Forest City, IA and more Rocky Mountain National Park

We have left Colorado and slowly worked our way east to Forest City, IA. We are now camped in the visitor's section of Winnebago Industries, the birth place of our Winnebago Outlook. While we are here we will have some maintenance done on our camper. All homes need maintenance and a home on wheels that bounces down the American highways needs loving care once and a while too. I figure the factory people know how to work on their own product.

We didn't have an appointment so we are just hanging around until it's our turn to see the technicians. They have a pretty good system and we get to relax in the camper until it's our turn.

This is a good time to continue blogging about our exploration of the Rocky Mountain National Park. The last blog ended with us on the Trail Ridge Road half way over the mountains at the Alpine Visitor Center.

The trip over Trail Ridge Road is an exhilarating experience. Honored as one of America's national scenic byways, Trail Ridge Road climbs to 12,183 feet above sea level, where climatic conditions, plants and animals are similar to those found near the Arctic Circle. For every 1,000 feet in elevation gained, the temperature drops 3 degrees to 5 degrees Fahrenheit, as if you had driven 600 miles north.

We traveled along this spectacular highway passing through diverse ecosystems that change as elevation is gained and lost. A journey that began in open woodlands soon passed through dense forests before entering a high, vast, treeless land - the alpine tundra.

The Alpine Visitor Center is located at Fall River Pass, the dividing point between the Fall River and Cache la Poudre River drainages. The rivers later meet east of Greeley, Colorado, joining for the journey to the Gulf of Mexico through the Platte, Missouri and Mississippi river drainages.

The great natural amphitheater below the Alpine Visitor Center has been filled with glacial ice many times in the past.

We continued over the mountain to Milner Pass where the Trail Ridge Road crosses the Continental Divide.

At this point the waters enter either the Atlantic or Pacific drainages. Here, the chance fall of a drop of water - by only a matter of feet - will determine its future course. Poudre Lake, perched atop Milner Pass, releases its cold water into the Cache la Poudre River, which flows Eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean. Milner Pass was named for T.J. Milner, an ambitious railroad promoter who surveyed a rail route from Fort Collins across the Continental Divide to points west. Like many surveyed routes of the 1880s, the railroad line was never built.

We continued on down through the forest to the Kawuneeche Valley below.

Before the Ice Age, the Kawuneeche Valley was a narrow, V-shaped, stream- cut valley. The erosive power of several massive Ice Age glaciers widened and deepened the valley to its present U shape. The ice that scoured the Kawuneeche Valley was more than 2,500 feet thick.

Here is the Colorado River flowing through the Kawuneeche Valley.

Ten miles upstream, one of the world's mightiest rivers begins - the Colorado. Its headwaters, up the Kawuneeche Valley spring from the continental Divides western slopes and Never Summer Mountains. From this modest start, the Colorado flows more than 1,400 miles to the Gulf of California.

Downstream, hundreds of tributaries enter the Colorado. This vast watershed supplies most of the Southwest with water for agriculture industry, and growing populations.

The valley is home to the Holzwarth Historic Site.

In 1917, John Holzwarth Sr. staked a homestead claim in this valley with the intent of building a cattle ranch. After the Fall River Road through the park opened in 1920, the ranch was re-developed into a popular resort know as the Holzwarth Trout Lodge.

This homestead cabin was built in 1902 by another valley settler and marks the beginning of the half-mile trail leading to the site.

Now part of the park and preserved as a historic site, the Holzwarth homestead depicts the rustic, unpretentious dude ranching of the 1920s. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Besides the rustic cabins there were many out buildings including this taxidermy shop.

We continued on through the valley to the parks western exit at Grand Lake. Grand Lake is a vacation community like Estes Park but Estes Park has a lot more activity and people by far.

We headed back through the valley and up the mountain again crossing the Continental Divide. Along the way we passed these Elk grazing along the side of the road.

They sure are magnificent animals.

On the way home to the camper we passed through Estes Park where we stopped for supper. (Did I mention we liked to eat out?)

It was a great long day but it was good to get back home and prop up our feet.

This is enough for this blog. Next blog I will continue our adventures through the Rocky Mountain National Park where we traveled a dirt road up the mountain and hiked to a summit.

What a great place the Rocky Mountain National Park is. Our country has so many wonderful places we will not live long enough to see it all, but we'll try!

