Today, Andrew and I flew to Brooksville. Brooksville is an airport just north of the Tampa Class B airspace. We flew in the 1956 Cessna 172.
To prepare for this flight, I went to the hangar yesterday and met the owner. I asked all the questions I could think of and took a page of notes. I was pretty confident that I knew all of the quirks of the antique Cessna.
At the hangar today, we did the preflight in the hangar, then pulled N7286A out into the sunshine. We climbed in, started the engine, and were on our way.
During the run-up, we discovered a problem. The left magneto was running very rough. I increased the RPM and decreased the mixture and let it run for about a minute. Then I re-ran the magneto check and both magnetos worked properly.
I contacted Ground and was told to taxi to Runway 27R. We took off and headed west until we were clear of the Melbourne Class D airspace, then proceeded on course.
The flight west was slow due to headwinds, but we eventually arrived near Brooksville. I contacted Tower and was cleared to land on Runway 27.
After landing, Tower told me to exit on Taxiway A3, but to hold short of Taxiway A. Tower was busy directing a twin from one side of the airport to the other. As the twin approached us on Taxiway A, Tower told us to do a 180 and back taxi on the runway to Taxiway A2. Strange, but not a problem. Just shows that you never know what you’ll get at a towered airport.
We taxied to Taxiway A2 then to the end of Runway 27. Tower cleared us to take off and fly a left downwind departure. Once in the air, we turned east and followed the same route back towards Orlando.
Departing Brooksville
The flight back was faster because we now had a tailwind. Instead of going back to Melbourne, we landed at Valkaria to top off the tanks. With full tanks, we returned to Melbourne. Other than the magneto issue, the trip was very much as expected.
Last month, Susan came across a time builder who owned a Piper Twin Commanche. The plane was located at Sheltair at Melbourn (KMLB) and the price was great. I was interested and reached out to him. He told me that his schedule was full for October, but that he had openings in November. I scheduled two blocks in November.
November arrived, but John informed me that he had a breaker trip on his landing gear and that he needed to have it looked at. A few days later, he reached out to let me know that the gear was fine and he was ready to fly. I re-scheduled a block of time today.
I went to Sheltair this morning to meet John and go fly. He texted me that he was held up at the badging office and would arrive as soon as he could. In the meantime, I watched a family load up a TBM single-engine turboprop for a flight up north to go leaf-peeping. Imagine owning a turboprop and using it to fly a thousand miles to get away for a few days. What a life.
When John arrived, we discussed our backgrounds, then headed out to the ramp to see the plane. It is a 1967 Piper Twin Commanche. It is old and pretty basic, except in has a nice Garmin GPS and electronic HSI.
Piper Twin Commanche N8593Y
Piper Twin Commanche N8593Y
John did the preflight while I watched, then we were ready to go to upstate Georgia. I have to laugh at the irony of me talking about the turboprop owners, like it is something far beyond ‘normal’, while I’m going flying in a twin to Georgia. I guess I have it pretty good, too.
We picked up our IFR clearance then taxied to Runway 27L. There was some confusion with our transponder, so we cleared that up, then we were cleared to takeoff. We climbed to the west, then were vectored to the north. As we climbed, we punched through a thin layer of clouds and popped out above, nearly blinded by the brightness of the white layer below.
The flight to Georgia seemed slower than expected, thanks to a strong headwind. After three hours we landed at Thomaston-Upson County Airport. John added some fuel while I went to see the FBO. The FBO was very nice, but there was no one there.
The FBO at KOPN - ramp side
The FBO at KOPN - street side
Our next leg was south to Tallahassee. This flight went much quicker with the strong tailwind. On the ground, John taxied to the fuel pump. The FBO was having a special on fuel today and was charging only $2.95 per gallon. This was a deal too good to pass up, so John topped all the tanks. To John's surprise, the pilot who told him about the good deal was topping off his plane at the fuel pump. Small world.
