Summer Adventures

Day 44

After helping tidy up the cabin, we all headed out in 2 vehicles to the Alluvial Fan over near the Beaver Meadows entrance to let the everyone climb, let the boys fish and let the girls just 'be'.  Here's a little history on the place if you've never been there before...

On July 15, 1982 at 5:30 a.m. Lawn Lake broke through the terminal moraine that had held since the end of the last ice age, thousands of years ago. The release of 29 million gallons of water swept trees and car-sized boulders four miles down to the valley floor. In addition to tons of lighter rocks, gavel and sand creating a 42-acre alluvial fan. A trash collector heard the waters crashing down the Roaring River and called park rangers, who evacuated campers at Aspenglen campgrounds. Two were lost to the flood at the campground and one along the Roaring River. Much of the flood's force was weakened while submerging the meadows of Horseshoe Park, but still had enough force to flood the town of Estes Park to a depth of six feet. Lake Estes to the east of town contained the floodwaters preventing further damage.

Sediments from the flood dammed the Fall River, forming a shallow 17-acre lake. Unofficially called  "Fan Lake" , it has provided new habitats for wildlife displaced by the Lawn Lake flood's debris.

By 1996, Fall River has already begun eroding the lakes temporary dam. Eventually, the lake will drain to create wetlands, meadows and forest.

Tris, Emi and Kat all found very large boulders to climb and stake out.  He sat up there reading for a long time.  He's on a series called 39 Clues and very into them at them at the moment.  

Dawn and Co. took off for Denver to see family in the afternoon.  We miss them!

We stayed around and fished a while longer while the weather held out.  Then we headed out of the park into Estes for another visit to the Stanley Hotel.  Tris couldn't get enough of the place.  

 

The Stanley Hotel's original owners, F.O. and Flora Stanley, are said to haunt the hotel as well. Mr Stanley plays the piano in the music room, and frequents the billards room and the lobby.Built by F.O Stanley to appeal largely to the rich and famous, this massive, Georgian style hotel transformed the economy of the small, mountain town of Estes Park. The hotel was propelled into the spotlight by Stephen King’s novel The Shining and the subsequent movie directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson. Today, the building also has a reputation for being one of the most haunted locations in the United States and proudly offers daily ghost tours.

F.O Stanley came to Estes Park in 1903 after receiving orders form his doctor to seek out fresh mountain air. His doctor instructed Stanley, who suffered from tuberculosis, not to make any plans beyond six months. While staying at a friend’s cabin, Stanley and his wife quickly succumbed to the beauty of the majestic mountain landscape and Stanley’s health began to improve. They built a home half a mile from where the Stanley Hotel now stands.

Construction began on the Stanley Hotel in 1906 and it opened in 1909. Famous guests included John Philip Sousa, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, President Theodore Roosevelt, various Hollywood actors and actresses, as well as an emperor and empress of Japan. Author Steven King stayed at the hotel while writing The Shining.

The ghosts in the Stanley Hotel aren't evil as in the book. Room 418 seems to have the most ghostly activity reported. In fact, the entire fourth floor of the Stanley Hotel (formerly the servants quarters) is quite active. Often, the sound of children playing in the halls of the Stanley can be heard, even when no children are present.

Day 43

We started out really bright and early this morning, (really this time) and headed down Hwy 7 south to the Longs Peak area for a big hike.  The goal, Ouzel Lake, was about 6 miles up the trail for some serious trout fishing.  The kids and I were not mentally prepared for this hike and it's duration.  There were some great falls to shoot in the beginning, but after Ouzel Falls, it was 3 things...empty, all uphill and desolate.

Mountain Lion country too.  Now that I think about it, I should have had a hint with all the fishermen using pack horses (and lamas) at the trailhead.  H-E-L-L-O.

Following North St Vrain Creek, the trail begins on a groomed path lined by lodgepole, fir and aspen. Two short spurs lead to Lower and Upper Copeland Falls (.35 and .45 miles, respectively), and are worthwhile detours if time permits. Of course, this Bear breaks for waterfalls...

The trail continues with nominal elevation gain to the backcountry campsite access trail junction (1.35 miles : 8,860'), then immediately crosses over the creek and a tumbling waterfall. The trail climbs moderately for .45 miles to Calypso Cascades (1.8 miles : 9,077'). 

From Calypso Cascades the trail winds up and along a north-facing valley wall, passing for a short time through an area stricken by a lightning-induced fire in 1978 (2 miles : 9,100'). 