Rocky Mountain National Park

It has been a while since my last blog because we don't have any cell service in our campground. I could pay for Internet service at the campground but I pay enough for my Verizon Air Card and don't want to spend more for Internet service.

We left Monument, CO Saturday June 16th and arrived in Loveland, CO at the Riverview RV Park & Campground. It is a great campground and is located only 20 miles from the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO. I guess the only problem would be the lack of cell service. That really isn't bad though because we rather spend our time driving and hiking in the Rocky Mountains than being on the phone or Internet.

After we got settled in the campground we drove up to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Estes Park to get information so we could plan our attack on the National Park. The ride up the canyon to Estes Park was outstanding and a glimpse of coming attractions to the sights in the park.

Just think, we haven't entered the park yet. This was the ride up to Estes, Park.

Estes Park, CO is a very busy little town which is filled with tourists. The whole area is filled with condos and hotels. The first settler in the area was Joel Estes, a Kentuckian with wanderlust. In 1860, Estes moved into a hunting cabin where he stayed with his family. Winters proved too harsh for cattle, so six years later Estes sold out for a yoke of oxen. The Estes cabin was converted into guest accommodations in 1867, and from then on the number of visitors to the area grew steadily.

Sunday June 17th we had visitors. Pam, Kent, and Elisabeth drove up to visit us.

Here is Liz and dad by the Big Thompson river that runs through our campground.

We all walked around the campground checking the place out. After our walk we did take a scenic ride up to a church camp where they camped years ago. When we returned to our camper is was supper time so we cooked steaks on the grill. We always enjoy our visit with Pam, Kent, and Elisabeth.

Monday June 18th we headed back to Estes Park to follow the Trail Ridge Road through the Rocky Mountain National Park. The Trail Ridge road is the main road up through the mountains, over the Continental Divide, to the valley on the other side of the park.

The only thing I can say is it was an awesome, very scenic drive on a very nice highway. Along the way there were many opportunities for hiking the trails with spectacular views, which we did.

We passed these Mountain Goats on the edge of the road. There is a lot of wildlife crossing the roads so it is important to be cautious driving through the park.

Long's Peak the 14,255 foot mountain across this valley has served as a navigational aid for thousands of years. Prehistoric hunters oriented their travels by it. Ute people saw Long's Peak as a sacred place and a guiding landmark. After Major Stephen J. Long led a U.S. Army topographic expedition to this region in 1820 the peak was named for him.

Sights along our drive up Trail Ridge Road.

You can see the road on the right in the distance.

There were a lot of overlooks like this one which made it easy to view the magnificent scenery. I just wish we had a better camera so we could show you just how great it was.

Along with the many rustic trails to hike there were also nice blacktop trails for the handicap to access this great scenery.

This blacktop trail went up to these mushroom-shaped rocks.

These rocks were born of fire and water. The Dark colored schist was originally sand, silt, and clay at the bottom of a sea. Magma from deep in the earth invaded the schist and gradually cooled into the lighter colored granite. Mushroom shapes formed when the granite stems eroded more quickly than the schist caps.

We reached the top at the Alpine visitor center. The large logs on top of the building catch the snow and help hold the shingles on the roof during the high winds they get.

There is still snow at this altitude, close to 12,000 feet.

We watched the birds play, or find food, in the snow.

That is all for this blog. I will continue our trip through the Rocky Mountain National Park on the next blog. I have spent enough time in the Loveland Library where I was able to get service on my air card.

Tomorrow we will be leaving this area and starting our trip slowly back east. We are planning to get back to Connecticut on July 10th. When we get back we will get our car repaired from the damage caused by that nasty hail storm.

Hopefully I will be able to blog from our Winnebago at our next stops. It is a pain going to a library although it is a great quiet place to be on the computer.

I will blog again soon so keep posted.

The Wild Animal SanctuarK

Yesterday May 12th Bev and I headed for the Wild Animal Sanctuary Keenesburg, CO.

The Wild Animal Sanctuary is a true sanctuary for abused, abandoned, exploited and endangered exotic wildlife. The Wild Animal Sanctuary is home to over 290 of the most magnificent creatures on this planet, African Lions, Tigers, Jaguars, Leopards, Mountain Lions, Servals, Bobcats, Wolves and Bears. Here the animals who have suffered abuse, neglect, abandonment, commercialization and exploitation get to "come home" to a wonderful safe haven that provides them with spacious indoor-outdoor living quarters.