Million Air FBO at KTLH
Our final leg was back to Melbourne. John filed direct and that’s what we were initially given. After taking off, we were vectored to the east, directly over FSU. Once at cruise, we were given an amended route along the west side of Orlando. As we approached Ocala, we were given another amended route. It seems funny to me that they bothered with the amended routes because, once we got close to KMCO, they vectored us until we we well east of the airspace, then vectored us to the approach to Melbourne.
The sun was setting soon after leaving Tallahassee. While west of Orlando, we flew over Disney's Epcot Center. That was the first time I saw the globe lit up from the air. It was very impressive.
East of Orlando, we listened to the Melbourne information. There was a layer of clouds reported at 4,700 feet. Approach told us to expect a visual approach to Runway 9R. This made me curious – would we be below the clouds before we started the approach? We were soon given a descent clearance and started down. As expected, we entered the clouds just below 5,000 feet. About a minute later, we dropped through the bottoms. At 10 miles out, John cancelled IFR and we went visual from there. Since Sheltair is on the east side of the airport, John asked to land long to shorten the taxi time. At Sheltair, we were marshalled to a spot in front of their hangar and shut down.
This flight was good for me. I got to do over six hours in the IFR environment with a few minutes in actual IMC weather and night and I got to fly in a multiengine airplane. I’m looking forward to doing it again soon.
Last week, Susan told me about a conversation she had with a woman whose husband owns a plane. I reached out to the husband, Rob, and we set up a meeting.
Today I met Rob outside his hangar at Melbourne airport. He escorted me in the I got to see his 1956 Cessna 172. For those who are familiar with Cessna 172s, you will know that Cessna has made many versions of the 172 over the years, for example, the current 172 model is the 172SP. Rob’s 172 is the original model year, so it is simply a 172. It is basically a Cessna 170 with tricycle gear. It has a straight tail and an unusual instrument layout. But one thing that is does have is a Garmin GNS-430W, so I can fly instrument procedures.
1956 Cessna 172 N7286A
After talking for about an hour, I asked if we could take it flying. Rob said “Yes”, so we pulled the plane out of the hangar, did a pre-flight, then were on our way. We departed Melbourne to the south along the coast. I did some slow flight and turns on the way down past Sebastian, then we did a landing at Valkaria. Back in the air, we returned to Melbourne.
Give that the hangar is in Melbourne and the usage fee is so reasonable, I expect this will be my go-to time building plane for the foreseeable future. I started the badging process at the airport and should have my badge in about three or four weeks.
Below is the flight track of the flight.
Flight track from Melbourne to Valkaria to Melbourne
Today I flew with Nick in N8049N. The day started early, as I needed to be in DeLand by 7:00 AM and I was leaving from home. Today was a repeat of our flight last month, so I was hopeful that we would not be repeating the magneto failure, or any other failure for that matter.
Nick's Piper Cherokee N8049N
Our plan for the day was to get cheap gas, fly for three to four hours, get cheap gas again, and return to DeLand. The first leg was the same as last time. We flew to Williston and got gas. This time however, the engine started and we were able to continue.
Our second destination was Okeechobee, with a quick stop at Punta Gorda. For this flight, I filed an IFR flight plan in Foreflight, which included two waypoints: Ocala VOR and Lakeland VOR. I received two emails stating that the flight plan had been accepted.
Soon after taking off, Nick called to pick up our clearance. Jacksonville Approach read our clearance to us, and I attempted to write it down. Although I was fully ready to write, I could not understand the route and was totally thrown off my game. Rather than clearing us to the Ocala VOR then as filed, he cleared us to FARCY or VARCE or something I’ve never heard of before. He even spelled it phonetically, but all I caught was A-R-E. Nick looked at me and I just shrugged. He asked Approach to repeat the first part. I still had a hard time hearing it, but luckily, Nick picked it up and read it back correctly. The waypoint turned out to be VARZE. It is not on the Victor airway between Ocala VOR and Lakeland VOR. Instead, it is on the Tango airway that doesn’t even go through Lakeland VOR. Who knows why he chose that waypoint. So now, when preparing to accept a clearance, I will take a much closer look at all of the waypoints not only on the requested route, but also those near the route.
