Arapaho National Forest: Mount Evans Summit Road

 The final day of our Summer 2021 vacation. We've had a great trip and today was the highpoint (literally). We stayed in a hotel in Frisco last night. After our hike of Hanging Lake, we decided to go back to Glenwood Hot Springs to enjoy the water a bit more. By the time we left the hot spring it was already getting dark and I didn't want to try to find a campsite in an unfamiliar area. Instead, we ate dinner at Culver's and then made the drive through Glenwood Canyon and the mountains to Frisco. 

This morning we got a fast food breakfast for the road and made the drive to the Mount Evans Summit Road. Just like Hanging Lake, the Mount Evans Road requires a reservation. Ours was for 10 am. We arrived at the entrance station right on time and started our way up. The lower portions of the road were pretty uneventful. Then, as we neared Summit Lake, we watched a bighorn sheep walk over the rocky terrain. 

After watching the sheep, we continued our ascent, moving higher and higher up the mountain. Near the summit we spied some mountain goats. Some were resting just alongside the road.

Others seemed to be admiring the view.

Still, others were licking minerals off of a truck.

We parked alongside the road near the summit and walked over to the summit complex to have a look around. Our first stop was the sign at the parking area.

Then, we checked out the ruins of the old summit house,

before I used the summit finder to point the way to Long's Peak.

Unfortunately, smoke from distant wildfires made the sky too hazy to definitively show Long's and its companion Meeker. From the summit finder we decided to make our way up the short trail to the actual summit.

Sierra moved pretty slow at the high altitude, but eventually we made it to the top and had someone take our photo on the summit block.

Then, we made our way back to the car for the drive down. On the way we stopped to hike the Mount Goliath Natural Area. It traverses an area of bristlecone pines. Sierra wasn't feeling it though as she was feeling the effects of the high altitude. Still, we were able to hike a short portion before turning around.

Back at the car, we started to make our way east. We stopped for a late lunch in Evergreen before descending out of the mountains and down to the hot, dusty plains. It was an uneventful drive back to western Nebraska. It was sad to see our trip come to end, but we were happy with all the new memories we had made and the prospect of seeing our dog Rosie! We are already thinking about next year's summer vacation. Could another Colorado/Utah trip be in the works?

White River National Forest: Hanging Lake Trail

Today, we had an exciting opportunity to hike the very popular Hanging Lake Trail. Use of the trail is currently by reservation only and we were lucky enough to snag one of the 600+ spots for the day. Our time slot was for 3:30 so I was a little worried about afternoon storms. However, no storms were expected for the day. We started out at the Hanging Lake Rest Area just off of Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon. Another bit of luck, the canyon had been closed to traffic due to mudslides for a few of the previous days. No such closure today! The hike begins on a paved bicycle path that parallels the Colorado River.

Once you leave the bicycle path, the ascent get steep quickly!

Luckily, there are plenty of benches along the way to stop and take a rest.

At the wide spots of trail along the way there are interesting signs that encourage using the wide spots as "passing zones".

Soon, the trail passes alongside a stream with lots of travertine formations and little cascades.

There is an old CCC-built trail shelter along the way. It is now off-limits to use.

The section of trail as you approach Hanging Lake is very steep with lots of great views looking down canyon from where we had come.

After the steep climb, we found ourselves overlooking the famous Hanging Lake with Bridal Veil Falls cascading into its clear waters.

We enjoyed the view of the lake from a bench before taking the short but steep side trip up to the Spouting Rock waterfall.

A couple of rare plants grow there, including a very pretty species of columbine.

After enjoying Spouting Rock for a few minutes, we made our way back down to Hanging Lake.

I headed back to the lake for one last view 

before we started our descent back to the car. As we made our way along the bicycle path section of trail,

We spotted a marmot among the rocks that lined the trail.

Update of August 3, 2021:

We were really, really lucky to get to Hanging Lake when we did. Extreme mudslides have closed Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon for the foreseeable future. With the interstate closed, all access to the lake is also closed. Perhaps even more concerning is the way Hanging Lake looks today. See the video embedded below:

Glenwood Hot Springs

We arrived in a very busy Glenwood Springs a little bit after 10 am this morning and headed straight for the famous Glenwood Hot Springs. We paid our admission, found ourselves a spot in the shade to leave our belongings, doused ourselves with sunscreen and hit the pool. I was afraid the water would feel too hot on a warm day like today, but the temperature turned out to be perfect.

Besides just swimming around in the water, there is a children's play area and a tubing run called the Shoshone Chutes. Here's a look at the fun Shoshone Chutes:

Colorado National Monument: Rim Rock Drive

Yesterday we met my sister for lunch at Cafe Sol in Grand Junction and then headed out to Colorado National Monument for some sight seeing along the Rim Rock Drive. Noelle and I had driven this scenic road before, way back in October of 2003. It would be nice to experience it all over again with Sierra, Katie and Terry. Our first stop was the Cold Shivers Point overlook. The view from the official lookout is pretty spectacular, but perhaps even more interesting is the fin of rock that one can walk out onto for a really cool, if exposed, view overlooking the canyon below. 

From Cold Shivers Point, we headed further along in the drive to Red Canyon Overlook. As advertised, it features a view over Red Canyon.

After a short drive we found ourselves at the next overlook, Ute Canyon View. There is a short, loop trail there that leads to various views. We walked it clockwise and found the first half to be more scenic.

From Ute Canyon we made our way along the curving road to Fallen Rock Overlook. Again, the view was as advertised with an obvious rock that had fallen to the canyon floor in the distance. 

Since we had just enjoyed the view from Ute Canyon View, we decided to skip the Upper Ute Canyon Overlook and instead continued on to the Highland View.

From Highland View, it was on to Artists Point. 

After Artists Point we made the short drive over to the Coke Ovens. Last time Noelle and I had visited Colorado National Monument we hiked the trail out to the Coke Ovens. This time we would simply admire the view from the overlook.

The further northwest we travelled, the more dramatic the scenery became. Next up was the Monument Canyon View. It did not disappoint!

Then, we moved on to Grand View.

Our last overlook with Katie and Terry was the Independence Monument View.

Then, we made a quick visit to the visitor center before saying our goodbyes to Katie and Terry. They would be heading to Moab for the next few days. We would be headed to the Saddlehorn Campground to set up camp for the night. 

After setting up camp, we decided to go into Fruita to get a cool treat at Dairy Queen. On the way into town we spied Balanced Rock 

and some bighorn sheep. Upon returning to the monument, we decided to hike the Canyon Rim Trail as the sun started to set. This hike did not disappoint. We started by heading to Window Rock.

The views from all along the trail, at unofficial overlooks, were amazing!

We hiked back to the visitor center 

where we got some water and then returned to the campground, past its namesake Saddlerock, 

via the road. Back at camp, we finished the leftovers from lunch before thunder and rain forced us inside the tent for the night. 

This morning after breakfast and packing up camp, we headed out on the Alcove Nature Trail for one last short hike in the monument. The most interesting part of the hike was the end where there were little caves and shady alcoves to explore.

After we had finished our hike, we got in the car and headed east on Interstate 70, headed towards Glenwood Springs for our next adventure.