2 Chicas Three Times the
Fun at the Triple Falls
The drive to Rifle Falls
was interesting as 2 Chicas drove through the town and wound around and around
a mountain (especially to two flat state inhabitants). It was a weird trip in that the road seemed
to lead to a number of personal homes, but we kept right on going until we
drove into the park. 2 Chicas were relieved to see our destination right before
our ears. We could hear the water rushing which really excited Chica 1.
So up the Coyote Trail we
go to investigate the caves. Chica 2 kept repetitively saying she was going to
see Batman! Chica 2 was warning Chica 1 that when she found Batman, she would
have no problem using her whip on him. Lawd!
Upon arrival to the first cave,
Chica 1 was surprised at the tight quarters. It was more of a cup than a cave.
A hike around the area and to multiple caves 2 Chicas ended up behind the
falls. It was a pleasant hike, but to Chica 2’s disappointment, no Batman.
Reading the information
on the stations, Chica 1 was devastated to discover that one of the falls is
manmade. There are pipes redirecting the water over the limestone cliffs. Chica
2 wondered aloud why the ubiquitous they didn’t go ahead and make the falls
have six cascades.
Come on Chica 2, let’s
keep hiking. The trail had some large drop off areas that gave Chica 1 and her
short little legs trouble. Chica 2 was extremely patient and surprisingly,
never tried to trip Chica 1.Outside of the large step downs, the trail was pretty easy. Rifle Falls is a nice park, just a little advice for the caretakers – please do something with those bathrooms. They were pretty disgusting; Chica 2 said they were way beyond disgusting.
Rifle Falls State Park
offers a number of outdoor exploration opportunities! Get to the falls and take
a hike to the caves. Maybe you’ll have better luck than Chica 2 at finding your
dream man in an isolated grotto. Doesn’t sound quite the same does it?
2 Chicas Behind the Vail
Well two worn travelers
decided to stop roughing it and spend a little pamper time in Vail prior to
ascending into the Great Rocky Mountains. Our trip so far had taken us from
Denver, south to Alamosa, west across the state to the Four Corners, back north
through Ouray, up to Rifle Falls and now east to Vail. Before the trip is over,
2 Chicas would go a little further north to the Rockies and back to Denver.
The greater amenities are
in the spa and surrounding dining, shopping and ambiance. There were great sales going on in the nearby
shops. A cup of coffee and some people watching was great fun. The hotel staff
will drop off and pick up guests anywhere in Vail Village. 2 Chicas had a
lovely dinner at Sweet Basil a restaurant recommended by the concierge. The
multi-course meal was exquisite and both Chicas were happy girls!
We did it! Now Chica 2 was sitting in front of the fireplace having a chat with the country. She was in her presidential mode, and for once, she actually made sense. Tee hee hee
If we had known the place
was going to be this much fun, we might have missed the adventures throughout
the state. Well, maybe not, but it was well worth the stop. 2 Chicas would
greatly recommend going behind the veil and spend some quality time in Vail.
There is something to do even if you don’t want to ski so dote on yourself why
don’t you?
2 Chicas Rock On the Rockies
2 Chicas had two choices heading up to the
Rockies. We could travel from west of the divide, up Hwy 40 to Hwy 34 or come
in from the east through Estes Park.
We chose the western route. We drove
around the edge of the Arapaho National Forest as well as the Arapaho National
Recreation Area. Chica 2 wanted to jump in Lake Granby, but admitted it was a
little too cold to take a chance.
It seemed like we were
winding and twisting forever up and around until we arrived at the most
picturesque area in Grand Lake.
We stopped to admire the beautiful lake with
the snow covered peaks in the background. Within a matter of minutes we had
arrived at our destination, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Chica 2 pulled into
the Kawuneeche Visitor Center and had to be stopped from sprinting inside to
see what type of wildlife had been spotted in the park.
