After driving through Pawnee National Grassland to Denver, we met up with family and enjoyed a dinner at the newly reopened, world-famous, Casa Bonita Mexican Restaurant. The next day we participated in the Harvest Haunt event at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. Elizabeth and Miles were able to dress up in Halloween costumes, control trains on the Garden Railroad, tour the facilities, do a hay bale maze, and even ride a steam train around the property pulled by Rio Grande Southern steam engine No. 20. After a nice lunch at Bob's Atomic Burgers in Golden, we then explored the nearby Dinosaur Ridge where we hiked the trail to see several dinosaur fossils, footprint bulges, and impressive tracksites with over 300 dinosaur tracks.
The next day, we drove west across the Rocky Mountains, through a snowstorm, to Grand Junction. We visited Colorado National Monument and hiked the Alcove Nature Trail and Otto's Trail. We also drove the scenic Rimrock Drive. North of Grand Junction, we took Douglas Pass to Canyon Pintado National Historic District where we saw several pictograph and petroglyph rock art sites including the Waving Hands, Kokopelli, White Birds, and more.
Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, we visited the northwest corner of Colorado where we drove the Rivers Edge Wildlife Drive and enjoyed a picnic lunch in Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge, hiked the Gates of Lodore Trail along the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument, and saw the impressive Vermillion Falls.
Benjamin had an opportunity to photograph the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad during a weekend in May as part of a photography charter organized by Dak Dillon Steam Charters. On Friday night he photographed the roundhouse and crew in Durango. Saturday morning, he boarded a work train that visited several scenic locations along the railroad. It was a long day, but the weather was great, and he got some incredible pictures.
On Sunday, Benjamin drove through San Juan National Forest to Silverton, stopping at the impressive Molas Lake Overlook. After viewing the Railroad Park in Silverton, he continued north on the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray to view Bear Creek Falls and Box Canyon Falls. The impressive 285-foot Box Canyon Falls is located in a narrow canyon with thousands of gallons a minute of water flowing through narrow rock walls that tower 100 feet over the falls while viewing from a suspended platform. After a brief tour of the Ridgway Railroad Museum, he drove north to Grand Junction.
We drove to Denver and visited the Denver Zoo with Benjamin’s sister. Elizabeth enjoyed riding the train, seeing the hippopotamus, and watching a rhinoceros smash and eat a pumpkin. We also enjoyed a nice dinner at Chuy’s.
We spent the long Labor Day Weekend in the Montrose area where we drove the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway through Grand Mesa National Forest, over the world's largest flat-topped mountain, and stopped to walk around a few of the over 200 lakes in the Mesa Lakes area.
The next day we stopped at Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, then drove to the northern rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park where we hiked the Chasm View Nature Trail and took in several of the overlooks from 1,800 feet above the Gunnison River.
Next, we drove south into Curecanti National Recreation Area where we stopped at Pioneer Lookout Point, the Blue Mesa Dam, Dillon Pinnacles, and then toured the visitor center at Elk Creek. In the Cimarron section of the park, we hiked part of the Mesa Creek Trail near the Morrow Point Dam, threw some rocks into the Gunnison River, and saw the railroad exhibits of Denver & Rio Grande Western #278 and the various railroad cars that were on display.
We also visited the overlooks along the southern rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and hiked the Dominguez Canyon Trail along the Gunnison River in Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area.
In Montrose, we toured the Montrose Botanic Gardens, watched people riding the waves at the Water Sports Park, and hiked part of the Uncompahgre Riverway Trail. We enjoyed a nice meal at Rib City and stayed in a cabin at the River Bend Resort.
After driving south through Fort Collins and Loveland, we drove up Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park where we spent several days exploring town and Rocky Mountain National Park with Benjamin’s family. In town, we walked the Riverwalk (Elizabeth especially enjoyed the many musical instruments), visited several of the shops, and explored the Elk Fest. We enjoyed meals from Smokin Dave’s BBQ, the Big Horn restaurant, and the Dunraven restaurant, and each night we returned to our cabin at the Pine Haven Resort.
We explored several areas of Rocky Mountain National Park starting with Lily Lake where we all took a nice afternoon hike around the lake. Early one morning Benjamin and Tiffany drove to Bear Lake and set off on a six-mile hike to Alberta Falls, Loch Vale, Mills Lake, and Glacier Gorge. It was a beautiful hike through forests, over mountains, past waterfalls, and along several creeks and rivers with beautiful fall colors all around.
That afternoon, everyone drove Fall River Road into the park and visited the Alluvial Fan, where we hiked the trail to the falls on Roaring River. After viewing the falls, we drove through Hidden Valley back to Estes Park for a cookout.
Our final day in the area we drove Trail Ridge Road through the national park, stopping at the forest canyon overlook, then hiking the Tundra Communities Trail to experience one of the few easily accessible areas of tundra in the United States. On the western side of the park, we hiked the Coyote Valley Trail along and near the headwaters of the Colorado River.
Driving west to Steamboat Springs we stopped at Fish Creek Falls where we hiked the lower trail to the base of the falls. Finally, we continued driving west, spending a night in Craig before leaving Colorado.
