I’ve fallen a bit behind in blog posts this week. So in an effort to catch up I am forgoing a long narration of our last week’s activities for a quick review of how we spent our time in Grand Lake.
As usual there were quite a few afternoon rain storms…
Afternoon rain storm
That occasionally led to rainy afternoon hikes. One day we left the house with the intention of hiking to Cascade Falls. The drops started to come down just as we got in the truck and by the time we reached the trailhead it was raining steadily. We were determined though, and after donning our rain gear set out on the trail.
If you look closely you can see the rain drops on the river
The distance to the falls was 3.5 miles one way. It rained for probably 2 of those miles, then the sky cleared and we ended up with some very pleasant hiking weather. Yay!
The sun peaking through the forest
At the falls
Marmot sighting! This is the first time I have gotten close enough to get a photo of one. Too bad all I had was my phone so I couldn’t zoom much. Isn’t he cute? I think he thought if he stayed completely still we would think he was part of the fence. Silly Marmot.
Hi there little Marmot
We also got in a few sunny afternoon hikes including one to nearby Monarch Lake.
Monarch Lake
The trail made a loop around the lake and at the far end crossed several rivers. Phineas was very pleased with this arrangement.
Fun in the river
On the other side of the lake we got a good look at some cool islands.
Back to the lake
And Phineas took one last swim.
A little shake after his swim
Our second sunny day hike was on a network of hiking/biking trails on the edge of town. We did the Colorado River loop. The trail wound through a very nice forest filled with young lodgepole pines.
A young forest
Only a short distance into the hike we had a moose encounter. A mama and baby were grazing right on the edge of the trail.
Mama moose & baby moose
Munching Moose
At the end of the trail we found the Colorado River. It’s quite a bit smaller here then when we last saw it back in Moab.
The Colorado River
As usual Phineas wasted no time jumping in and testing the waters.
Phineas in the river
We also spent some time exploring the cute little town of Grand Lake.
Downtown Grand Lake
Walking the streets of Grand Lake
Finally, we spent a very nice evening with fellow travelers Lisa and Hans of the blog Metamorphosis Road. For the past few months we have been traveling on a similar path through Colorado, but we never seem to be in the same place at the same time. For once we were in the same town and took the opportunity to finally meet in person. It was great to hang out with yet another full-time RVing couple. As usual, we shared stories of life on the road and and even got some helpful advice from them about the trip we plan to take through New Mexico next spring. It appears that we will we cross paths again this September, and we look forward to spending more time with them. This time I did remember to take a photo. Unfortunately it is a very blurry indoor iphone photo- but I am sharing it here anyway.
Finally meeting Lisa and Hans
Next up we are heading across the Rocky Mountain National Park for our last week in Colorado.
6 comments
A moose and a baby moose….how exciting is that? And those trees…my goodness they are tall! Those were some beautiful hikes and Phineas sure had a good time! It just doesn’t get much better, does it?
Colorado is on list for next year…I can’t wait!
It was pretty cool to see both a baby and mama moose. Unfortunately, I don’t think the mama was too happy to see us, or our dog!
I’m so jealous – I have yet to see a moose!
Really, no moose at all? There were a lot of them back in VT, but you usually saw them on the side of the road, not on a hiking trail.
Been totally enjoying your posts on Grand Lake & RMNP. We spent almost a month there our first year in the RV and really loved the area. Like you we were bummed about the devastation of the Pine Beetle (it’s totally wiped out a lot of the local campgrounds), but really enjoyed the surrounding area, hiking & lakes. FUN that you met Hans & Lisa too!!
Nina
Your blog was part of the reason why we choose Grand Lake. It seemed to be a much more chill area then the east side of the park. I think it was a great decision and we loved the area- despite the lack of trees.