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...And pay for that good weather, we did! About 2 weeks after arriving in Greeley, it snowed - 3-4 inches stuck. It was beautiful though. We took a ride that day, since Jim couldn't work, to Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Jim found a jacket that he really wanted, but they didn't have his size. I looked on their computer system, and they showed having them in stock AND being on sale for $20 less than what the tag said. So, he got a really good deal, and he was happy to get a new coat.
The icicles on the front of the car were amazing. I've never seen anything quite like that before. (remember, I'm a low-lander from much warmer country than here) When we arrived home, the driver's side rear door of the car wouldn't open. It was FROZEN shut! But alas, 2 days later we were back up in the 60's.
We got a little disgusted with Greeley RV Park and moved to Loveland the first week of April. Stepping out the front door, having the neighbor's water and sewer under your awning is just no fun. Plus, Jim went up to the office to see about getting us hooked directly to the propane meter so we wouldn't have to pull out to go get propane. Jim was informed that we had a large dog. (half cocker - half Bichon, almost 16 years old) The 'manager' said to Jim that he had told me that we could only stay there a month (which was almost up) when I made the reservation. He told me no such thing! Jim simply said that he doesn't 'beg' anyone to take his money and so we moved when our first month was done. The owner of the park was not happy, and did approach Jim and apologize for his son's behavior.
The Loveland RV park we are in now is a far cry better than Greeley. The water in Greeley was sooooo hard that we were having to regenerate the softener every third day. THAT'S WAY TOO OFTEN! Here in Loveland, we have not had to regenerate yet, and we arrived here on April 6 while it was snowing! We also have a decent view of the mountains if we walk to the back of the site. And, the sites other than the side-by-sides that they have are big enough to not be sitting on top of your neighbor. There are a few sites where your view of the mountains is unobstructed, but you have to reserve those well in advance (like 6 months to a year) I'd sure love to see Thousand Trails buy a park in this area or up in Estes Park! It would probably stay full all the time.
We took a drive the day after we arrived in Loveland because it was snowy and Jim couldn't work. In Buckhorn Canyon, we encountered some fantastic scenery. (Even though it scared me to death driving through it)
Exiting the Buckhorn area on the road from Masonville to Hwy 34, there is a llama farm. As we came by there, directly across the street stood a herd of elk. It's one of the largest herds we've seen (about 200 or so) and the first herd we'd seen away from the higher elevations. By this time, we were down to about 6,000 feet. The llama became very alert and excited. They were right up against the fence and it was something to watch the two herds interacting the way they were. It was an "Elk Jam" (that's what the locals call us 'crazies' that create a traffic jam when we stop to take photos) in the truest sense of the phrase. One llama came right up to me and I intend to do an 8X10 or 11X14 framing of him for our walls.
There was one pair that didn't seem interested, but their position together interested the camera. :::smile:::
April 28 - we went to RMNP (no it was not the first time since we've been here - but the pictures I'm going to put up for you are from that visit. The highest we've been allowed to go so far is 9600 feet at Bear Lake. Bear lake is beginning to soften. The walkway to it, however, still has hard pack snow up to the grab rails and a little above. And mind you, those handrails are almost waist high on Jim.
When we headed back down, we stopped along the way and heard the rushing of water. Getting to the edge of the cliff to see it, was no easy task for me. There was a creek running at the bottom of a small gorge area. Pretty, but not nearly as pretty as some other sites we've seen.
From there, we wound down through the roads, looking for Bighorn, or whatever we might find along the way. We finally got something we've never gotten shots of before. Lone elk at a creek! You know it's springtime by looking at their horns that have begun to grow back after shedding. They look as if they are covered with a velvety substance like what you see on lots of crafts at Christmas time. Soon, they'll be sliding their horns along the bark of the Aspen and Pine trees to rub the velvet away. Their horns will grow much larger, and rut season will arrive in the early fall, as it does every year.
It was really warming up as we headed back down towards Loveland. We took a little detour when we saw a sign on the way down to a place called Carter Lake. Imagine, there we were in "feet" of snow at nearly 60 degrees and 9600 feet in elevation, and then less than a 45 minute ride time later, we found ourselves in 80 degree temperatures at Carter Lake viewing this site:
Imagine, areas only 10 miles from this lake had as much as 2 feet (yes, FEET) of snow the Tuesday before, and now it was in the 80's. The diversity of the Colorado weather is amazing, but I love it here anyway.
Tuesday's snow took us on a drive through Buckhorn Canyon near Masonville, and I will leave you with a picture or two that I took as we drove through that area. I will try to post a new blog on Mondays from here on out.
While we wait for Next Monday, Let's Go Shopping!