Nick flew to VARZE, then continued direct to Punta Gorda. Along the route, we were in an out of the slowly building cumulous clouds. We were handed off to Tampa Approach, Miami Center, then Fort Myers Approach. As we got nearer to Punta Gorda, Approach asked our intentions, and we said that we’d like to fly the ILS 4 approach. This was approved and we were given vectors to the southwest to eventually intercept the localizer. We were handed off to Tower and cleared for the option. Nick did a touch and go, then we were handed back to Approach. Approach handed us off to Miami Center, where we were told that he would not be able to provide services all the way to Okeechobee, so we decided to cancel IFR.
After filling up the tanks at Okeechobee, Nick offered to let me sit in the left seat for the flight back to DeLand. The winds were picking up, and I didn’t want to risk damaging his plane, so I was a little tentative at first. Eventually I decided to accept the offer. I flew back to DeLand, and we called it a day.
With this flight, I have now surpassed the magical 800-hour milestone. Now I can start filling out applications to all the companies that require 800 hours.
This week, I scheduled three flights with Nick. Nick is a 50% partner of a Piper Cherokee 140 that is tied down at DeLand airport. Susan found his post on Facebook and put me in contact. The plan was to fly three days this week, starting at 7:00 AM each day.
To avoid driving back and forth the one and a half hours each way, I asked Aunt Cathy if I could stay at her house. She said that would be fine, but she would be leaving for Texas the next day, so I’d have the house to myself (Mom is currently in Washington). While there, she asked me to do a little project and showed me where to find all the tools that I would need.
This morning, I got up early, ate breakfast, said good-bye to Aunt Cathy, and drove to the airport, which is about 15 minutes from the house. I arrived early, as was my intention, and waited for Nick.
Once Nick arrived, we walked to the ramp and pre-flighted the plane. The plane is a 1973 model, so it is newer than the N7207W. Being newer, it had the standard six pack instrument gauges and toe brakes, but only on the pilot side. Being a Cherokee 140, it has the smaller O-320 engine that only delivers 160 horsepower. Other than that, it is like every other Piper Cherokee.
Nick's Piper Cherokee N8049N
Today’s plan was for me to be the safety pilot for Nick. We planned to fly to Williston (X60) to get gas, then fly to somewhere in Alabama. The return flight would have us stopping for gas in Williston, then continuing to DeLand.
The flight to Williston was non-eventful. Nick talked me through connecting my iPad mini to his Stratus so I could follow along on Foreflight. I searched for traffic in the dim morning light while he maneuvered around and under the Orlando Class B airspace.
At Williston, Nick landed and taxied to the fuel pump. He filled the tanks, then we pushed the plane into the shade and walked to the FBO. For some reason, this airport looked familiar, but not that familiar.
The FBO at Williston
After a short break, we headed back to the ramp to continue our flight to Alabama. We climbed in and got settled, then Nick started the plane. Or should I say, attempted to start the plane. The plane would not start. He tried several times, but it just wouldn’t fire. After multiple attempts, we had no luck.
Earlier, when we walked to the FBO and back, we passed by some guys working on a twin plane in the hangar. We thought maybe the mechanic might have some advice or something we hadn’t thought to try. Unfortunately he was out getting parts and wouldn’t be back for at least an hour. Nick got his number and left a message, asking him to let us know when he returned.
In the mean time, we sat and waited. At some point, a guy pulled up in his Jeep and asked if we needed help. We talked to him for a while, then tried to start the plane again. Just like before, it would not fire. I was thinking that it wasn’t getting fuel, while the others were thinking it wasn’t getting spark.
So, we waited some more. Then another guy stopped by. He was a mechanic and started looking under the hood. Nick tried to start the plane again. By now, the battery was starting to get weak, so there would be no more trying unless someone had a charger. The mechanic told us that those engines have dual magnetos, but only one is used while starting the engine. So, if that one failed, then the engine would not start. He proceeded to remove the magnetos and took them to his hangar to check them out. He eventually returned and said he was getting no spark from either of them. This I found extremely odd, given that we just flew in successfully not that long ago.
