August 16-21, 2022
We were having a great time spending a good part of the summer in Kremmling and Granby. Allie came to stay with us for a week when we were at a resort, which was so fun. Then, Zoe came up to stay overnight. We mostly hung out and enjoyed the scenery, which was a great way to unwind.
Allie's friends also came to stay at the resort in a cabin, and that gave us a chance to do some boating with Helen, Gwendyl, and Xander. It's always nice to have a few friends on the boat so we can use towable toys, and we definitely took advantage of it. We laughed pretty hard!
It really is so great to have visitors. We hope Allie comes to stay with us at least once a year!
After everyone had left, we went on our own up to Rocky Mountain National Park ("RMNP"). Even though we were both from the Denver area and had lived there for many years, neither one of us had spent much time in the park. It was usually so crowded that it took away the reason to go there -- for peace and quiet while surrounded by beautiful nature.
However, they recently put in a lottery system so there are only a limited number of cars in the park at one time. We didn't manage to get reservations, but they let everyone in for free before 9AM. We were staying just a few miles outside of the entrance, so we easily arrived early and went into the park.
The drive through the park is gorgeous, of course. With the pass we had (no reservation but in before 9AM), we couldn't leave the park on the other side and expect to come back in for the return home. So, we decided to take Old Fall River Road to make a loop near the far end.
We stopped first at a day use area to have a little lunch. There was a feather on the ground that drove Lacey absolutely bananas, but otherwise it was a peaceful stop. Then, we did the dirt-road drive up to the top.
Monica runs TrailDamage.com as a Jeep owner and founder of the group, and we took a 360-degree video for a report on that site. The video is linked below, and it's a fun one as we went up the exposed shelf road (especially near the end). It was a great end to a fantastic bit of summer in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado before we headed back to Denver. We will always feel at home here no matter where we go!
