We actually got on the road early -- I guess there's a first time for everything. We were shooting for a 9:00am departure and backed out of the driveway at 8:25. I'm sure that won't become a habit.
The drive west up I-70 was pretty uneventful; weekday traffic was about normal, and summertime road work was about as one could expect. The major lane addition project between the Twin Tunnels and the Empire/Winter Park exit seems to be just about finished except for the first (eastmost) exit into Idaho Springs. There was some fairly major work around Vail, and what appeared to be the last vestiges of the road repairs in Glenwood Canyon where the rockslide occurred a few months ago.
Speaking of Glenwood Canyon, we've been through there dozens of times and always say to ourselves as we pass the exit to Hanging Lakes, "We need to stop there sometime." Well, this time we did. We were surprised at the number of cars in the parking lot for a weekday; we had to park way down near the entrance. After a walk of a about a quarter mile along the paved bike path through the canyon, the trail up to Hanging Lakes branched off up a narrow canyon to the north, following a small tumbling stream. It is a steep and rocky trail -- I'd probably rate it among the top two or three trails in difficulty that we've hiked over the years with our Tuesday hiking group. I wouldn't call it crowded, but there were a lot of people on the trail, most of whom were headed down as we stepped aside to let them pass, thankful for an opportunity to give our lungs a rest. Finally, after about a mile and a quarter and seven crossings of the stream over very nice wooden bridges, we reached the clear, turquoise main lake. Water pours over a wide cascade of small falls from an upper lake, and a boardwalk with benches spaced here and there reaches about two-thirds of the way around the lake. We paused for a protein bar snack before the final short climb up to the upper lake. The upper lake is little more than a broad, shallow pool, but interestingly is fed by a gushing torrent of water that shoots directly out of a hole in the rock face above. Then, having satisfied our curiosity about Hanging Lakes, we started back down the steep and rocky trail to continue our journey west.
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| Lower Hanging Lake |
We had hoped to make it Green River, Utah, for our first night, but since the hike to Hanging Lake had taken longer than we had anticipated, we decided to stop in Grand Junction for a late lunch/early dinner, then spend the night at one of our favorite Colorado spots, the Colorado National Monument. We arrived just as the attendant was leaving the entry gate, and she told us to drive on up to the campground. We were somewhat surprised at how many campers were already there; in fact we got one of the last of the non-reserved campsites. Once again, we marveled at what a great deal the Federal Interagency Senior Pass is -- $10 for a lifetime of free entry to national parks and other attractions, plus half-price camping. Our night in the campground high on the mesa overlooking Grand Junction, Fuita, and the valley of the Colorado River cost us the grand sum of $10. Since we had already eaten dinner, there was nothing to do except have a glass of wine, take a stroll around the campground, and button up in the mootor home with our books.
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