During all of this, the first mechanic returned. We told him that another mechanic was helping us. He was glad to hear this, as he was deep into his other project and didn’t have time to help us.
The second mechanic had a friend who had some backup magnetos, but he wasn’t sure they were an exact match. He brought them over and they compared serial numbers, and unfortunately, they were not.
At this point, it had become apparent that there was no way we’d by flying back to DeLand in this plane today. We started working on our Plan B. Nick’s fiancée was hours away, and Susan was even further. We asked a few pilots who came and went, but none were able to fly us home.
Eventually, a pilot with a 6 seat Piper Saratoga stopped at the fuel pump. We walked up to him and started a conversation. We told him our situation and asked if there was any way he could drop us off in DeLand on his way home. He told us that he was in Florida to have some instrument work done on his plane, and the work ended early, so he was a day ahead of schedule. He was flying back to Huntsville and given the hour that he’d gain by going to the Central time zone, he was not in a hurry. He then said that he could drop us off in DeLand. You can imagine our relief.
The flight back to DeLand was quick and easy. The performance difference between a Saratoga and a Cherokee 140 is pretty substantial. When we got back on the ground, Nick offered the pilot some cash to cover the gas and we thanked him over and over again.
Nick and I said our good-byes, then I headed back to the house. I knew I wouldn’t be flying with Nick for a few days. I’m so close to the magical flight time of 800 hours, but it looks like I won’t get there this week.
I still had that project that Aunt Cathy and I talked about, so I decided to spend the night in DeLand. I drove back and replayed the events of the day in my head. Although things were pretty bad and getting home looked nearly impossible, with the generous help of fellow pilots and mechanics, we made it home. It’s too bad the rest of society isn’t as generous and helpful as the people we met today.
After two weeks in Erie, Colorado, it was now time to go home. Andrew flew to Denver to join me on the drive back. We spent Friday exploring Rocky Mountain National Park, then started our journey east on Saturday.
Saturday, August 2
At 7:00 AM, Andrew and I left the motel in Longmont, Colorado and headed east. We took a back road that intersected with I-76, then followed that northeast until it intersected with I-80. We took the Ogallala, Nebraska exit and stopped for lunch. The town was quite small with one main street, a rail yard, and a few businesses. We ate lunch at Caroline's Omelet House. Even though the town was small, the restaurant was packed full. We worried a little about how long it would take, since we were on a schedule. But once the food arrived, we knew that it was worth the time it cost.
From Ogallala, we continued east to North Platte, Nebraska. North Platte is the home of the world’s largest rail yard – Bailey Yard. And to our great luck, they were having their 2025 Rail Days event this weekend. We knew this in advance, and I used it as a way to entice Andrew to fly to Denver and join me on the drive back home.
The plan was to tour the Golden Spike Tower, take the 1:00 PM or 3:00 PM Bailey Yard Tour, and see the Challenger display at Cody Park. If we had time, we’d try to see the Model Train Show and attend the Pulled Pork & Corn Feed.
Rail Days schedule
We arrived at the Golden Spike Tower at 12:55 PM. We took a few minutes to stretch and take some pictures before going inside. As you can see in the picture below, the 1:00 PM tour bus was in the parking lot. Inside, we went to the desk and talked about the activities. We mentioned that we wanted to take the 3:00 PM yard tour. We were then informed that the last tour was at 1:00 PM. We were shocked to hear this news, given the schedule, and especially since we had time to catch the 1:00 tour bus, had we known it was the last one. Sigh.
Golden Spike Tower
Not to be deterred, we accepted our fate and toured the tower. The view from the tower is amazing. You can see for miles to the east, north, and west. The yard in front of us was busy with activity. We could see cars being sorted on the two humps. We could also see locomotives being moved to the maintenance buildings. And we could see dozens of full trains coming, going, or waiting on the many sidings.
