While we were on assignment in South Dakota, Colorado was within driving distance that we were able to take a nice vacation to Rocky Mountain National Park and the Denver area. If you want to stay close to the park entrance and not have to pay an arm and a leg then stay in or around Loveland, CO. That is where we ended up staying and it was a great central location. Our first day we of course went to Rocky Mountain National Park. We arrived around lunch time and it seemed like an afternoon storm was coming so we were unsuccessful in hiking our trail we had picked out for the day. We had several people tell us that in the summer there are many afternoon storms and you don’t want to be on a hike above 10,000 feet when that happens so we took there advice and skipped that hike that day and just rode round the park. That day in the middle of July when we were in the park we experienced rain, hail, sleet, and snow all within 30 minutes. The weather is unpredictable when that high above sea level so watch the weather when visiting these areas.
The next day we got to the park a little earlier and did a hike that hit three different lakes Bear Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake. The weather was beautiful and the hike was amazing. That evening we took in a Rockies baseball game in Denver.
The following day we headed south of Denver to Colorado Springs to see the Garden of the Gods which consisted of beautiful red rock formations. Afterwards we headed over to Manitou Springs and I hiked the Manitou Springs incline which was a 2000 step incline to the top that overlooked the town. Probably just a one time thing that I don’t have any desire to do again… lol.
Before leaving Colorado, we attempted the hike we tried to do our first day there again except arriving at the trail at 8 A.M. to get a good head start. The trail was called Mount Ida and was about 10 miles long. It was the highest elevation hike we had ever attempted 12,889 feet. The hike was amazing and challenging. It started out in the wooded forest and then you were above the tree line surrounded by beautiful snow topped mountains. We accomplished this hike, and was in and out by 1 P.M. before the afternoon thunderstorms arrived. This hike was a big accomplishment for us and the views made it worth every minute.
