Westward Trails as We Head North

Ned and Joe Follow in the Footsteps and Ruts of the Westward Expansion

Today turned out to be a long day and night. We left Aunt Norma's early. It was wonderful visiting and catching up and the boys enjoyed meeting her. We hope to see her again soon.

We were headed to Devils Tower National Monument in northeast Wyoming. On the way we planned to visit Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff in Nebraska. As we were leaving I realized my phone's battery was not charging again so we stopped in Cheyenne, WY hoping there was an AT&T store. It turns out there aren't any in Wyoming. In desperation I tapped the battery on my knee three times. It worked! While in Cheyenne we parked outside the state capitol building. Unfortunately the capitol building was closed so we only saw the outside. With the phone crisis over we turned east towards Nebraska.


State Capitol of Wyoming in Cheyenne, WY

Our first stop in Nebraska was Chimney Rock National Historic Site. Located in the valley of the North Platte River it is the most famous landmark on the Oregon Trail. The site is run by the Nebraska State Historical Society which in addition to Chimney Rock also includes the Ethel and Christopher J. Abbott Visitor Center. There are exhibits on the landmark's history along with a hands-on opportunity to "pack your wagon." The boys with the help of another family loaded a wagon to make the arduous journey west.


Chimney Rock a Landmark from the Past

The next stop was Scotts Bluff National Monument. Towering 800 feet above the North Platte River, Scotts Bluff is a natural landmark that has served as a marker for travelers on the Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express Trails. The visitor center has exhibits on the history of the bluff and a gallery of William Henry Jackson's sketches, paintings, and photographs. We took Summit Road to the top of the bluff and hiked out to the overlooks. It was too hazy to see Chimney Rock but the views were still good. Returning to the visitor center the boys turned in their Junior Ranger books and received their badges. We stopped in the town of Scotts Bluff and had a late lunch at Rosita's a really good Mexican restaurant where everything is made to order, even the tortilla chips.


Scotts Bluff Towers Above the Oregon Trail


From High Atop Scotts Bluff

Now we headed back to Wyoming and Fort Laramie National Historic Site. For the pioneers on the Oregon Trail Ft. Laramie meant a third of their trip was over and and they had reached the gateway to the Rocky Mountains. Here, most rested and regrouped while some gave up the dream and turned back. The park service is still restoring parts of the fort but even so there was a lot to see. Filling out the Junior Ranger workbooks had us visiting most of the park and the boys successfully received their badges.


Fort Laramie Parade Ground


Joe and Ned Relax at an Officers Quarters

Our last two stops for the day were in Guernsey, WY where we visited Register Cliff and the Guernsey Ruts. Register Cliff is a sandstone cliff where hundreds of emigrants on the westward trails inscribed their names. It is one of three "recording areas" located within Wyoming, the other two being Independence Rock and Names Hill. It was amazing to see all of the different inscriptions carved into the rock.

Near Register Cliff is the Guernsey Ruts. Here the Oregon trail was forced away from the river through a ridge of soft sandstone. The track is worn to a depth of five feet, creating some of the best preserved ruts remaining along the length of the Oregon Trail. The geography of the area dictated that practically every wagon that went west crossed the ridge in exactly the same place, with impressive results. In places, the ruts dip down over five feet, so you can't miss them.


Token of Travellers Past at Register Cliff


Ned Inspects the Ruts of Wagons Past

It was getting late and I wanted to get as close to Devils Tower as possible so we could visit and get to the Black Hills of South Dakota the following day. The road started off fine and we drove through the low hills of eastern Wyoming graced with a beautiful sunset. As darkness fell the road turned from pavement to gravel and then dirt. As our headlights swept over the road birds would fly off the road and jack rabbits would run out attempting to cross and then veer off. A deer leaped in front of the car just missing a collision along with a couple of coyotes and a fox. We ran over a large snake in the road. The road turned to a track of wash outs and deep ruts. Once I came to a quick stop when I realized we were straddling a 4 ft deep gully. The last 6 miles were a real white knuckle ride until we came to a better road. We spent the night in Moorcroft, WY at a rest area off I 90.


Sunset Over the Eastern Hills of Wyoming


Lakewood, CO to Moorcroft, WY, 522 miles 9 hrs 41 min

Mile High City

Ned and Joe are a Mile High in the Mile High City

Thursday morning we left Rocky Mountain National Park and headed for Denver. Before planning this trip I wasn't very aware of the park. I am glad that we had the chance to visit. It is a beautiful park and I hope that someday we will visit again for there are a lot more lakes to see and mountains to climb.

