Day 7

Today was all driving. We did stop a few times to stretch or eat but all in all there wasn't much to share visually about our drive from Colorado Springs up above Denver to outside of Loveland.

Day 8

We arrived in time for a lovely dinner last night with our host here in Loveland, CO.

Today was spent exploring the Rockies. First, a drive through the park via Estes Park. The area there is such a huge tourist trap, full of shops and tours, horses everywhere. They made me want to go trail riding in such lovely cool mountain weather.

There is a lot of smoke that has blown down to the area from some state above leaving all of the high peaks in a hazy state. Our drive in the Rockies was gorgeous at such a high altitude. The highest point of the road was above 12,000 ft with mountains surrounding it averaging 14,000 ft. I was surprised there was very little snow on the peaks, only little dirty patches here and there.

My favorite part of the day was driving on the backroads.

One of several little furry creatures that approached me while in the Rockies. Apparently I'm a squirrel whisperer.

A herd of about 16 elk beside the road. Below, the one male.

A moose with her baby. The first wildlife we came across on the dirt roads we went exploring.

Photo of the car, as promised.

A trail that crosses the continental divide, just to my right.

Glimpse of a bull moose walking into the woods.