While we looked and watched in awe, we ran into a volunteer / photographer. He was answering questions from whomever asked. We started asking questions and he went on and on about the history and details of the yard. He then told us that it was a special day. The tower was open after dark, which isn’t normally the case. He was trying to capture a picture of the yard with lightning in the background. I wonder if he got his shot.
Bailey Yark rail diagram
Around 3:00 PM, we left the tower and drove to Cody Park. Here we visited the Railroad Museum and saw an old train depot, the Challenger steam locomotive, and the Centennial diesel locomotive. Unlike every other railroad museum I’ve been to, this museum allowed full access to everything. It was amazing to see all the knobs and levers inside the Challenger cabin and inside the engine and battery rooms of the Centennial. We even got to go down into the bathroom in the nose of the Centennial.
The Challenger is an articulated 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company between 1936 and 1944. They were the workhorses for Union Pacific railroad until the Big Boys were developed.
Union Pacific Challenger
Andrew and the Union Pacific Challenger
The Centennial is actually an Electro Motive Division DDA40X. It is basically two normal locomotives aligned back to back inside one much larger locomotive chassis.
Union Pacific DDA40 X Centennial
Inside the train depot, we ran into a couple of volunteers who had once worked for Union Pacific. The were both quite tickled to tell us all about how the toilets would freeze and leave a disgusting, growing pile of poo that someone would have to clean out.
Back on the highway, we continued east. We stopped at a motel in Lincoln, Nebraska at 8:30 PM.
Sunday, August 3
At 8:30 AM, we left the motel and started driving east. When it came time to look for gas, Andrew found a Costco in Coralville, Iowa. This was not your typical Costco. This Costco was build inside a warehouse. The entire parking lot is also inside the warehouse. We got gas, drove into the warehouse to park, then went inside the Costco, which is inside the warehouse, to use the restroom and get a couple slices of pizza. This place is bizarre.
Costco inside a warehouse
After lunch, we continued eastward. As we crossed Illinois, we had to take a detour. We got off the exit and were routed onto a country road. This seemed really odd to us, but it was about to get even stranger. We came around a turn and came upon a factory with an enormous parking lot full of electric Amazon Prime delivery trucks. That was entirely unexpected.
After the detour, we were back on the interstate. We finished crossing Illinois and entered Indiana. We arrived at our motel in Richmond, Indiana just before 10:00 PM. We drove for around 650 miles. So far on this trip, Indiana has had the bumpiest highways, by far.
Monday, August 4
At 8:30 AM, we left the motel and continued our eastward journey. Our first stop was at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, in Dayton, Ohio. We planned to stay for two to three hours. Once inside, we realized that getting out quick was not going to be possible. The museum is comprised of four huge hangars. Hangar one contains two exhibits: Early Years and World War II. Hangar two contains two exhibits: Korea and Southeast Asia (Vietnam). Hangar three contains the Cold War exhibit. Hangar four contains four exhibits: R&D, Space, Global Reach, and Presidential. And between hangars three and four is the Missile Gallery. And that’s not to mention the static exhibits outside. It took us over an hour to ‘quickly’ explore hangar one. We knew we’d need to pick up the pace if we wanted to be in Toronto, Ohio before dark.
This was not my first visit to this museum. While I was in elementary school, we took a field trip here. I don’t remember a lot about it from that time. I do remember that Mom drove the school bus, and I specifically remember taking a picture of an F-100 painted in Thunderbirds colors. I was happy to see that they still have it on display.
F-100 in Thunderbirds colors
Although I found all the exhibits to be very well documented and interesting, I was drawn in by the exhibits of hangar four the most. My favorite plane is still the F-16 – especially when it is painted in the Thunderbirds scheme. But other fascinating planes included here include: B-1 and B-2 bombers, SR-71, XB-70 Valkyrie, F-22, and various former Soviet era fighters.
F-16 in Thunderbirds paint scheme
High view inside hangar four
After about six hours, we grabbed a bite to eat from the Valkyrie Café, then left the museum. So much for staying only two to three hours.