We were excited to go to Denver. Mary's Aunt Norma lives in Denver and she was kind to offer us a place to stay. I hadn't seen Norma in over 12 years and the boys had never met her. We were also going to meet up with my friend Sarah who had moved to Denver a few months ago.

As we left the park we drove through Estes Park and then Boulder where we stopped for breakfast. We also went to downtown Boulder to visit Into the Wind a kite store where I occasionally order kites. It was neat to see all of the kites in person and I ended up buying a couple. Afterwards we walked a little up the Pearl Street pedestrian mall looking at the shops.

Leaving Boulder we were soon in Golden, CO. As we drove through town I noticed a Coors Brewery Tour shuttle and out of curiosity I followed it. Coors offers free tours of the brewery so we joined one. We learned all sorts of things about how Coors , the largest brewer in the US, brews it beer and at the end we got to sample the wares. Well I did, the boys were not allowed to have any alcohol and I only had one glass.

After leaving Golden it was not long before we were at Aunt Norma's. It was wonderful to see her. We spent the afternoon catching up on how everyone was doing. After dinner I scrubbed the boys clean.


One of Adolph Coors' Original Brew Kettles Outside the Brewery Entrance


Ned and Joe Listen to the Brewery Tour


Joe Learns About Copper Mash Tuns

Today we toured Denver. We picked up Sarah and went to the Tattered Cover Book Store at their location in the old Lowenstein Theater on Colfax Street. The theater was completely refurbished. What was formerly a sunken stage now holds theater books and where box seats were there are now reading tables overlooking the main floor. The downstairs houses a great children's collection. I was happy to see walls lined with the photos of the authors who have done signings at the store.

After a quick lunch at a Greek diner we drove through Denver's City Park and then through LoDo and up to the capitol building. We had reservations for a Capitol Dome Tour but we were a bit early so we stopped into the Denver Library's Central Branch. Designed by Michael Graves it is a great place to explore. The Western History Collection on the fifth floor is especially impressive. The center of the room is an old windmill.

When it was time for our tour we walked up the street to the capitol. Colorado's capitol building was designed with the our nation's capitol in mind. A round brass cap embedded in the west entrance stairway reads, "Elevation: 5280 feet, One Mile High, 5-12-69." At 272 feet high the golden dome is plated with real 24 karat gold to commemorate Colorado's Gold Rush days. There are 99 steps to the dome observation level and the view from the dome looks out over Denver. There is also a museum with the history of the capitol. We looked in at the senate and house chambers. The first floor rotunda murals provide an artistic representation of the story of Colorado's water use with eight murals painted by Alan True and a poem written Thomas Hornsby Ferril, "the great poet of the West."

Afterward we stopped at the Wynkoop Brewery Denver's first brew pub for a drink. The boys played a game of pool and then joined another family in a game of shuffle board. Then we took Sarah home and met her partner Todd and his parents. For dinner Norma made a great pizza. Tomorrow we are heading north into Wyoming.


Thatcher Memorial Fountain in Denver's City Park


Denver Central Library's Western History Collection


"The Yearling" by Donald Lipski Outside the Library


Colorado's State Capitol Building


The Brass Mile High Marker


Sarah, Joe, and Ned Look Over Denver from the Dome


Looking Up at the Dome from the Rotunda


Here shall the melting Snows renew the Oxen/here Firewood is and here shall men build Cities


Rocky Mountain National Park, CO to Lakewood, CO, 83 miles 3 hrs 1 min

Mountians, Alpine Tundras, Lakes and Waterfalls

Joe and Ned on a Rocky Mountain High

We had a long full day today. We started off the morning with a talk on the park's bighorn sheep. We learned about how their horns grow and why they come down from the mountains to places like Sheep Lake (it is the minerals in the mud.) After the talk we had an early lunch at the Endovalley Picnic area next to the Fall River before heading up the Old Fall River Road.

The Old Fall River Road was the first road in Rocky Mountain National Park to the park's high country. It was eventually replaced by the Trail Ridge Road and on the park's website they call the Old Fall River Road a "motor nature trail." The road was completed in 1921 and it is narrow and can be a bit steep in parts. It is 11 miles long, gravel, one-way uphill and has many switchbacks. It is not a hurry along road but a slower paced, relax and savor the experience road. It ends at Fall River Pass, 11,796 feet, near the Alpine Visitors Center.

Near the start we passed the alluvial fan scoured out by the 1982 Lawn Lake Flood which flooded part of the park and even the town of Estes Park. We stopped at Chasm Falls and hiked along the river to the spot where it plunged over the rocks and into a chasm. It was a beautiful morning and the rest of the drive was spent just enjoying the views.

