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Scuba

(53,475 posts)
Mon Mar 21, 2016, 08:20 AM Mar 2016

How I spent My 81 Day Time Out - Part 3: Getting High in the Rockies

After leaving South Dakota, as chronicled in Part 1: The South Dakota Badlands in Winter and Part 2: Wild Asses Licked My Car, Crystal Dancer and I headed south for Colorado. Heading south through Wyoming we saw antelope and - a real treat for us midwesterners - cowboys on horses using dogs to herd cattle. Too cool for school.

Once in Colorado, we visited my son, daughter-in-law and grandkids. We had lots of fun catching up with them and even more fun visiting some great Rocky Mountain destinations. First up: Red Rocks Park, home of the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, 10 miles west of Denver, where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large outcrops angled outwards from stage left and a seating area for up to 9,525 people in between. The amphitheatre is owned and operated by the City and County of Denver, Colorado and is located in Red Rocks Park, part of the Denver Mountain Parks system. Source.


This incredible facility was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration. Thank goodness for those damned socialists!



My son "performed" at Red Rocks! Woo Hoo!


We hiked the Trading Post Trail, a 1.4 mile loop. Not far nor difficult terrain, but at 6,400 feet elevation us flatlanders definately noticed the thin air. Spectacular rock formations are the norm ...

















Then it was on to see the incredible vistas of Golden Gate Canyon State Park. No camera can do justice to the majesty of the Rocky Mountains ...





The next day we made a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. We did the 0.8 mile hike around Bear Lake, elevation 9,450. Talk about getting high! Even this short hike sucked the air out of us old flatlanders, but we loved every minute of it.



The treeline is at about 11,600 feet ...









All-in-all, a wonderful place to visit. Every American should see the Rocky Mountains at least once in their lifetime. Put it on your bucket list if you haven't been.

And stay tuned for Part 4: There's No Place Like Home
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How I spent My 81 Day Time Out - Part 3: Getting High in the Rockies (Original Post) Scuba Mar 2016 OP
I have thoroughly enjoyed your "time out" diary. reflection Mar 2016 #1
Thank you so much for sharing these spectacular photos. nt lamp_shade Mar 2016 #2
Two words malaise Mar 2016 #3
wow LittleGirl Mar 2016 #4
Red Rocks pinebox Mar 2016 #5
I have now transitioned from slightly jealous, Half-Century Man Mar 2016 #6
Thank you for sharing these photos. NT tiredtoo Mar 2016 #7
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Mar 2016 #8
K & R! geardaddy Mar 2016 #9
Come back in the summer and see a show at Red Rocks! mountain grammy Mar 2016 #10
Saw the Beatles at Red Rocks in '64? truebluegreen Mar 2016 #11
Photos were taken late January. Scuba Mar 2016 #12
Even more scary. truebluegreen Mar 2016 #16
Enormous K & R. Surya Gayatri Mar 2016 #13
Amazing, beautiful pictures. polly7 Mar 2016 #14
spectacular! oldandhappy Mar 2016 #15
Estes is just over the hill from me and I went to see OldHippieChick Mar 2016 #17
OK I'm envious. Brother_Love Mar 2016 #18
Scuba, those pics are so great passiveporcupine Jun 2016 #19
Thanks. No, I've not yet seen Garden of the Gods. Next trip. Scuba Jun 2016 #20

LittleGirl

(8,261 posts)
4. wow
Mon Mar 21, 2016, 09:06 AM
Mar 2016

haven't been to the red rocks since the late 60s! I didn't know they built that outdoor amphitheater there! I have one photo of that rock in the first photo and it wasn't long after that that my brother scraped his leg so bad, we had to go to a hospital at cripple creek to get him checked out. That hospital was a blast from the 1800s. Thanks for the photos.

mountain grammy

(26,568 posts)
10. Come back in the summer and see a show at Red Rocks!
Mon Mar 21, 2016, 10:18 AM
Mar 2016

Bear Lake is on the other side of the park from me, in Grand Lake, but, as you know, the road is closed. Nice pics, Scuba.

 

truebluegreen

(9,033 posts)
11. Saw the Beatles at Red Rocks in '64?
Mon Mar 21, 2016, 10:53 AM
Mar 2016

I think--I had just turned 9 (rock concerts were a different world then). Love that place.

But it is disconcerting to see the mountain ridges bare of snow this early, and that even on the peaks it is thin....

 

truebluegreen

(9,033 posts)
16. Even more scary.
Mon Mar 21, 2016, 11:05 AM
Mar 2016

Back in the day the peaks would stay brilliant white into July, August would bring the monsoon (used to rain all month, with snow up high). It was called the Never Summer Range for a reason!

polly7

(20,582 posts)
14. Amazing, beautiful pictures.
Mon Mar 21, 2016, 11:01 AM
Mar 2016

I've been to Banff and Jasper skiing many times, but seeing the Rockies in the summer up here is just breathtaking, I wish I'd taken these kind of pictures (I'm a horrible photographer).

Absolutely gorgeous. Time very well spent!

oldandhappy

(6,719 posts)
15. spectacular!
Mon Mar 21, 2016, 11:05 AM
Mar 2016

All the photos are beautiful and bring back memories. The red rocks are amazing, gorgeous. Thank you lots and lots.

OldHippieChick

(2,434 posts)
17. Estes is just over the hill from me and I went to see
Mon Mar 21, 2016, 11:23 AM
Mar 2016

Willy Nelson at Red Rocks a few years back. Always spectacular. Saw Peter, Paul and Mary there back in the day. Hasn't really changed, thank heaven. Glad you had such a great time.

passiveporcupine

(8,175 posts)
19. Scuba, those pics are so great
Fri Jun 3, 2016, 01:03 AM
Jun 2016

and they bring back some great memories. I only went to one concert at red rocks, but it was the greatest experience. I don't think there is a better location for a concert. It's just so beautiful. I never hiked the Trading Post trail. Now I wish I had. I only went up there once for the concert.

You missed Garden of the Gods? The rocks there are amazing too (different from red rocks).

Yes the Rockies are awesome and I do miss driving through them on many ski trips. I hated living in Colorado ( lived in Aurora, flat ugly country with no trees or water), but always loved my trips away from Aurora and got to see some really wonderful sights there and had a lot of fun with friends.

I'm so glad you got to see it.

You didn't get to see Boulder? It's a cool little town and the flatirons as a backdrop are gorgeous.

I know you didn't have enough time to see everything. Vacations are never really long enough.

Can't wait for the next part.

 

Scuba

(53,475 posts)
20. Thanks. No, I've not yet seen Garden of the Gods. Next trip.
Fri Jun 3, 2016, 06:08 AM
Jun 2016

My son works in Boulder and I've gotten a few chances to visit there. Yep, the flatirons are impressive.

Next trip is to Alaska but I'm not sure if I'll be posting a trip report here. If not, you'll be able to find it at JPR.


Again, thanks for the nice words about my pics.

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