Rocky Mountain High and Higher

I have to say we have been very lucky with the weather since our first couple days and today was another beautiful morning!  We had breakfast at the hotel and then went outside and took some photos of the gondolas as they went up the mountain behind the hotel.  Colorado has an interesting interstate system through the mountains where the eastbound lanes are on the bottom and the westbound are elevated above and also are cut through the mountain at different places.  We had not stopped at the visitor center when we came into the state because we never saw it but did find a rather cute one off the road to Golden.  The lady gave us a map and told us to take this "scenic" byway through the mountains to Rocky Mountain Park and ultimately Golden where we have reservations to spend the night.  She said they were working on the road near "Twin Tunnels" and the wait to go that way could be up to 4 hours so we opted for the scenic route which was 30 miles of unpaved road.  Of course it took us more than an hour to go those 30 miles but we saw lots of rafters on the Colorado River and ranches to look at.

Cable cars behind our hotel in Glenwood Springs, CO

Colorado River Rafters

This was a new sign..not dear but mountain sheep.  This is the dirt road we drove for 35 miles!

After getting back on the main road again we headed into Rocky Mountain National Park and passed an area on the way called Grand Lake.  It was very pretty.  Now onto the park.  We stop at the visitor center and get information and buy some things then head on the road.  We weren't in there long when we came on two moose that were in a meadow.  One was a good distance from us and the other hid in the shrubs and trees so it was difficult to see them.  We took some photos and moved on and then saw a mother and a baby moose.  We never got photos of the baby and it bounced all over the place.

Grand Lake..storm was coming.

This is where the breathing issues started!

Snow still on mountain!

Soon we started the climb up the mountain.  At the time we entered I had no idea how far up we would go.  I found out in Hawaii that I do not breathe well at high altitudes.  After hyperventilating several times over the drop off my side of the vehicle, we made it to the Alpine Visitors Center which was at 11,746 feet!  After trying to walk around up there I started getting light headed and had difficulty breathing so we continue on the road we think will take us back down and it continues to take us higher!  Although it was beautiful it was hard for me to enjoy since breathing seems essential to enjoyment.  It again took us so much longer than we were told to get through the park and back down to Golden so we were all just weary when we arrived.  Everyone at the visitor's center has been so nice and helpful but they all need to rethink the time involved in the directions they hand out.  We stayed in downtown Golden which is a cute little college community. Golden is also home to the Coors Brewery.  We were supposed to stay two nights here to catch up on some rest and slow down a bit but the room was hot and we thought we would do two nights in Dodge City instead.  We have driven or I should say Debbie has driven over 3300 miles (Kay and I were along for the ride).  This was a very ambitious trip and if we had it to do over would have spent more than one night in some places to make the drive less strenuous and to have more time to venture out and see more things.  We cancelled the second day stay at Golden and tried to book a second night at the Hampton Inn at Dodge City but couldn't get in as they were booked and so was everyone but LaQuinta.  Photos don't want to load so I will try them at the next hotel.

Golden, Colorado is home to Coors Beer