Our next destination was Ohio State University. I wanted to show Andrew the campus. We arrived around 5:00 PM, parked the car, and paid for an hour of parking. During that hour, we walked around the stadium, then headed past a fitness center, through the library, and across the mall.
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium
Andrew and I were both very impressed with the library. The outside looks like a 100+ year old building should look. Once inside, we found a large open space with one side made of glass, going up four or more levels, topped with a glass roof. It was an amazing sight.
Library at Ohio State University
Back outside, we walked past a pond with a fountain, then past tennis courts and the stadium. We reached the car at 6:00 PM.
Ohio Stadium
Back on the road, our final destination was in sight. We got off the interstate in Cambridge, Ohio, and took US-22 towards Steubenville. And it just wouldn’t be right to drive through this part of town without stopping at DiCarlo’s Pizza. So much for making it home before dark.
Andrews at the Wintersville DiCarlo's Pizza
We arrived at my cousin’s house at 9:20 PM. It was after dark, but that was fine with us. We had a long drive, saw some amazing things, and had pizza in our bellies. It was a great trip and I’m so glad that Andrew flew to Denver to share this adventure with me.
While in Colorado at Odyssey Pilot Hours, I invited Andrew to join me for the drive home. He liked the idea and bought himself a plane ticket. I picked him up from the Denver airport yesterday. We took the train from the airport, stopped in downtown Denver, and visited the Erie airport. I showed him the planes that I'd been flying, but it was too late to take him for a flight. Today, we set off for Rocky Mountain National Park.
National Parks require some amount of planning to avoid surprise. The Rocky Mountain National Park requires visitors to have a reservation that allows you in at a certain time. We tried to get a reservation, but the website didn’t appear to be working. We read that you can enter the park either before or after the reservation window. We chose to be at the main gate before the 9:00 AM reservation window opened.
The drive to Estes was about an hour from our motel in Longmont and we left just after 7:00 AM. We arrived at the gate around 8:15 AM. We wanted to go to the Fall River Visitor Center prior to entering the park, but it didn’t open until 9:00 AM. We couldn’t go else we would miss our chance to get in the park before the reservation window. Instead, we planned to go there on the way out of the park.
Rocky Mountain National Park entrance at Fall River
At the gate, we paid the entrance fee, and the ranger gave us a map of the park. Now that we were in, there was no leaving until after 2:00 PM, else we wouldn't be allowed back in until after 6:00 PM.
Rocky Mountain National Park map
With that option out, our new plan was to drive to the Alpine Visitor Center at the high point of the park. It opened at 10:00 AM, so we had plenty of time to visit a few overlooks along the route.
Our first stop was at Many Parks Curve. We parked in a parking lot that was beyond the overlook and walked back. Being that this was our first time out of the car, we realized that maybe we weren't dressed properly for the conditions. Luckily, we both had light jackets to block some of the wind, but it was still pretty chilly. From the overlook, we could see to the east, north, and west. Since the sun was in the east, the view to the west was the best. We figured we’d see the nice east view on the way back out of the park.
Looking northwest from Many Parks Curve
Back in the car, we continued climbing. In many spots, the road was a vertical cliff on one side and a drop off on the other. It reminded me of driving through Mt. Rainier National Park with Aunt Patti; she loved the views but didn't care much for the steep drops.
Our next stop was the Forest Canyon Overlook. We were now above the tree line, thus the term 'alpine' applies.
Looking west from Forest Canyon Overlook
Looking west from Forest Canyon Overlook
Our next stop was the Lava Cliffs Overlook. We were now above the snow. There's something about the sight of snow that makes everything feel colder, as if it wasn't already cold enough. While looking around, we noticed that something was moving out in the distance. With the help of the binoculars, we determined that it was a marmot. There is obviously a lot of wildlife in the park. I wondered what other animals we might see.
Looking north from Lava Cliffs Overlook
As we continued our climb, the scenery changed drastically. It was completely different than before. It was like we were passing through a very large meadow along a ridgeline. There were no trees, and the surface was covered mostly with rocks.
