Colorado Rocky Mountain High!

Sunday, July 29, 2007 Boulder thru Rockies to Basalt, Colorado
After 4 days of work, Jack and I were off for a “Sunday drive” through the Rocky Mountains on yet another of America’s most scenic byways. We not only felt like we were on “top of the world” but we were! At one point our car was poised on mountaintops exceeding 12,100 feet in height. This is the highest paved road in the U.S. and the sight was breath taking. There are dozens of peaks between 13,000 and 14,000 feet high. We went through a number of different climate and ecological zones on our way up from Boulder (5430 feet above sea level) to the arctic region at the top and then down through acres of spruce trees, beautiful farm lands and lakes. One-third of the park is above tree line, and here tundra predominates - a major reason why these peaks and valleys have been set aside as a national park. We drove through the town of Estes Park at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park which was a beautiful town-reflected in a lake at its entrance.

Jack commented that this was the shortest 8-hour drive we have ever taken because of the beauty we saw. There was such a feeling of freedom, cruising through these large mountains in a convertible, and fully surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of rocks and trees that seemed larger than life. While most of our drive was through the mountains, the last portion was on highway 70, an 8-lane freeway through Glenwood Canyon which according to Jack was magnificent (I slept through it, unfortunately).

Our last leg of the trip was up into the Mountains near Basalt to stay for a few days with my colleague and friend, David Bork. His “log cabin” sits on 32 acres facing Mt. Sopris which is in the Elk Mountains.