The following is all from Ty this time –
COLORADO
“He climbed cathedral mountains he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see” ………
Friends around the campfire everybody’s high.”
John Denver “Rocky Mountain High”
“Getting up is optional, getting down is mandatory.”
Ed Viesturs “No Short Cut to The Top”
Where to begin? This summer has been incredible. We are one hour from our family in Boulder, one and a half hours from our friends in Broomfield and 10 minutes from the mountains and Rocky Mountain National Park. Jane and I were looking for a place to stay for the summer in Colorado and she came across the Estes Park East Portal Campground. It turns out they were looking for campground hosts, people who help manage the campground. For us that is a 6-hour shift, 3 days on, 3 days off. This campground only allows small RV’s, pop ups and tents. Because we are close to the National Park we meet and greet people from all over the world. There have been visitors from Iceland, Belgium, France, Spain and lots from Texas, you know those Texans think they are from their own country. Anyway, it has been very enjoyable.
The other thing that has been interesting is the wildlife. When we arrived in mid-May it was common for bull elk to just wander into the campground, antlers covered in velvet working toward September and the mating season. By early June they just disappeared moved to higher elevations where it was cooler. Now early September they are migrating back, the bulls with love on their mind. Of course, the mule deer follow the same behavior but a few stayed around through the summer with their fawns.
(Be sure your volume is on – in the video you can hear the male “clucking” and “bugling”)
However, the most enjoyable part for me, other than getting together with the family every week was getting back in the mountains. When we sing about purple mountain majesty or listen to John Denver songs, we get the idea that the mountains are pretty nice, but that doesn’t begin to cover it. Mother nature is by far the most elegant natural designer. When hiking, every time you turn the corner there is another masterpiece. The power, the strength the beauty on display is just incredible.
One of them is Longs Peak at 14,255 feet one of the 55 Colorado “14ers”. The notch near the peak is called the key hole a recognizable feature along the standard route. My daughter and I hiked this route 21 years ago. It was our first 14er and it gave credence to John Denver’s “he saw everything as far as you can see”. Along these trails other things are very fragile. When you get above the tree line, about 11,500 feet here, the tundra has taken generations to develop and can quickly be destroyed by uncaring hikers. I always find it interesting to see a tree standing tall with its root system depending on a narrow crack in the rock for moister. We have thunderstorms very often; you can hear and see storm cells coming. Sometimes they come from multiple directions. Sometimes it rains incredibly hard other time it’s just a lot of noise. One of my most enjoyable hikes was when I was able to meet up with my old friends from Anthem in the National Park. I hadn’t seen them in 5 years yet the welcome I received was great, the hugs and handshakes and smiles were wonderful. Hey Anthem sorry about that “old” comment.
I mentioned Ed Viesturs in my introduction. Sometimes when I am on a very difficult hike especially if I’m by myself I think of his words, “getting up is optional getting down is mandatory”, I will just turn around, no shame in surviving to hike again.
I guess I can’t carry on about hiking without mentioning Chet. Jane’s little 15-pound Havanese dog. The dog can hike. I have had him as far as 8 miles on a difficult trail and he doesn’t slow down. He even comes when I call him especially if I have treats. We get down he goes to sleep in the truck by the time we get home he is ready to go again.
Physically Jane and I have both benefited from living in the mountains. There has been some weight loss and we are much stronger then when we arrived in May. I can’t wait to get back to Florida to meet up with our other old friends so I can put the weight back on, sigh.
In closing we have signed up to do this camp host thing again next year. There was not one thing in our experience that would make us consider doing anything else.
Ty
TY
Great job enjoyed your blog.
The Rockies are beautiful!!
When is your last day maybe we can come and see you before you depart.
Cindy & Harry
We leave here on Sept 14 – then in Boulder till Sept 22. Would love to see you
Nice job, Ty! Always fun to hear the stories you guys have…glad it was so fun this summer that you’re going to do it again!
What a wonderful description of your sweet summer. Thank you for making it come alive in sharing your feelings and taking incredible photos. Love you both. XXXOOO
Glad you and Jane had a wonderful summer! (And Chet, too)