On the Road Again: The Rocky Mountain States

So the burning question must be, after all the scare stories of wild water from ‘friendly’ Coloradans, after the news of late snows and broiling rapids, did Ma and Pa venture out on the white water rafts down the Poudre River? Of course they did. Wrapped in wet suits and fleeces and waterproofs and helmets, in they got with guide Tracy and hurled down 12.5 miles of grade III and IV rapids. What a run! Around big boulders, along twists and turns through the canyon, over falls, it took about three hours to complete the course. They got utterly soaked but had the best time. Take a look at the crew in boat Sherman. Did you ever think Ma and Pa were such little daredevils! It was quite the finale to a great trip with very great friends. But now Ma and Pa are packing, ready to get the plane home tomorrow. Soon this will all be just a special memory, but it’s time to get back to the precious fambly. So it’s bye bye from the blog and the Rocky Mountain States! ...

After the almighty storm last night, this morning it was time to assess the damage. Here, mainly a huge amount of leaves and twigs had been shredded from trees and plants and were lying all over the house and garden and along the streets nearby. But elsewhere came news of windows being smashed by the giant hailstones and even car windscreens, so we were lucky. Ma and Pa indulged in a little retail therapy in the morning. Funny how trends trend. Here, shopping malls have morphed into areas developed to look just like streets of shops. Nothing new under the sun! Very pleasant strolling though and maybe something the UK might have to think about. Later in the day Ma and Pa enjoyed a delicious dinner en famille, before being taken on an impromptu tour of Fort Collins. It really is a very pleasant town, growing, energetic, dynamic. Here are a few pictures, including a retail and play area made out of containers - very popular. It has a cool, chilled vibe. Maybe ...

Today the Rocky Mountain national park beckoned. Just an hour away, this park hosts a tiny part of the vast range of the Rockies, but includes some of the biggies. So, picnic all packed, Ma and Pa were driven by their lovely hosts to see the sights and the heights. Firstly the route took them through the Big Thomson River Canyon and it was exciting to be at the foot of a Canyon looking up, this time. Strange rock formations crowded in on either side of the road. Then into the park and various stops along the way as we climbed higher and higher. Waterfalls, rushing rivers, forests, all in the shadow of the towering snow-capped peaks. And a lovely picnic was enjoyed in sunny sunshine. Some peaks are over 14000 feet, and Ma and Pa got to 12000 feet (3660m) as the trail climbed. At that altitude lightheadedness is the first sign you need to drink a lot of water and take on salt! And as high as cars can reach is the limit of the trees, and beyond that is the tundra where t...

This was quite a day, as Ma and Pa celebrated 4th of July with their US chums. First of all came a delicious and traditional home-cooked breakfast of red, white and blue pancakes with bacon and watermelon and strawberries. And maple syrup. Yummm-my. Then it was off to the Greeley Stampede. It’s famous, but not an actual stampede of things, more a several day event of cowboy/girl sports. Like rodeo, or lassoing animals, or - like today - bull fighting! Happily not Spanish style where the poor bull ends up dead. But still, one bloke in a small arena with a very angry bull and he has to run about and not get caught, for one minute. If he does get caught and whacked, other cowboys jump in to distract the bull. Quite mad! And finally it was off to a neighbourhood party where Ma and Pa met more very welcoming people and enjoyed traditional fare of pulled pork, salads, spicy beans. And garden games! Ma and Pa have learned a new one called Cornhole which definitely will be add...

After a fairly uneventful drive back to Fort Collins yesterday, after a round trip of another 1670 miles, Ma and Pa had a more restful day today. Pa managed to visit the Rotary Club of Fort Collins at their lunchtime meeting and was made very welcome. Their speaker today was giving a talk on the American Revolution, so we all hope Pa didn’t make any hilarious jokes on the subject, as we should remember we were the bad guys in that story. Meanwhile Ma was taken on a tour of one of the very many microbreweries in these parts. In ‘micro’ terms it looked pretty huge to Ma. And this is the guide making the face we all made when trying their new sour beer: This is the New Belgium brewery and if you can find a pint of ‘Fat Tire’ beer in a UK pub, it’s theirs! Several samples later and everyone was back out in the searing heat. Luckily there is a huge cooling swimming pool in the neighbourhood so Ma and Pa jumped in. Lovely! In the evening several friends had been invited over...

Nearly at the end of Ma and Pa’s big week away. Today’s plan was to drive north to Glenwood Springs, taking the scenic route past the Maroon Bells. Oh, sorry, not familiar with the Maroon Bells? They are only the poster mountains for Colorado, towering at over 14000 feet and starring in almost every tourism advert for the state. First the old offline satnav had to be coached into action, moody little **. Turns out it has to be set up online or it won’t play. What part of offline does it not understand? (all of it, all of it). Blog readers may remember the roads through the French farms of 2018? Colorado’s equivalent today was a turn off a perfectly good road and on to a worryingly long sequence of roads called G Road, H Road, I Road, J Road, K Road, 2000 Road, 2050 Road, 2075 Road...... and finally a stretch of road that wasn’t a road at all, just gravel on dirt. But, miraculously it did join the Maroon Bells road! Hurrah, went Ma and Pa. Huge Phew, they also said. But where wer...