Musey Colorado Birthday Weekend!

[sleepy]

happy birfday, musey.  enjoy the cool and the high.

[chisos_muse]

More lunchtime teasers....   

SHANE...this one I took just for you...in Leadville, CO, elev 10,152

Cool!  Thanks, did you eat there?    What did you have?  http://www.dochollidays.com/

How about visiting his grave in Glenwood Springs Colorado?

Nope! Ate and drank here: http://www.rosiesbrewpub.com/
More on that later in the report....

[chisos_muse]

I wanted to do something special for my birfday this year, since last year sucked for various reasons. And with my new attitude, "umm, what the hell", I looked around for a good airfare and figured I'd go from there. Denver was the winner!    I planned my trip in less than 2 days. I'd take an evening flight after work, stay at an airport hotel that evening. Next day, rent a car and head towards Boulder, up Hwy's 72 & 7 towards Estes Park & ROMO, and camp in Grand Lake that evening. Day 2, head south on Hwy's 34, 40 and I-70w to Hwy. 91 into Leadville. Bug around town and camp again that evening. Day 3, attempt to climb up the "14er" Mt. Elbert. The highest peak in CO. After that head towards Co. Springs via Hwy 24 or 50, depending on the time factor. Spend the night in Co. Springs at a hotel and have a hot meal! Day 4, rise early and visit Garden of the Gods and possibly the Anasazi cave in Manitou Springs. Drive back to Den. and catch a flight at 3pm.....

This is how it went!   


Thursday, 9-18

Left work at 5pm, caught the flight on Frontier and paid $5.99 for Direct TV. Can't beat it....cheaper than magazines too! Arrived in Den. on time and caught a shuttle to the Spring Hill Suites at DIA. Awesome property! All suite hotel with a pool, hot tub and full bar. I mentioned "it's my birthday", and got a complimentary GG & cranberry.  I soaked in the hot tub (sorry, no photos) for a bit until the youngin's showed up....  so I went to my comfy king size bed and hoped to get a good night's sleep!


Friday, 9-19

I woke up a groggy 44 after a tossy turny evening. Wasn't sure why I didn't sleep well, prolly anxiety. I was rarin' to go and got ready and headed down to a free hot breakfast. Went outside to wait for the shuttle to Hertz and saw mountains far away...



Got me a Ford Edge from Hertz with Sirius and that stupid "Never Lost" that I "never use". Sheesh I draw on maps for a living, gimme a break!    Pretty cool lil crossover thingamabobber. AWD for any snow/dirt road encounters I might have. Headed out to the Wally-World in Broomfield for stove fuel, lighter, foodies and firewood. I was getting closer to the mountains!



Drove through Boulder and started up one of the many scenic drives of the weekend...







that's half of day 1....hafta load up some more photos and such. I have 160 of them to choose from! 

To be continued.....

[badknees]

I woke up a groggy 44 after a tossy turny evening.

I under estimated by more than 10.

[RichardM]

I woke up a groggy 44 after a tossy turny evening.

I under estimated by more than 10.

I didn't. 

[chisos_muse]

I woke up a groggy 44 after a tossy turny evening.

I under estimated by more than 10.

I didn't. 

That's because you're almost there! 

[homerboy2u]

I'm not !!!...not by a long shot,still.

 Now don't get picky with this TR Muse. Load all of them up on Webshots or Photobucket,or where ever your hearts desire,but don't take any of them from here.

 C'mon, don't let that dragging 30 something year itch kick in......

[Al]

Muse, congratulations for achieving the big No 44 and spending it in the Rockies!  Very well done! 

we need more pictures, por favor . . .

Al

[BigBendHiker]

Hey Chisos_Muse!
Happy Birthday!  And, thanks for the pictures of that area. 


BBH

[chisos_muse]

Still 9-19, I continued to drive up scenic Hwy's 72 & 7 heading towards Estes Park & ROMO.



I stopped and had my Subway sandwich for lunch here:



A lovely mountain retreat!





On to Mary's Lake in Estes Park....which by the way is just a lovely place to have a lil town!



T-storms chased me, but I never had more than a gentle rain:



My trusty ride....



ALAS!





I picked up a topo map in the VC and headed on to pay my fee. I started laughing when I saw 4 booth's as opposed to the 1 at each of the BIBE entrance station's, LOL it was like paying a toll on the turnpike!

To be continued.......

[Al]

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful place.  Thanks!

Al

[SHANEA]

So, when are you moving?

[chisos_muse]

So, when are you moving?

 

Don't get me started!

[SHANEA]

So, when are you moving?

 

Don't get me started!

I have a dear friend who lives in Longmont (near Boulder).  She moved from Austin to escape the heat and humidity and loves living in Colorado.   As long as you don't mind shoveling snow, freezing your hiney off, and driving on slick roads -  it's a great place.  I think if I was going to move to Colorado I'd have to either live in Boulder or Steamboat Springs.  As I can't snow ski any longer, personally I see no need to live in Colorado. 

[chisos_muse]

Upon arriving in the park I proceeded to the VC to get my Trails Illustrated map. I then paid my fee and the ranger told me that the parking area was full at the Bear Lake trailhead. Hmmm....and I had planned to drive down Bear Lake rd. to do some light hiking. Change of plan then, keep going on to Trail Ridge Rd. to the west side of the park where it was less crowded! The park was crowded anyway at all of the major photograph areas and scenic overlook pull offs. Oh well....get the hell outta my way, people!  I was having a great time! It was so gorgeous and the weather was perfect. I saw a bunch of cars pulled over and knew a little friend must be close by...



He had another friend too, but I didn't want to get too close to disturb them. I continued to drive and there were many areas where the leaves were changing:



Driving up and up stopping and taking pictures and taking it alllllll in! 



I finally reached the Alpine Tundra area, which is a very delicate ecosystem and only accessible for a few months of the year. It was over 12,000 ft. here and had already been closed for an early snow the week before. It was snowing for a bit, but then cleared up in a matter of minutes and I had to peel layers once again. I must tell you, the weather changes doubly quick in the high country, and thankfully I was prepared with various forms of clothing. Believe me, you will have yo use them all!







The big boy is ready to go!



I headed downward realizing that the time was passing quickly, and I wanted to get to my campsite in Grand Lake, the Winding River Resort! Quality, awesome, and very clean! Right down the road from the Kawuneeche TH area.



My birthday dinner! YUMMY!



Haven't built one of these in a long time!



Spotless facilities....



I took a walk around the beautiful grounds and snapped a few more:





I was tired but exhilarated at the same time. I had cell reception but my screen started to glitch in a strange way...I ate my soup and readied for bed. I had another big day ahead and I wanted to sleep as soon as it got dark. When I cuddled in my bag, it was toasty and I started to doze, but then some people with horsey's came in and started talking and slamming doors......ya gotta love established campgrounds!

To be continued.......