After a decent nights’ sleep we tossed around the idea of either just leaving and heading home or going into RMNP. We weren’t in the best of moods but opted for the park.
Ron had checked under the Jeep to see if he could figure out what the scraping noise was. OOPHS, not good – the front end was not bolted to the frame so it was just hanging by two screws. WHAT!!!! How could anyone return a car in that condition. Ron called me outside and asked me to take a look. So there we were at 8AM under the car in our PJ’s. Yep, the front end was not attached. Great!!! And of course the shop is closed until Monday. Ron was quite angry about that. He grabbed some wire ties and attached the front end to the frame so it would not come apart while driving. The saga just did not seem like it was ever going to end.
We had to regroup our thoughts and finally agreed we needed to put the issue to bed and get on with our plans. I packed a lunch and finally after 4 days we were finally going into RMNP. The drive covers 48 miles one way and climbs to over 12,000 feet. The day was gorgeous with bright sunshine and crystal blue skies with fluffy white clouds.
The drive was very pretty and the mountains quite spectacular.
Rocky Mountain High with winding roads.
At the top (0ver 12,000 feet) we stopped at the visitor center. The roof was reinforced with huge logs. Certainly, not anything we had ever seen before.
Pictures Posted in the Visitor Center.
We saw lots of Elk along the road
The Rockies had record snowfalls for the 2011 Winter
and there were still remnants of snow left on the mountainsides.
We stopped for our usual picnic lunch and were entertained by the beautiful birds flying all around us. This bird was waiting to grab my grapes and bring them back to its’ nest.
We stopped t the Grand Lake Lodge and had a great view of the lake, some vintage cars and a peek at the inside of the Lodge itself.
We headed back and the views of the mountains were even more spectacular.
We were greeted by a baby Moose crossing the road. We didn’t see MOM Moose anywhere.
After leaving the park we headed to Stanley Hotel famous for the filming of Steven King’s “The Shining” TV Mini- Series. Scenes from the movie Dumb and Dumber were shot at the Stanley Hotel as well. It is a beautiful hotel with the claim that it is also the most haunted hotel. We took a tour and were treated to the folklore of the hauntings.
The Stanley Hotel LINK:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=ll
r0n NOTE:
I know, I Know It is the 1 who Haunts ME!
The Stanley Steamer
One of two replicas of the hotel used in the “Shining.” They burned one down at the end of the TV movie.
After completing our tour we stopped for gas and groceries. We went to the CG to spend some time with Don and Martha before saying our good-byes. They are heading back to South Dakota, then Martha will be flying to NY to care for her Mom. We hope to see them again in the near future. Our stay in Estes Park was much more pleasant with their company. We will miss their smiling faces and great stories!!!!
Heading home on Sunday. Hopefully we won’t have any more mechanical problems!!!!!!! Keeping our fingers crossed.
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