At the end of August, we drove to southwestern Colorado where we visited Canyons of the Ancients National Monument near Cortez. After touring the ruins of both Lowry Pueblo and Escalante Pueblo we then drove to Mesa Verde National Park to spend a night at the Far View Lodge. In the park we were fortunate to see a black bear as we were driving to the lodge.
The next day we drove to Chimney Rock National Monument where we hiked the Mesa Village Trail and saw the Great Kiva. We also drove through San Juan National Forest where we stopped to hike to Treasure Falls and view the overlook at Wolf Creek Pass before continuing through Rio Grande National Forest. We also visited part of the Old Spanish Trail on our way to Great Sand Dunes National Park where we hiked the Montville Nature Trail and let Elizabeth play in the Sand Dunes until a storm rolled in.
Our next morning, we visited the town of San Luis (which is the oldest town in Colorado) to take a pilgrimage up the mile long trail at the Shrine of the Stations of the Cross. Along the trail, all 15 Stations of the Cross were depicted in life-size bronze sculptures before reaching the shrine at the top of the hill. It was a beautiful day and we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Before leaving Colorado, we also visited Yucca House National Monument and took Elizabeth on her first visit to the Four Corners Monument.
We spent a few days traveling across Colorado at the beginning of July. Near the town of Rifle, we explored the limestone caves and impressive waterfalls at Rifle Falls State Park. After passing through the Johnson Tunnel, we stopped in historic Georgetown and rode the Georgetown Loop Railroad. Just before boarding the train a thunderstorm rolled through and everyone got soaked, but it dried out by the time the train left the station and we had a very enjoyable ride to Silver Plume and back. After spending a night in Denver, we headed northeast out of the state with one final stop in Julesburg to see the Pony Express Monument.
We spent a weekend hiking around the Grand Junction area with Benjamin's sister. In Colorado National Monument, we hiked the Coke Ovens Trail, the Window Rock Overlook Trail, and the Serpents Trail where Tiffany was able to hike the entire way but the rest of us had to turn back half-way. We also hiked the Dinosaur Hill Loop Trail in McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. We stayed in cabins south of town and Elizabeth enjoyed walking between the cabins and exploring the campground.
At the end of the month, we drove to Dinosaur National Monument. This was Elizabeth’s first trip to another state. In the park, we drove to Harper's Corner and then hiked the 2-mile trail to the overlook of the Green River. This trip was done during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, we only saw about five other people the entire day.
We visited friends near the town of Peetz in far northeastern Colorado.
We spent part of a weekend visiting eastern Colorado. In La Junta, we toured Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site. Then, we drove to Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site near Eads where we were invited to join a highly informative conference discussing the events of the massacre. We also drove the scenic wildlife loop through Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Denver where we saw hundreds of deer and many bison.
We spent a weekend around Estes Park where we walked through town and visited several shops. We took a trail ride with National Park Gateway Stables into Rocky Mountain National Park. After riding horses for a few hours, we drove through the park to Grand Lake where we spent the night at the Grand Lake Lodge.
In the morning, we hiked the East Inlet Trail and part of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. We also visited several shops in Grand Lake and ate at both Grand Pizza and the Fat Cat Cafe. Finally, we drove south through Winter Park to Golden where we visited the gravesite of Buffalo Bill Cody and the Colorado Railroad Museum.
We flew to Denver, rented a car, and drove south to Colorado Springs. Just west of Colorado Springs we visited Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument where we hiked the Petrified Forest Loop. We then drove south to Great Sand Dunes National Park where we hiked across Medano Creek to reach the dunes. It was an incredibly windy day, but we still managed to explore the dunes for about an hour before a storm started moving in. We spent the night in Pueblo.
The following day, we drove back to Colorado Springs and hiked through the Garden of the Gods park. After lunch at Ted's Montana Grill, we drove north to Denver, saw the Colorado State Capitol, and toured the Denver Botanical Gardens.
Benjamin flew to Colorado for a wedding. While there, he visited Rocky Mountain National Park.
At the end of May, we drove to Colorado. While there, we visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Driving the Rim Drive we were able to look down into the dark canyon from above. Then, heading down the 16% grade East Portal Road to the bottom of the canyon, we were able to see the Gunnison River up close. The park was full of wildlife including numerous birds, coyotes, hatching cicadas, deer, and more.
Next, we drove south on Highway 550, which is called the San Juan Skyway or the Million Dollar Highway. Near Ouray, we stopped to view Bear Creek Falls and then continued through the San Juan Mountains to Mesa Verde National Park where we toured the ancient cliff dwelling called Cliff Palace. We were also able to view many other cliff dwellings while driving through the park.
In Durango, we rode the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad along the Animas River through the mountains to the town of Silverton where we enjoyed lunch at Grumpy's Saloon before returning on the train to Durango. Before leaving Colorado, we drove through Canyons of the Ancients National Monument near Cortez.
We drove west across Colorado, crossing the Rocky Mountains and the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70. In Grand Junction, we drove the Rim Rock Road through Colorado National Monument. The next day we visited the Four Corners Monument.
Tiffany traveled to Colorado Springs to tour the U.S. Olympic Training Complex. She also attended two sporting events: a Colorado Avalanche hockey game, and a Colorado Crush arena football game.
Benjamin traveled to Winter Park for a family reunion, stopping to visit the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden on the way.