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What we're doing...
Sunday, 9/4/2022 – A lot has happened since our last update so let’s start off with our visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. We have got to say that this park ranks right up there with our visits to Alaska, Yellowstone & Yosemite. We arrived at a beautiful campsite backing up to a lovely river at our campground in Estes Park on a Monday afternoon. Shortly after settling in we were greeted by several elk including at least one mom and her baby. These were not pets, just wild elk that wondered through the campground looking for fresh grass and berries. We knew right then that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary stop.
On the following day we began our first trip into Rocky Mountain National Park. We travelled along the 45 mile stretch of Trail Ridge Road; a nicely paved road that would take us high into the elevation of the Rocky Mountains. We stopped at many viewing areas and took several hikes including one that provided a gorgeous 360-degree view of the area from an elevation of over 12,000 feet. The drive took us to some spectacular views and some scary hairpin turns as we crossed over the continental divide and back again. Along the way we saw too many elk to count as well as glimpses of moose, bear and numerous other small creatures.
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of those parks that require timed entry permits into the park in order to reduce traffic jams and provide more availability to parking. The system works great because we were able to stop at most overlooks and trailheads without any problems. The following day we used our second timed entry permit, this one specifically for the Bear Lake area of the park. This area also requires the use of shuttle buses to bring you to the various trailheads. On our first day there we travelled all the way to Bear Lake where we took a 2 1/2-mile hike to view three separate lakes, all unique and all beautiful. Along the way we also saw waterfalls, wildlife and a lovely elk who decided to munch on tree leaves smack dab in the middle of the trail. Luckily, she was so engrossed with her meal we were able to sneak past her.
For the remainder of the week, we enjoyed the sites of Estes Park as well as a couple of return trips to the National Park for more hiking. On our final trip into the park, we decided to take Old Fall River Road rather than the more popular Trail Ridge Road. This was the original road into the park, built in the 1920s, and was not paved. This dirt road consisted of some very scary hairpin turns without any guardrails and travelled all the way up to the visitor center that sat at over 12,000 feet. Luckily it was a one-way road and traffic was light, so we took our time, took plenty of pictures and enjoyed the views.
On the following day we began our first trip into Rocky Mountain National Park. We travelled along the 45 mile stretch of Trail Ridge Road; a nicely paved road that would take us high into the elevation of the Rocky Mountains. We stopped at many viewing areas and took several hikes including one that provided a gorgeous 360-degree view of the area from an elevation of over 12,000 feet. The drive took us to some spectacular views and some scary hairpin turns as we crossed over the continental divide and back again. Along the way we saw too many elk to count as well as glimpses of moose, bear and numerous other small creatures.
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of those parks that require timed entry permits into the park in order to reduce traffic jams and provide more availability to parking. The system works great because we were able to stop at most overlooks and trailheads without any problems. The following day we used our second timed entry permit, this one specifically for the Bear Lake area of the park. This area also requires the use of shuttle buses to bring you to the various trailheads. On our first day there we travelled all the way to Bear Lake where we took a 2 1/2-mile hike to view three separate lakes, all unique and all beautiful. Along the way we also saw waterfalls, wildlife and a lovely elk who decided to munch on tree leaves smack dab in the middle of the trail. Luckily, she was so engrossed with her meal we were able to sneak past her.
For the remainder of the week, we enjoyed the sites of Estes Park as well as a couple of return trips to the National Park for more hiking. On our final trip into the park, we decided to take Old Fall River Road rather than the more popular Trail Ridge Road. This was the original road into the park, built in the 1920s, and was not paved. This dirt road consisted of some very scary hairpin turns without any guardrails and travelled all the way up to the visitor center that sat at over 12,000 feet. Luckily it was a one-way road and traffic was light, so we took our time, took plenty of pictures and enjoyed the views.
