Going West!

So many of the trips that we have taken have been east coast oriented or perhaps south or southeastern. So at the end of this summer, Paul and I decided it was time to travel west - and enjoyed a week in Colorado! And if you read all the way through, you will find a link to many of our pictures of our trip.

We drove through Iowa and Nebraska - parts of the country we hadn't driven through since we were kids. We spent the first night in Council Bluffs, IA after stopping in Rock Island for Whitey's shakes. We stopped at a Danish Winery and did a little wine tasting and buying and drove through the Danish town of Elk Horn, IA but were too late to visit the windmill and Danish museum. Having been watching the show, "Hell on Wheels" on Netflix which is a drama about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, we were interested in visiting the spot of the eastern terminus.

Driving through Nebraska the next day, we decided to see if there were any wineries near where we were - and low and behold, we found one just a little off the beaten track where we had a small taste of wine and bought a couple of bottles. Stopped at Fort Kearny and spent the night in Kearney, NE. 

The next day found us in Colorado and at our resort in Estes Park. Estes Park is a true tourist town, close to one of the entrances to Rocky Mountain National Park. We wandered around the town a bit, wandering into several tourist shops, everyone wearing masks, and made a reservation for a jeep tour of the national park for the next morning.  Sunday morning found us in the back of an open air jeep with 5 others and our driver making our way into Rocky Mountain National Parks, driving up the side of a mountain, switchback roads and all learning a bit about the history and geology of this national park. Both Paul and I were happy that we were riding so that we could look at everything, take pictures and enjoy. We made it to the Alpine Visitor Center at the top of one of the peaks and then headed back to Estes Park. We were disappointed in that we didn't see much wildlife - no elks, no mountain goats, no bears, only a mule deer as we drove out of the park. We found a nice place to have lunch outdoors and then did a little sightseeing of our own. We found the place where Paul's parents had purchased land in the early 70s in order to build a house for their retirement. Got close to a deer there too. Then we headed back to our resort - and low and behold, there were at least 2 dozen elk just relaxing on the grounds. What fun to take pictures of these animals as they relaxed and wandered around. 

Headed off to Steamboat Springs on Monday for our next stay in Colorado. Steamboat Springs is another touristy area where there is great skiing in the winter and great scenery in the summer. We wandered around the town there one afternoon, found nice places to eat lunch or dinner outdoors. Hiked in a state park to see a waterfall and wandered around the botanic gardens. It was great to be able to spend so much time out of doors. We also took advantage of the resort's pool and went swimming one afternoon. We took a day trip from Steamboat Springs to Dinosaur National Monument just over the state border into Utah. What different scenery we saw on our drive there - from green covered mountains to more dry and rocky ones.  Once we entered the park, a shuttle brought us to the Quarry Exhibit Hall where the fossils of dinosaurs could be seen and felt. Took a driving tour of a small corner of the park after that - which ended at a cabin that a woman had lived in for over 50 years, until she was in her 90s - no water, no electricity, dirt floors. She lived there until 1963. It was a most interesting day.

Our way back home found us in Cheyenne, WY, again, another town from "Hell on Wheels". We went to the Cheyenne Depot Museum and saw the State Capital building. We began our journey back home the next day, traveling through Nebraska and Iowa. Back in the Council Bluffs area, we found the town of Treynor where Paul had ancestors who had lived there as well as the town of Red Oak where Gail had ancestors who had lived there. After a stop at Whitey's in Rock Island, we made it home! 

Had lots of fun taking pictures and using the zoom lens on my camera!

Our Colorado Journey