Driving through the alpine area
Our next stop was the Gore Range Overlook. This is the highest point on the road through the park. From this point, you have an unimpeded view to the west.
Panorama from Gore Range Overlook
The next stop on the map was the Alpine Visitor Center. It was now past 10:00 AM, so it was definitely open. As we descended from the Gore Range Overlook, we saw a line of cars along the right side of the road. My first thought was that there must be animals along the road. No, there was no animal. This was the line to get into the parking lot. Apparently, there's a large rush of visitors to get to the Visitor Center before it opens. So, we decided to keep going and come back here later.
Our next stop was the Lake Irene Picnic Area. We found a parking spot near the picnic tables, then started hiking down towards the lake. Along the trail, we ran into a ranger and a volunteer. We talked to them for quite a while, until some other hikers arrived. They told us about the rush to get to the Alpine Visitor Center, and that the best time is between the morning and afternoon rushes. Continuing down the trail, we passed the lake and came to an opening meadow with a view to the west. Here we turned around and followed a different trail up the opposite side of the lake.
Lake Irene
Looking west along the Lake Irene trail
Back in the parking lot, we pulled out the cooler and the dry goods box and carried them to a nearby picnic table. We had the choice of tables in the sun or in the shade. After all the chilly air up on top of the mountains, it was nice to soak in the sun while we ate.
After lunch, we packed up our stuff and headed south along the road. We passed by a few sites that looked interesting, but we continued all the way to the southwest entrance of the park. As I mentioned before, we couldn't leave, else we wouldn't be able to get back in until later, so we didn't get to stop at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. We were near this entrance during our first Utah trip. During that trip, we drove into Colorado and stayed in Granby for a few days. The park was closed at that time; else we would have entered then.
After turning around, we headed back towards the Colorado River Trailhead. Soon we came upon a car stopped in the road. Again, I wondered if there was an animal spotting. This time there was! Right beside the road was a mother moose and her calf.
With are excitement ratcheted up a few notches, we continued toward the trailhead. We stopped and walked the short distance to the river. At this point, the Colorado River is more of a creek. It's hard to imagine that this is the same Colorado River that passes through Utah and the Grand Canyon.
We continued up the trail while keeping a close eye on what appeared to be a building storm. Soon we came upon a gathering of people. As we approached, we realized that there was another mother moose, and she also had a calf walking along the river. The mother crossed the river, leaving the calf on the far bank. The calf looked nervous about being left behind. After a few moments of hesitation, the calf took a leap and entered the river with a splash. Unfortunately, Andrew missed that moment by just a second in his video.
We soon turned around and returned to the car. The clouds were looking more threatening by the minute, and we didn't want to get caught out in a storm. We continued driving back up the mountain towards the Alpine Visitor Center.
When we arrived at the visitor center, the parking lot was half empty. We easily found a parking spot close to the main entrance. Inside, I was hoping to find an exhibit of local wildlife, but it was just a gift shop, but with a stunning view. Next to the visitor center was a restaurant and an even bigger gift shop. I was hoping to get a nice cup of hot chocolate, but when I asked if it was milk-based, the kid behind the counter said it was water-based. No thanks.
Back outside, we had a decision to make - climb the trail and risk a storm, or not. While we decided, we ran into a couple who had just driven up the old, one-lane dirt road. Apparently, it is narrow and steep but easily handled by a minivan. They told us about seeing elk along that road. After seeing four moose - which was completely unexpected - I was really itching to see a herd of elk.
The storm clouds appeared to be staying to the north, so we decided to take the trail to the top of the park. It was a nice trail, consisting of hundreds of steps. At that elevation, breathing was difficult, so I had to take a few breaks along the way. Eventually we reached the top and enjoyed the view in all directions.
View of the Alpine Visitor Center
The highest accessible point in the park
On the way back down the mountain, we passed by the overlooks that we stopped at on the way up. We eventually reached the Beaver Ponds. That sounded interesting to me, based on my experience with beaver ponds in Grand Tetons National Park. We stopped and walked the short boardwalk trail into the marshes. At the end, we didn't see anything, so we returned to the car, somewhat disappointed.
