Traveled a little north today to visit the Rocky Mountain National Park. First order of business was to stop at the Kawuneeche visitors center and secure my "Lifetime National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass" for seniors age 62 and over. The passes are currently $10 but are going to $80 sometime this summer.
While at the center I had a really good discussion with the park ranger about what trails were open. She shared a lot of information about the condition of the different trails and made some suggestions on which ones to check out.
There were some beautiful lakes along the route to the park. Shadow Mountain Lake and Grand Lake are the largest.
The park ranger said they had about 4 inches of snow yesterday.
This is an old miner's cabin located at the Holzwarth Trail head. The cabin was built by Joseph Fleshuts in 1902. He abandoned his 160 acre homestead in 1911 for some unknown reason and was never heard from again.
This is the Kawuneeche Valley.
Part of the Never Summer Mountain Range. The Arapaho Indians called the range Ni-chebe-chii, which translates into 'Never No Summer". Wishing to avoid the use of a double negative, the U.S. Dept. of the Interior settled on Never Summer Mountains.
The Colorado River runs through the valley. This is just a few miles from the head waters of the river which flows over 1,400 miles through the Grand Canyon to the Gulf of California.
Holzwarth Historic site is where John Holzwarth came to the valley in 1917 and settled with his family at the foot of the Never Summer Mountains. He built a homestead and started a cattle ranch. His location next to the new national park soon began attracting guests. The family decided to open a guest ranch and built cabins to rent out.
At the age of 71, wishing to preserve the aesthetic value of his property for future generations, John Holzwarth Jr. sold the ranch to the Nature Conservancy in 1974. Holzwarth stated that he could "live with and die knowing that this valley will be for all and not a select few." Upon further reflection he added that "It was a wonderful experience having the ranch; I am a part of it." In the following year the Nature Conservancy transferred the property to Rocky Mountain National Park which preserves the historic site.
The road was closed to vehicles at the Colorado River Trail Head but people were allowed to walk the road. So, off I went. Hiked for a little over an hour and climbed about 1,200 feet in elevation over 3 miles. I was real pleased with my breathing and exertion level. The high altitude didn't seem to have any affect on me.
I loved seeing the "naturally" snow flocked trees.
Taking a short rest break. The sun was beginning to warm it up.
Snow banked on the side of the road where the plow had gone through.
Looking back down on the valley where I hiked earlier.
The snow melting created these little water brooks. The sound was so soothing.
Looking down on the road which I walked up.
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