Started in 1980 by Pat Craig, a 19 year-old college student who could not condone the killing of healthy animals by zoos, government agencies, and other facilities. The Wild Animal Sanctuary continues today rescuing animals in dire need, rehabilitating them and providing them with an exceptional quality of life. The vast majority of the sanctuary's rescued animals came from official confiscations by law enforcement agencies who had no choice but to intervene on the animals behalf. So many people either failed to care for the animal properly, abused them, or were keeping them illegally.

The problem is large. There are over 30,000 large carnivores being kept privately in the United States today (which means they are outside the zoo system)!

Approximately 15,000 of them are tigers (which is far more tigers than remain in the wild)!

Each day, dozens of these animals become homeless or abandoned and face euthanasia if authorities can't place them in properly licensed facilities.

"The problem is getting out of hand" says Pat Craig, the sanctuary's Executive Director, "as people are beginning to take these animals out into the country side and let them go just like people have done with dogs and cats for many years. These animals can end up killing someone!

The Sanctuary does not breed or sell its animals, nor are they used for commercial purposes. Visitors view the animals on this elaborately constructed viewing system which is a 3/4 mile long elevated walkway. We were able to see the animals from above without disturbing them.

The Wild Animal Sanctuary is a 501 (c) 3 public non-profit sanctuary, and receives no government funding. The annual budget comes primarily from individual donations. As a nearly all-volunteer organization, the money raised goes almost entirely to feed and care for the animals.

Tiger Habitat: Newly rescued Tigers are placed in introduction areas adjacent to the habitat, so they can spend come time getting used to the sights and sounds of the Sanctuary.

It was very hot so the Tigers were relaxing in the shade.

They like to swim and play in the water.

Once new Tigers feel comfortable with their surroundings, and have had a chance to meet the other Tigers through their enclosure fence, then they are released to roam and live freely within the habitat. Some of the Tigers in this habitat weigh nearly 800 pounds, and can live up to 23 years in captivity.

African Lion Habitat: There are two Prides of African Lions that live in the habitat. Newly rescued Lions stay in and introduction area adjacent to the habitat until such time they are adopted by the members of one of the Lion Prides. Once they have been accepted, they are released into the Pride's habitat to live as a cohesive family group.

Lions like the shade in this heat.

This Lion is walking free in the habitat.

Black Bear Habitat: Like the Lions and Tigers the newly rescued Bears are also placed in an introduction pen until they are comfortable with their surroundings then they are released into the habitat. There are more than a dozen Black Bears that live in this 10 acre habitat.

There is a Brown Bear Habitat, if you look closely you can see a Brown Bear in the culvert pipe.

Wolf Habitat: There are two Timber Wolves and two Arctic Wolves in a separate habitat from the Eastern Gray Wolves. There are nearly a dozen Eastern Gray Wolves that live in their 3.5 acre habitat. Eastern Gray Wolves are smaller than normal Gray Wolves, Timber and Arctic Wolves.

They also like the shade.

Bolivian Lion House: This 15,000 square foot building was designed and created to house 25 African Lions that were rescued from Bolivia.

The Lions are housed below this dining area in the Bolivian Lion House. Pam and Kent celebrated their anniversary here at a fund raiser.

Oh, the life of a Bolivian Lion. There would have been more activity if it wasn't so hot.

The Lions came from eight separate circuses after they failed to comply with a new Bolivian law that made it illegal to use animals in circus acts or displays.

The 25 Lions were rescued from Bolivia in conjunction with Animal Defenders International, as well as Game Show Host Bob Barker.

The Lions came to Colorado in February, so this unique building was created to help buffer them from the cold winter weather while they acclimated to their new home.

There were a lot of animals we didn't see because they were hiding in their culverts and shaded areas to keep cool.

It's difficult to show the magnitude of this place with the photos I took. It is so much more spectacular to see this place in person. Bev and I really enjoyed our time with the animals.

Help save some of the most magnificent creatures on Earth. Check them out at: www.WildAnimalSanctuary.org

On the way back home from the Sanctuary we stopped at Pam and Kent's house for supper. Kent is in New Jersey for his job, Elisabeth was with her friends, so it was just Pam, Bev and I. Pam made a great steak dinner cooked to perfection, but I'm sorry Pam, Kevin's steak was better.