Our next stop was the Endovalley Picnic Area. It was off of a side road that we purposefully skipped on the way up in our attempt to reach the Alpine Visitor Center when it opened. We weren't really sure what there was to do there, but we stopped anyway. It was at the end of the paved road and marked the beginning of the one-lane dirt road that leads up to the visitor center. We got out and tried to figure out if there was a short hike starting there, but it soon started to rain. We tried to wait it out, but after five minutes, we made a run for the car.
This side road also had the Alluvial Fan and Horseshoe Falls Trailhead. The fan is an interesting area where a large pile of rock debris lies at the foot of the mountain. There's a very interesting story about it, that it included here:
In 1982 a breach in the earthen dam at Lawn Lake brought down a devastating wall of water sweeping vegetation and debris that would eventually form the Alluvial Fan as we see it today. The boulder field and sediment surrounding the Alluvial Fan are remnants of this destructive event.
Horseshoe Falls
Looking down at the Alluvial Fan
Back on the main road, our next stop was Sheep Lakes. It is here that I absolutely expected to see a herd of elk. Instead, we saw three big horn sheep crossing the road.
By this time, it was approaching 6:00 PM. This meant that we could leave the park and come back in if we chose. This is when we planned to visit the Fall River Visitor Center, so that's what we did. When we arrived, we realized that it was already closed! We were shocked and sad. But after a quick search, Andrew discovered that the Estes Park Visitor Center was open until 7:00 PM. We hurried into town and arrived about 20 minutes before they closed.
The Estes Park Visitor Center was more of what I expected a visitor center to be. They had a large, 3D map of the park that showed all the roads and peaks. They also had souvenirs and cute, stuffed animals, but they didn't have local stuffed animals. They were showing a screening of the park history, so we went in and watched the last 10 minutes of it. We were the only ones in the room.
At 7:00 PM, we left and headed for the Bear Lake entrance. There was no line at first, but when the road split off from the main road, we ran into a small backup of cars. As we sat there, we wondered why there was a backup at all. As we inched forward, we realized that there were no rangers in the booth. Then it donned on us. The backup was caused by two extremely violent speed bumps that they had across the road.
We followed the road up to the Bear Lake parking lot. It became obvious that this part of the park is more rugged than what we saw earlier. This part of the park is where the serious hikes begin. I doubted that we'd find any trails short enough to do in the amount of daylight that we had left. The parking lot was huge, but mostly empty. They get so many visitors to this part of the park that they have a shuttle bus that runs to another parking lot further from the trailheads. We parked and walked several hundred yards in the parking lot before reaching the bus stop and the trailheads. When we saw the sign, we laughed out loud. The Bear Lake trail was measured in feet, not miles. That's the one we chose to take.
Looking south from Bear Lake parking lot
Hiking trail choices at Bear Lake
Looking northeast from Bear Lake
Back in the car, we still had some time before it got dark. We decided to go back to Many Parks Curve and see if the view to the east was any better. We also hoped to see some elk along the road. We stopped at the overlook, then continued back down to the Fall River entrance. We didn't see any signs of elk along the way. We left the park, excited about what we did see, but still a little bummed about the lack of elk sightings.
Back in Estes Park, we chose to take a different route home than the way we came because I wanted to stop at the In-N-Out in Loveland. The route we chose followed closely along the Big Thompson River. In many places, there was barely enough room for the road and the river to fit between the high cliffs of the narrow canyon. Occasionally the canyon would widen out and have enough room for a pull off for tourists and fishers. As we approached one of these pull offs, we saw a line of vehicles parked. As I passed, we noticed two very large male elk munching on tree branches, right beside the road. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to do. There were already cars in the pull out and I was going a bit too fast to stop suddenly. We ended up driving by, our jaws dropped open. After a full day in the Rocky Mountain National Park, without seeing any signs of elk, we now saw two bull elk standing 10 feet from us, and we didn't even stop. Wow, what a day!
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