The Great Adventure 2011 Colorado– 7/2/11

(For more pictures, click HERE. )

I’m still not used to the two hour time change so I was awake by 3am (my body thought it was 5am so it wanted to get up and do something!). I finally got out of bed by 4am and played on the computer until Don got up around 5:30 (local time). We ate a good breakfast at the Chuckwagon Café before heading out for a day of hiking.

Our first stop was the Coyote Valley Nature Trail but could only hike for a little while before we came to a “trail closed” sign because the trail was under water. The river seemed angry and overflowing so we headed back to try another hike.

Next we went on a Tundra Nature Walk led by Ranger Jan and I enjoyed seeing the wildflowers in the tundra. The views were awesome!

After we left there we had lunch at the Hidden Valley Picnic Area and then did the nature trail after lunch. By this time, it was getting pretty hot outside.

We left there and headed to Bear Lake and hiked around the lake. The last time we were there two years ago, we hiked in the snow and the snow was above the railings on the bridge. It was nice to enjoy the beautiful scenery!

Animals we saw today include moose, yellow bellied marmots, elk, squirrel, duck, and a stellar jay.

By the time we returned to our hotel after dinner, we were pretty tired! Tomorrow we have two ranger led activities in store for us.

What I Learned Today:

· Krumholz means crooked wood

· The fir on the tundra grows 1 inch each 100 years. The fir we saw were about 300 years old (the trunk was 3 inches in diameter).

· Use a copper penny (not shiny) beside wildflowers when taking a photo so that size can be recognized.

· Be careful hiking on ice and snow because it is slippery (I watched hubby do a fancy dance and couldn’t help laughing!)

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original Photos: Slippery by Pat Hensley; View by Pat Hensley