The Great Adventure 2011 Colorado– 7/4/11

For more pictures, click HERE.
It was another day in Paradise! After breakfast we went back into the park and did some hiking. Eventually we headed to hike to the highest point in the park. At the top, we had to scramble over some rocks and it was a little scary. There was a metal marker that told you what you were seeing in the 360 degree view around you. While we were there we even saw a marmot!

While we were at the top of the mountain, Don pulled out his ham radio to see if he could get a signal and he did! This sparked the curiosity of three gentlemen who stopped to ask us some questions which of course led to more conversation. They came from Michigan, Alaska, and New Mexico. It was really interesting to talk to them and I couldn’t resist showing them my close focus binoculars. We enjoyed talking to them so much we spent a long time on the side of the trail having a wonderful conversation! While we were talking, a huge herd of elk passed by right in front of us! The herd was full of males, females, and babies.

When we left there we went to the visitor center and had a nice picnic at the back of our car. We pulled out our lawn chairs and ate sandwiches and chips. Then we did some shopping before heading back down the mountain.

On the way down the mountain we stopped at a few trailheads and did some hiking. We walked through some snow to Lake Irene and the view was beautiful. On the way back we came across a bunch of pikas (little rabbit like animals).We also saw some bighorn sheep which was pretty exciting!

Eventually we made it back to town and grabbed a couple of subway sandwiches to eat in our new motel room at Littletree Inn in Granby, CO. It is a nice room with a king bed, fridge, microwave, TV, and wifi for only $59.

This will probably be posted on Thursday so the next update of our trip will continue on Monday. Please come back if you are interested in reading more!

What I Learned Today:

• There are no poisonous snakes, or poison ivy, or poison oak, or poison sumac in the park.
• Moose can be aggressive.
• Sun reflectors in the windows of our car while parked really help keep the car much cooler.
• American Dippers are little birds that like to hang around fast moving water like waterfalls. Sometimes they will even build their nests on the side of the waterfall which keeps them safe from predators.
• Picnic lunches are fun!
• It is fun to meet new friends on the trail!

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).
Original Photo: Lake Irene by Pat Hensley