When we reached the Alpine Visitor Center we hiked the Alpine Ridge Trail. It leads to the summit of a mountain near the visitor center. It was brisk and windy at the top and we were glad we wore our jackets. We had a quick snack at the visitor center before continuing along Trail Ridge Road. There were some places we wanted to see that we missed on the way into the park. One was at Rock Cut to hike the Tundra Communities Trail. It is just a quick hike through the alpine tundra and at the end there are some great rocks to climb. While the boys climbed I had a conversation with a couple from Rapid City, SD. Mentioning we were head for the Black Hills they told me that it was the start of Sturgis, a huge week long motorcycle rally and I should make sure we had a place to stay.

We also stopped at some overlooks like Many Parks Curve. At Hidden Valley the site of an old ski resort we worked on finishing our Junior Ranger books. When we got to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center all three of us were able to receive Junior Ranger Badges. Then we drove to Bear Lake a beautiful alpine lake at the base of Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain. One of Rocky Mountain National Park's most famous and popular trails is the Bear Lake Trail. It combines views of the mountains, the Bear Lake and a short walk, a 0.6 mile loop. It had started to rain a bit when we arrived but didn't last long. Just down the road a bit is the Glacier Gorge Trailhead where we hiked a little under a half mile to Alberta Falls. Glacier Creek thunders down this waterfall which is another of the park's more popular hiking destinations. Since we were there so late in the day we were pretty much alone. It also meant that we couldn't visit some of the other lakes in the area. There were hungry boys to feed.

We returned to the campsite pretty tired and hungry. We got a campfire going and sat around it eating our ramen noodle dinner. Tomorrow we are leaving this beautiful park and going to Denver.


The Bighorn Sheep Ranger Talk


Hiking to Chasm Falls


The Way Up the Alpine Ridge Trail


The Never Summer Mountains


The Trail Ridge Road


Longs Peak


Looking East Along Horseshoe Park


The View From Our Campsite


Picturesque Bear Lake


Joe and Ned at Alberta Falls

A Beautiful Drive

Joe and Ned in the Snow in July

We were up and broke camp in good time this morning. We were headed for Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. We had reservations at a campground in the park so we were not pressed for time. From Moab, UT we turned onto Utah Route 128, the Upper Colorado Scenic Byway, and followed the Colorado River north. The river here has cut a wide canyon and the red rock walls in the early morning light are beautiful.

Soon we were on Interstate 70 and back in Colorado. We stopped in Grand Junction, CO to see an eye doctor. The piece of contact was still in my eye and really bothering me. After successfully having it extracted by the very helpful Melinda Hicks OD we explored downtown and had breakfast at a bagel shop.

I70 through the mountains of Colorado is a beautiful drive especially through the Glenwood canyon. The highway flows with the Colorado River. The lanes pass over and under each other and at times you are alone as the other lane pierces the mountain through a tunnel. Along the highway there is a multi-use trail that weaves in and out of the highway and river. We made a quick stop at Vail for gas. We passed through the Eisenhower Tunnel built under the Continental Divide at an elevation of 11,158 feet, the highest tunnel in the US. It is also the longest tunnel in the Interstate highway system, 1.7 miles.

Leaving the interstate we turned north onto US Route 40. We had a pleasant lunch in Empire, CO and then drove up Clear Creek Canyon and over Berthoud Pass, 11,307 feet, and back across the Continental Divide. This was another beautiful drive with fantastic views.

We entered Rocky Mountain National Park at the south entrance and stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. We picked up Junior Ranger books for all of us and checked out what to see in the western part of the park. We were now on Trail Ridge Road the highest continuous paved road in the nation.

Our first stop was a quick hike on the Coyote Valley Trail through the Kawuneeche, Arapaho for coyote, Valley. Sometimes elk and moose are sighted but all we saw were some fish in the river. If we thought the Colorado River was cold at Lee's Ferry it was even colder here so close to its origin.

Our next stop was Lake Irene, a pretty little alpine lake. It started to lightly rain as we parked so we took a quick walk around part of the lake. As we were returning to the car we saw a pine marten which is a pretty rare sight. Next was Milner Pass, 10,758 feet, where Trail Ridge Road crosses the Continental Divide. We took a short hike to stand in a bit of remaining snow pack nearby. On a ridge overhead there were bighorn sheep and a man walking back from the snow said there was beaver. It was a marmot sitting on a rock eating some grass. While we slipped and played in the snow we realized we were not alone. A small herd of bighorn sheep had walked right up to us. As we watched them they climbed up the steep hillside and joined the others on the ridge. As we walked back to the car we saw a herd of elk lying down near a small pond.