Despite significant damage, the forest is in a natural state of recovery. Grasses and wildflowers brighten the hillsides, while young aspen and pine emerge in replenished soils. Downed trees momentarily open the forest to sweeping views of Mt Meeker, Longs Peak and the northern Wild Basin Area. 

The trail reaches Ouzel Falls in 2.65 miles (9,366') and the Ouzel Lake Trail junction in 3 miles (9,388'). 

Okay, this was the funny point of the day...Scott says something to me which I can't hear, I turn and low and behold...there's 2 park rangers (which carded Scott) and a Lama.  LOL  He was lovely.  I want my own.  

We stopped for lunch at the top of Ouzel Falls and met a little cuties begging for snacks.  

From this point on, the water falls are over and the hike becomes serious.  We're already into the afternoon which was a mistake, seeing is we had to then crest a 1.4 mile ridge that leaves you vunerable in storms...and of course, it's cloudy for us.  

Bear left at the junction for a moderately strenuous .3 mile climb to a high E-W ridgeline that visibly separates the Ouzel Creek drainage (just below you to the south) from the North St Vrain Creek drainage (to the north). 

See in the right hand side of the photo...that bare spot on the next mountain?  That's the burn...same as what we're walking in now.  It's really creepy.

Heading west, the trail now passes through the heart of the 1978 Ouzel Fire zone. This unique area helps one to appreciate natural fire and recovery cycles. Young aspens and pine can be seen nudging

 above deadfall and tall grasses covering the hillsides; in time, spruce and fir will overtake them and return the forest to its ecological climax. 

For the time being, visitors of our generation will enjoy unimpeded views afforded by these compromised forests: Pilot Mountain (12,222'), Mount Alice (13,310'), Mt Meeker (13,911) and Longs Peak (14,259') are clearly identifiable to the northwest, while Mount Copeland's (13,176') massive north flank rises above the Ouzel drainage to the southwest. 

So finally, we make it to the flippin' lake where Scott wants to fish.  He catches one right off the bat.

In the fishing downtime, Tris and I took a walk around the lake and looked for interesting flowers and insects...found a few. Kat took a nap on the rocks.

After about an hour, we could see that Dad was no where near ready to go home, however, the kid's were about to go bug-eyed with boredom.  Since dusk was well on it's way and it took us 6 hours to hike up there, I decided to take the kids back down slowly and get them off the mountain before nightfall.  I was rather nervous over having almost 6 miles to hike back to the truck. 

There is that burn section we are going through again on the ridge.  

I got the chance on the way down to practice some extended exposure photography since the sun was down behind the mountains.  

So on our way out, I noticed this new ranger notice put up on the message board.  It's almost dark by now and Scott's still 6 miles in on the trail.  

Day 42

Today is our day to take Dawn, Emi and Luke out for some hiking in RMNP.  We decided to show the Alberta Falls and take a picnic.  The weather was perfect for a hike.  The trail begins at the Glacier Gorge Junction Trailhead at an elevation of 9,240 feet. It's a moderately easy hike other than congestion and heavy traffic to deal with.  

After crossing a few streams, the trail begins a gentle climb up the ridge. It soon travels above the Glacier Creek Gorge where you can hear the roar of the stream below. The trail here is very smooth and easy hiking. You can look down into the gorge and see the rushing stream below. The trail continues up the ridge along side the stream to the base of Alberta Falls. Alberta Falls is absolutely breathtaking. It's an easy .6 mile walk and well worth it.

We climbed to the top of the falls to skip the crowds during our lunch.  

Picking out shapes in the clouds...

 

The girls were busy, busy writing in their journals and drawing sketches of the scenery.

Kat's reading her poetry to Dad.  She and Emi came up with some very good ones for reflections this fall on the theme "Beauty is..."

 

I take this same shot of them every year we go, hoping it makes an  interesting progression as they grown up and visit each summer.  I'm so happy to be sharing something with them that I grew up doing.  

The Lindel family was pretty tired after this so they took the shuttle back to their car while we pushed on and hiked up to Bear Lake.  People flock to this shimmering sub alpine lake because of it's easy access and it's year round splendid mountain scenery.  It's a starting point of many of our favorite hikes.  The great granite peaks of the Continental Divide, including Longs Peak, Hallett Peak, and Flattop Mountain, tower above the waters of the lake that is tucked into the dense forest of evergreen and aspens.  The trail around the lake is about 0.6 miles, parts of which were used by Native American Indians 6,000 years ago.  It's the very first hike I can remember from when I was young in Colorado so it's tradition.  

