Tag: Glenwood Springs

Glenwood Springs to Rocky Mountain National Park – November 2019

Carol Carnicom1 Comment

Thursday November 14. After a good complementary breakfast at our Rodeway Inn in Glenwood Springs, Clifford and I continue east on I-70, a very scenic drive. Glenwood Canyon is regarded as an outstanding engineering achievement due to running an interstate through this narrow canyon.

Glendwood Canyon
Glenwood Canyon – the westbound lane is raised

Vail Pass at over 10,000 feet and then Empire Pass over 11,000 feet are quite impressive and we are glad to see that snow reaching down the mountainsides has retreated from the highway itself.

Frisco, Colorado
Nearing the Eisenhower Tunnel – snow all the way to the edge of the highway

Tunnels through sections of the mountains, including the long Eisenhower Tunnel, over a mile and a half in length, are another engineering and construction accomplishment along this stretch of highway.

Eisenhower Tunnel

We are constantly aware, with the steep grades and the curves, that this is not a highway that we would ever want to tow our RV, and we see very few RV’s as we travel.

The Eisenhower Tunnel is is followed by 44 miles of downhill curves all the way to Denver, where we leave I-70 and enter I-25 north.

Arriving at Loveland, we make out way to our friends’ place, walk about seeing the neighborhood, have good pizza for dinner, and chat until late. I was also able to make contact with a “Celebrate What’s Right With the World” friend. Since it is a chilly dark evening, we decide on a phone conversation rather than a get-together, and have a good talk about how each has come to have photography as a priority.

Walkabout at our friends’ place

Friday November 15: Our friends make a good yummy breakfast and then, after Clifford does some work on the interview coming up, we all head up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. After lunch at a coffee & sandwich joint next to some outdoor instruments, we go to the Stanley Hotel, famous as the location of the creepy Steven King movie, The Shining.

Clifford playing the outdoor chimes
Stanley Hotel

Then we head on up to the park to a waterfalls created years ago by a dam breaking and flooding all the way to Estes Park. After that is a scenic drive with amazing views of the great mountains that are the reason for a national park here. Due to the short days this time of the year, we don’t go further, as it is necessary to return down the winding mountain road before dark.

Back at their place, after dinner, we watch a very interesting documentary on country music, a good way to end the day.

Monticello, Utah to Loveland, Colorado – November 2019

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The early days of November are relatively calm and sunny days warm enough for us to spend time time in the back yard. Writing in the journal while Clifford plays dulcimer is especially pleasant. Most of our day is spent on projects: I am catching up with travel photo blogs and editing for a couple of authors, while Clifford focuses on music for the dulcimer, ham radio, and preparing for the televised interview to be held mid-November near Boulder, Colorado.

Sunrise at home-base in Monticello
Recapture Reservoir seen on trip to Blanding
Clifford playing dulcimer in the back yard

Clifford’s ear bothers him most days, but we continue with an itinerary for the trip to Colorado, planning on seeing friends in Loveland for a couple days before going to Boulder for the interview. I have some reservations about traveling to northern Colorado this time of the year, but the forecast is favorable for safe travel.

We leave on the 13th and our destination today is Rodeway Inn in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Travel is smooth and easy compared to towing Cougar, which we are not doing this time. There is a stop for construction on highway 191 between Monticello and Moab, but luckily we didn’t have to wait too long, just long enough for me to jump out and get a couple of photos, but not nearly as long a wait as the line of traffic headed the other direction.

La Sal Mountains in the distance
Wilson Arch north of Monticello, Utah
Taking photos while stopped for contstruction
The oncoming line of traffic extends as far as one can see … waiting

It is canyon country for much of the 250+ miles today, most of it on I-70 east.

Utah Canyon Country
Formation at Grand Junction, Colorado
Colorado Canyon Country
Approaching Glenwood Springs – traveling on I-70

The Rodeway Inn is comfortable with room for both of us to set up laptops, free wifi, fridge, and coffee maker. Since we don’t feel like going out for dinner, we are a bit limited, but make do with what we have with us. Since there doesn’t seem to be anyone else in the motel, I even get out the viola and run through some of my fiddle tunes while Clifford works on his projects.