At Medicine Bow Curve we took a quick alpine hike to look at wildflowers. We startled a ptarmigan as walked by some bushes. The Alpine Visitor Center was closed but we saw more elk and a big marmot on the a wall. A German visitor showed me a hole in his pants where a marmot walk up and bit it. He was so happy. The Rock Cut overlook had a bunch of pikas and a family of marmots running around. As we approached the campground we came across a group of mule deer in the woods.

We had camp set up in time to attend the campground ranger program on Our National Parks. We learned that there are 29 different types of park units from parks, monument, memorials, historic parks, to lake shores.


Driving Along the Upper Colorado Scenic Byway


Cows on Board Get Free Soup


After This Stretch, No More Red Rocks


Kawuneeche Valley


Joe Checks the Water Temperature While Ned Throws Rocks


Kawuneeche Valley From Fairview Curve


Some of the Bighorn Sheep That Visited Us


Joe is Going East and Ned is Going West


Cache la Poudre River Valley From Medicine Bow Curve


Mountain Flox Still Blooming in the Alpine Tundra


The Lone Marmot


Moab, UT to Rocky Mountain National Park Moraine Campground, CO, 419 miles 9 hrs 58 min

Arches National Park in the Sun

Joe and Ned Standing Beneath Wall Arch

It rained again last night but by morning it was dry. It is the monsoon season. We started off the day hiking the 7.2 mile Devils Garden Trail including the Primitive Loop. There are nine arches to visit including Landscape Arch. We started off a bit late and arrived at the trailhead around 9:30 am.

There are short spurs to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch almost right away. Then after about three quarters of a mile is Landscape Arch. For most visitors Landscape Arch is the high point of the Devils Garden. It is a slender ribbon of stone 290 feet long and 105 feet above the desert floor. Landscape Arch is probably in the last stages of its existence. In 1991 a 60 foot section dropped from the arch making it thinner. The trail continues northward past Wall Arch a very accessible arch. Then a short spur leads to Navajo and Partition Arches. Partition Arch is two large holes in the rock face. The main trail ends at Double O Arch a little over two miles from the trailhead.

To return to the trailhead you can retrace your steps or you can turn north from Double O Arch, and take the loop trail that goes back through Fin Canyon. This trail is what the Park Service calls a "primitive trail." It is not as well developed as the main Devils Garden Trail, but it is quite easy to follow. The trail wanders through thin stone fins that were formed millions of years ago when the ground rose beneath a solid block of sandstone, causing it to fracture and separate into long, parallel vertical sheets. These fins are the primary reason why so many arches have been formed in Arches National Park. Private Arch is an especially beautiful arch and lives up to its name because you are usually the lone visitor.

After spending about a mile in the fins the trail breaks out on the eastern side of Devils Garden and into a wide wash. At this point I realized I was in trouble. With the lack of shade my body quickly becoming dehydrated. On top of that this is where I ran out of water. As we hiked on I got worse. I had to get to the main trail if I wanted to walk out of the park and not be carried. Once we got there I managed about another half mile until we came to a large hill which I didn't think I could climb. I found a shady spot in the rocks and sent Joe to find a ranger for help.

After about fifteen minutes Joe returned with some water bottles. He had told a group of people that I needed help and they gave him their water and went to find a ranger. The water was just what I needed. After drinking both bottles I decided to try for the parking lot and the water spigot there. As I stepped out on the trail I wondered where the hill was and Ned said that we had already gone over it. I had been really out of it. On the way to the parking lot a park worker gave me more water and walked with me. After sitting and drinking more water at the parking lot I felt much better.

We drove to the visitor center where the boys finished their Junior Ranger booklets and received their badges. We went back to the campground and hung out at the pool for a couple of hours. I drank lots of water. After showering one of my contacts stuck in my eye. I couldn't get it all out. We went to the Moab Diner for dinner and then the coolness of the library for the rest of the evening. By the time we went to bed I felt much better though my shirt will probably never be the same.

It was an experience that I will try to avoid repeating. We should have started a little earlier and taken more water. It was amazing how bad I felt in such a small amount of time. On the way out we passed some hikers going out on the trail and most of them didn't have water. I tried to warn them.


Pine Tree Arch, Ned Standing in the Bottom Middle


Landscape Arch is 290 Feet Long


The Devils Garden Trail Follows the Fins


Ned and Joe Sitting Partition Arch


Joe Checks Out the Neat Rock Formations


Ned Found a Nice Little Hole




Looking Into Fin Canyon


Double O Arch


Joe Trekking Through Private Arch


The Devils Garden Trail