 

Back to the cabin to grill dinner, watch the elk in the yard and celebrate Emi's birthday!

This should give you an indication as to how close the young buck was, we had the kids in the back of the truck for viewing.  It was funny, either you had a whole herd of females and fawns or there would be one buck.  

Emi turns 12.  Yippie!!!!

I'm in charge of the camp fire.  Luke did a great job digging the fire pit.  

Day 41

Day 40

Today, we had to once again go back to Bass Pro Shop for everything that we forgot yesterday, then a few more errands, and then start our drive up in the Rockies.  It's a short drive to Estes Park but the boys wanted to do some fishing along the way.  

We got to the cabin shortly before dusk and found Dawn, Emi and Luke waiting!  The kids were thrilled to see each other again.  The cabin of Dawn's family is really nice and situated  just across from the entrance to RMNP...so the location is awesome.  Elk were in the yard everyday and we could just sit on the deck and watch the herd graze by.  

Triston found a spot in the front yard where he loved to sit and watch the wildlife...we deemed it "Stump Henge".  

 

Now that we are in RMNP, there is no Wi-Fi, not much cell phone and no computer posts or email, I know I'm days behind in posting but we've just hit Yellowstone and will be back out in the woods again for a week.  Everyone's great and having a blast!  Love to all!!!!!!

Day 39

We made it into Denver late and it was the wee hours of the morning by the time we got the truck unloaded and everything situated.  Dad flew in early and grabbed a shuttle over to us.  After visiting, we headed out to run some much needed errands at the huge Bass Pro Shop and grab restock our supplies.

  Tris decided he wanted t fish this trip too so we had  outfit the little guy as well.

The twin's have a long standing (and much dreaded) tradition of going to Casa Bonita whenever we are in the Denver area....this time was no exception!  

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Staying in Denver tonight again, letting everyone get a little bit of rest.  

Day 38

Time to leave Route 66 and start turning more north and west as we head into Colorado.  We left Amarillo bright and early and headed out of Texas (again), up into a tiny stretch of Oklahoma called the Black Mesa.  It's a interesting road full of pronghorns and mule deer. 

 

 Once you hit the area of the state line, you'll come to a point where the paved road ends, picks up hard pack dirt and rock with a sign stating that the "next 17 miles are treacherous and not passable in inclement weather"....always reassuring with clouds like this overhead. 

We the pavement does pick up again in New Mexico, you'll see alot of open range...meaning traffic stops for cows on the road.  

From there we took a small detour up to Capulin Volcano National Monument.  Lovely crater hike at the top and another round the rim.  

 

From there, we picked up the interstate and made fast tracks up to Denver.

Day 37

Today, we started off in Clinton at the classic Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. 

 It had an antique Wurlitzer jukebox that Triston wants for home.  He stayed beside it for half an hour playing old Elvis songs and dancing.  The Museum has many fascinating exhibits that chronicle the life and times of the route.

 

I loved the paint job on these spokes.

From there, we ventured on down to Elk City to another Route 66 museum devoted to the history of transportation.  The Elk City complex is situated on several city blocks and basically has preserved a small town including a one room school house, chapel, train depot with cars, mercantile, bruening house, drug store, opera house and livery stable.  

They also have a delightful farm and ranch museum and a windmill collection.  

Driving the route becomes rather challenging from this point.  It zig zags the interstate so you do alot of back and forth to stay on the true road.  We must have driven twice the actual distance to Amarillo, Texas.  There are still large portions of the original  Portland concrete though.   Sandhill's Curiosity Shop was an interesting stop and perhaps, one of the most memorable ones you'll make, that is, if they are open, which they weren't in the early afternoon.  The outside is still neat and worthy of a few photos.  

Once on our drive, we got to endure the experience of driving int norto and through a wildfire in the northern panhandle of Texas (yeah, we're back in our home state for 6 hours).  We had been seeing lightening for a while and have to wonder if that started it.  It was huge.  

We must have passed emergency vehicles for over an hour in both directions.  

In Shamrock, Texas, there is the one of kind Devil's Rope Museum dedicated to the history of barbed wire where you can learn about the infinite varieties of use and the central role it played in taming the wild west.  

 This little retored station was  the frist Phillips 66 in Texas in 1929.  When you see ones like this they are just so cute....tiny, tiny, tiny.  Makes you really marvel at how much smaller the cars were compared to today.  

We took the old dirt road to the deserted ghost town of Jericho.  Wiped out by small pox long ago.  

