking lot.

We went into the town of Grand Lake, walked around and had some ice cream. Back at camp we cooked hot dogs and baked beans and sat by the fire. We heard a pack of coyotes and some squealing. I think the coyotes had an elk dinner.Read more