Mt Evans, the Summit Lake episode

Last we were driving up Mt Evans, we were feeling a little challenged by the road. After all, you don't get views like this one

very often.

So we drove up through the clouds and the gloom and suddenly came out at Summit Lake. This is a really pretty spot, even in clouds and gloom. I'll let the pics do the talking, though our knees and teeth could've told a whole story by themselves. It was almost literally freezing up there!









I've put together a panorama here, though it doesn't show the lake.

DH and I felt the cold acutely, and scuttled around madly trying to stay warm, looking around the place. To the west was a deep valley that wavered in and out of view as the clouds rolled past:


One thing that fascinated us was the condition of the road. There is a warning sign saying "rough and uneven surface" or words to that intent. Uneven surface is not the best description. It seems that the road has suffered frost heave - it goes over a patch of permafrost. The road undulates madly. It is certainly not something you want to drive over at anything more than speed hump, real speed hump not these fake things that don't slow anyone down, speed. Totally bizarre, but we didn't take a pic cos we didn't know the significance then. Apparently this is an area that has arctic flowers that are not known so far south anywhere else - not only is it alpine but it is arctic as well. I guess the flowers are there because of the permafrost....

Driving to Mount Evans

Two whole weeks ago, we went for a drive. We drove to Boulder - we had thought we were driving to Denver to get on the I70 to get up into the mountains but the I25 to Denver was horridly clagged up, so we went to Boulder via highway 287 instead.


Boulder is interesting. We want to look around Boulder some more when it isn't so hot and humid. Nathan ate at moronic Craig's, or some such place. Foolish Craig's, that's it!

We visited Boulder in March when Nathan did his interview but we didn't see it very well as it was snowing at the time (but gee it was fun that it snowed! The locals were over it, naturally). This time we saw a bit more and had a look around town before heading up Boulder Canyon.



Now after a while, these canyons don't look quite so un-ewes-ual and different. After all, this is the fourth one we've seen now! But if you are into rocks then it is interesting seeing how the rock types change as you go further and further up the canyons.

We stopped to look at Boulder Falls, supposedly one of the bigger (accessible) falls in the Rockies. Only problem is you can't see most of the falls! Here's the lower bit:


The creek is verra nice.

I like the creeks and rivers of the Rockies as they are so energetic (at least until autumn when I am told they calm down). Lots of water in a hurry to get to the plains, where it gets stuck in reservoirs and used for drinking or agriculture or industry or whatever. It is very unlikely to make it to the Gulf of Mexico.

We drove around and around and around. We drove to Nederlands, where the toilets were pretty feral when I finally found them (and we had a barney over toilets, believe it or not simply cos I couldn't find one and NEEDED one!). They had some sort of event happening but we had a fit of the grumps and only took a picture of a steam shovel


(what is the name of the steam shovel in the kid's book I seem to remember?)

On we drove after I did a, umm, ooh about a 450 degree turn around a roundabout (and blasted someone upon entry as he decided he had right of way over the person who had already entered the roundabout on his left and was half a second from occupying the same spot in the roundabout (ie me)).

At this stage we had no particular aim in driving anywhere. The navigator had given up on the job and my directional sense is useless in the mountains. So we drove.



And we drove


And we drove, and suddenly after passing by a bizarre school with a turret connected to the rest of the school by a bridge, we were in a casino town! There's been virtually nothing in the way of towns or "civilization", we think we are in the middle of nowhere and bingo, bango! Bizarre! Everywhere in the canyon was gambling related. Even the crossroad is called Richman.



We gambled a little too - the Jeep (cousin to Crazy Aunt Purl's Jeep and I mean the red car not the yellow Hummer) two cars ahead actually stopped to let someone merge, which the mitsubishi star wagon behind me did NOT expect. I don't know how he missed us. And us in a rental car and all! He backed off a LOT after that!

Eventually we ended up in Idaho Springs, really rather lost. Idaho Springs is in the Colorado Rockies, not someplace in Idaho like you might expect. Don't ask me why. The lovely lady in the visitor centre was very helpful (but slightly challenged on the map she gave us). She suggested we drive up Mount Evans, or at least do the scenic drive up to the entrance.

What a fantastic idea! So we drove up and up, having been promised alpine tundra and bighorn sheep and all sorts of wonders if we coughed up $10 for the Mount Evans Scenic Byway.

Turns out that if you don't stop along the way, the nice parks people will waive the fee, but like who would only want to drive to the top of the highest paved road in the USA and turn around and come back?

So we drove up and up and up (it gains 7000 feet over 28 miles). At first you drive through forests and do a few switchbacks, then you hit areas that are treeless and it starts looking a bit Scottish


We saw Bristlecone Pines, though I don't think these ones were particularly ancient


As we pushed further up the mountain, we hit the clouds. All grey and misty!




But there were worrying signs




And I was rather glad of the clouds, cos if we looked over the edge of the road

it was a loooooooong way down! Plus the edge of the road had quite frequently fallen away... eek! Vertigo was kicking in for one of us!

(to be continued)