 The only thing remaining really is the cemetary which was restored in 2002.  Many graves unmarked and unknown.  The rest of them seemed heavily on the children side.  

The afternoon's weather was fascinating to watch as clouds formed, built up and then started to rain.  We saw the process repeatedly thoughout the day.  Got caught in some beautiful thunderstorms as well that washed the dirt off the truck.  Still no tornados for Tris.  

Last stop was the leaning water tower of Texas in Groom.  It stands in the middle of a field just off the Mother Road and was build (so the story goes) at a tilt on purpose to lure puzzled drivers into the clutches of the local merchants.  

Day 36

We started today off back in Arcadia with lunch at Pop's Soda Shop.  One more round of sodas for everyone and we were off again on the road. 

 Next stop, the Round Barn.  It is an outstanding feature of Arcadia and a must see.  Built by local farmer William Odor in 1898, the barn has been restored and is not a museum.  Constructed out of burr oak that was soaked in the Deep Fork River and then bent into shape, the Round Barn, at 60 feet across and 43 feet in height, is an imposing sight along Route 66. 

 Check out that interior roof!  I can't imagine the skill required to shape the wood for this project.  That it has withstood 100+ years in tornado alley says something.  

We headed on down the road to Clinton where we stayed for the night.  

Day 35

Having spent a long weekend visiting with family and friends, we start the second phase of this trip which is hitting the Mother Road, the famous Route 66 in Joplin, MO.  We spent the morning repacking, and restocking before hitting the highway.

  

First stop...Galena is the most eastern city on Route 66 in Kansas. Galena was a booming mining own in the late 1800s with a population of 30,000 dwarfing the current population.  Galena is the most eastern city on Route 66 in Kansas. Galena was a booming mining own in the late 1800s with a population of 30,000 dwarfing the current population.

 

 

 

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The old Kan-O-Tex service stationat the north end of Galena's Main Street has been purchased by 4 women from Galena: Betty Courtney, Melba Rigg, Renee Charles and Judy Courtney. They are helping lead the rebirth of Galena's stretch of Historic Route 66.  Outside the building there will be several vehicles, including the mining boom truck that inspired the character "Tow Mater" in Radiator Springs from the movie Cars.  Stop by and Melba Riggs will give you a grand tour!  

 

Kansas got the award for best road markings.  Every hundred feet or so, the Route 66 emblem is painted on the road itself.  It was like following paw prints.  Ghost Town Press sells a map set of each state of Route 66 for about $15.  If you want to truly follow the old route and not cheat on the interstate (you'll totally miss so much) then these maps are a must.  It's not like there are road signs out there that state Historic Route 66, turn left.  You see a few of those, but mostly, it's unmarked and not on current maps.  Sad how she's disappearing.

 

Crossing over into Oklahoma, you hit Quapaw where this lovely restored Conoco station is located on the corner of a turn.  The road is fairly marked here as long as you pay attention.

Now this was neat. From Miami, Kansas to Afton, the road goes into a very unique 9' wide paved section from the very earliest Route 66.  Most of the road is gravel to keep it two lane but if you look closely, you'll see the middle 9' section paved with white lines on either side.  We never saw another car while on it. 
 

 But we did see our first Route 66 Lama.  Just for the record, he will turn his head and pose if you roll down your window and attempt even a poor cow call.  I totally embarrassed the twins doing it.  From here, you make a left and start back up on two lane pavement again.

Stop of the day for Triston was in Catoosa at the Blue Whale.  We crossed the Verdigris River on the old iron bridges and this lay around the next curve.  You gotta watch for it or you'll pass it right by though.  It used to be once filled with the laughter of kids cannonballing off the high board atop the whale's tale but closed many years ago.  The water park itself is falling into ruin but the whale has been restored as a photo op. 

I'm so glad we found this classic icon so early in the trip and that we were able to stop in daylight.  We returned to the road towards Tulsa with light fading.  Just for the record, Tulsa is the most unfriendly place we've experienced for attempting to keep to the true old road.  After driving what seemed like circles for an hour, we abandoned our efforts and found the interstate out of town, where we were able to pick up the old highway once again.  It has really been the only time we've cheated in a 500+ mile trip down route 66.

Just outside Oklahoma City in Arcadia, we rounded a turn to see a 4 story beacon in the distance.  Its neon shining brightly, Pop's welcomes the weary traveler in to stop at the largest selection of soda in the world.  Kat's been waiting to come here for over a year.  She was about to come unglued in the back seat till she got inside!  Soda's for everyone.