On our final day, we decided to just relax a bit and enjoy our campground. As it turned out, we witnessed something we never expected to see. Late in the afternoon the elk began to arrive. More than we could count. There were way more elk than people in the park including one bull elk that was larger than any we had ever seen. He just munched along with the rest just outside our motor home. They just walked around slowly, eating whatever they could as we wondered around slowly taking pictures. At one point the bull decided we were a bit too close and made a fake charge that made us all jump. I wasn’t that close, but I sure did jump. Rutting season was just beginning and we understand we were witnessing him in the process of collecting mates and proving who was in charge.
This past Monday it was time to hit the road again. We arrived in Glenwood Springs where we planned to relax for a couple of days including a trip to some local hot springs. On our first day we decided to make a quick stop for a hike to Doc Holiday’s gravesite. While driving to get there our Equinox started giving us trouble. We first sensed trouble at Rocky Mountain National Park, but they were subtle hints of what was to come. On the way to the gravesite the car started downshifting on its own and had some serious hesitation while driving. Following our hike, we drove directly to the local Chevy dealer to get it checked out. By the time we arrived it was having serious issues, so we pulled into a parking spot at the dealer. I put it into reverse to back up a few inches and found out it wouldn’t move. It also wouldn’t move in drive. The service techs determined that the transmission of our three-year-old Equinox was blown. The only solution was for a new transmission. It was Tuesday afternoon and Labor Day weekend was just in front of us.
Here it is, Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The transmission arrived on Thursday but without a gasket. The gasket arrived on Friday. We talked to the Service Director on Friday, and he informed us that there was no way we were going to get the car back till after the weekend. We had already added a night to our stay in Glenwood Springs but had just been kicked out of our campground due to no availability over the holiday weekend. We had planned for this and we had called ahead for a campsite in Grand Junction, about 80 miles west of Glenwood Springs, so off we went, and here we are. We have cancelled our plans for Black Canyon and are hoping to get the Equinox back on Tuesday as promised by the service director. He also informed us that the repairs were totally covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, and he promised us that they will deliver the car to us here in Grand Junction. Guess we’ll know on Tuesday.
If all goes as planned, we will leave here on Wednesday. We’re hoping to arrive a day early at our next stop in Alamosa, Colorado. There we plan to enjoy the Great Sand Dunes National Park and take a train ride aboard the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. There we’ll ride aboard a Victorian-era meticulously restored Parlor car complete with beverages and snacks as well as a lunch stop for a six-hour 64-mile ride to Chama, New Mexico. We’ll pass imposing peaks of the Rocky Mountains, cross incredible trestles, wind around wide curves as we continue up into the mountains before descending into the Chama Valley. We’ve been looking forward to this and it’s scheduled to be the final adventure of our road trip this year.
In the meantime, we’ve been relaxing in Grand Junction. We’ve been able to enjoy a few restaurants and even get haircuts, all within walking distance. The weather has been close to 100 degrees every day and it doesn’t look like that will change before we leave. Fortunately, they have a nice pool here that we’ve been able to enjoy. We’ve also been able to get caught up with updates to this web site including a blog entry for this past winter and a photo album containing pictures from the time we left Texas until just before we arrived in Colorado. We had forgotten how busy we’ve been. We have good weather, a lovely campsite and each other. What more could we ask for?
This past Monday it was time to hit the road again. We arrived in Glenwood Springs where we planned to relax for a couple of days including a trip to some local hot springs. On our first day we decided to make a quick stop for a hike to Doc Holiday’s gravesite. While driving to get there our Equinox started giving us trouble. We first sensed trouble at Rocky Mountain National Park, but they were subtle hints of what was to come. On the way to the gravesite the car started downshifting on its own and had some serious hesitation while driving. Following our hike, we drove directly to the local Chevy dealer to get it checked out. By the time we arrived it was having serious issues, so we pulled into a parking spot at the dealer. I put it into reverse to back up a few inches and found out it wouldn’t move. It also wouldn’t move in drive. The service techs determined that the transmission of our three-year-old Equinox was blown. The only solution was for a new transmission. It was Tuesday afternoon and Labor Day weekend was just in front of us.
Here it is, Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The transmission arrived on Thursday but without a gasket. The gasket arrived on Friday. We talked to the Service Director on Friday, and he informed us that there was no way we were going to get the car back till after the weekend. We had already added a night to our stay in Glenwood Springs but had just been kicked out of our campground due to no availability over the holiday weekend. We had planned for this and we had called ahead for a campsite in Grand Junction, about 80 miles west of Glenwood Springs, so off we went, and here we are. We have cancelled our plans for Black Canyon and are hoping to get the Equinox back on Tuesday as promised by the service director. He also informed us that the repairs were totally covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, and he promised us that they will deliver the car to us here in Grand Junction. Guess we’ll know on Tuesday.
If all goes as planned, we will leave here on Wednesday. We’re hoping to arrive a day early at our next stop in Alamosa, Colorado. There we plan to enjoy the Great Sand Dunes National Park and take a train ride aboard the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. There we’ll ride aboard a Victorian-era meticulously restored Parlor car complete with beverages and snacks as well as a lunch stop for a six-hour 64-mile ride to Chama, New Mexico. We’ll pass imposing peaks of the Rocky Mountains, cross incredible trestles, wind around wide curves as we continue up into the mountains before descending into the Chama Valley. We’ve been looking forward to this and it’s scheduled to be the final adventure of our road trip this year.
In the meantime, we’ve been relaxing in Grand Junction. We’ve been able to enjoy a few restaurants and even get haircuts, all within walking distance. The weather has been close to 100 degrees every day and it doesn’t look like that will change before we leave. Fortunately, they have a nice pool here that we’ve been able to enjoy. We’ve also been able to get caught up with updates to this web site including a blog entry for this past winter and a photo album containing pictures from the time we left Texas until just before we arrived in Colorado. We had forgotten how busy we’ve been. We have good weather, a lovely campsite and each other. What more could we ask for?
Our "Updated" 2021-2022 Itinerary
Weather Forecast for Grand Junction, Colorado
Weather Forecast for our next stop in Alamosa, Colorado
Next destination...
Next destination...
Great Sand Dunes National Park!!
Recent Updates:
09/05/2022 Today we added an additional 24 pictures to our "JUST US" photo album. Yup, we're still enjoying every moment!!
09/04/2022 We've added another album to our PHOTOS page. This one contains all the pictures we've taken on this year's trip prior to our arrival in Colorado. There are a lot of pictures so we hope you can take your time and enjoy them. We've made a lot of stops this year!! We'll create another album shortly that will include pictures we've taken or will be taking from the Colorado National Parks.
09/04/2022 We've posted a new blog entry today containing all of our log entries for the time we spent at Sandpipers during the winter of 2021 up until the time we were ready to hit the road again in May of 2022.
08/20/2022 We've added some photos to our PHOTOS page. We located some missing pictures from our 2021 road trip so we've added these to the 2021 Beaches & Family Reunions album. We added 83 pictures to the end of this album. We've also finally created an album containing some pictures we took during our stay at Sandpipers this past winter and created a new album for these. We hope you enjoy them!!
09/05/2022 Today we added an additional 24 pictures to our "JUST US" photo album. Yup, we're still enjoying every moment!!
09/04/2022 We've added another album to our PHOTOS page. This one contains all the pictures we've taken on this year's trip prior to our arrival in Colorado. There are a lot of pictures so we hope you can take your time and enjoy them. We've made a lot of stops this year!! We'll create another album shortly that will include pictures we've taken or will be taking from the Colorado National Parks.
09/04/2022 We've posted a new blog entry today containing all of our log entries for the time we spent at Sandpipers during the winter of 2021 up until the time we were ready to hit the road again in May of 2022.
08/20/2022 We've added some photos to our PHOTOS page. We located some missing pictures from our 2021 road trip so we've added these to the 2021 Beaches & Family Reunions album. We added 83 pictures to the end of this album. We've also finally created an album containing some pictures we took during our stay at Sandpipers this past winter and created a new album for these. We hope you enjoy them!!