2 Chicas were quickly
disappointed that the weather was going to be a huge factor for our trip. The ranger shared that the main road still
had 20 feet of snow blocking the path to Estes Park. Good thing we didn’t come
from that direction, we would have made very little progress into the park. She did say there had been moose and bear seen
in the park.
Chica 2 was ready to go
find herself a bear! Chica 1 asked if there was any type of insurance available
for purchase for knucklehead visitors. The ranger smiled and reminded us to be
careful. On the road again, 2 Chicas were stunned at the number of fallen
trees. Quite a few times on the road, we had to stop for prolonged periods of
time while crews cleared trees. All those downed trees made hiking seem a
little risky.
Passing Harbison Meadows
Chica 2 rolled down the window and took in a deep breath of air. Then, she
immediately complained that her nostril hairs were frozen. Chica 1 peered up
her nose and agreed that there were frozen tinsels hanging from each hair. With all the ongoing whining, she must have
been in a good amount of pain. Tee hee hee
Chica 1 was in awe of the
pine forests. She too leaned out the window and inhaled, but her experience was
much better. The crispness of the air and the scent of the ponderosa pine
filled her lungs with a little breath of heaven. Chica 2 drove all the way up to the closed
area. It was a little shocking to see the huge mound of snow on the road. It
didn’t look real, but those mountains, with the mist floating over the highest
peaks were incredible. At every vantage point, Chica 1 was enthralled with the
idea that God had created such splendor for his children to enjoy.
2 Chicas pull into Holzwarth Historic Site and it a light snow falls. 2
Chicas were going to hike out to see the Great Ditch, but we had to ditch that
idea due to the amount of the snow on the ground. With no snow shoes, our feet
were sinking eight inches in the ground.
2 Chicas turned into
little kids making snowballs and having a good old fashioned snow fight. After
a few snowballs to the face, Chica 2 was ready to go look for that bear again.
On the way back to the car, Chica 1 stepped on a large stick which broke. Chica
2 took off sprinting to the car, thinking a bear was close behind. Another
Chica 1 theory proved true; our little RoadRunner was off and running!
We stopped at each
trailhead trying to explore as much of the limited area available to us and
making the best of the time we had at the park. As we prepared to leave, Chica
2 had the saddest look on her face. She was so sad that she had not seen any
animals. No bighorn sheep, wolves, bears, elk, etc. I told her that God fills
the desires of our hearts and that we would see wildlife before we left.
Sure enough, as we
rounded the bend just past the Coyote Valley Trailhead, there were about three
cars pulled off on the side of the road. Their occupants were in the middle of
the road taking pictures of moose! Chica
1 pulled over and joined the others standing dangerously in the middle of the
street.
Returning to the car, Chica
2 had mist in her eyes saying: “Chica 1 you said God would let us see something
and He did!” Yes, Chica 2 He even hears the small requests that are in our
hearts. God is good all the time! This quiet worship stayed with us back down
the mountain.
Just as we got outside
the park, barely outside of Grand Lake, another set of moose were grazing just
off the road. Chica 2 was at peace. It
wasn’t a bear or bighorn sheep, but it was enough. Chica 2’s revelation was
that sometimes in this wonderful life, enough is really a whole lot. 2 Chicas
hope you can visit the Rocky Mountains and have your enough moment! If not
here, have your experience of fullness and peace somewhere….
2 Chicas Searching for a
Rocky Mountain High
2 Chicas arrived in
Denver road weary and very hungry. Chica 2 wanted to go to Cherry Cricket and
get her version of comfort food, a hamburger. The restaurant was jumping and
there was a wait. A cupcake truck owner smartly parked outside the joint to get
waiting customers to buy his sweet treats.
After being seated, Chica 2 had her
wish and savored every bite of her burger. Cherry Cricket wins best burger in
Denver pretty consistently and 2 Chicas agree with the assessment.
The following day, 2
Chicas headed over to the REI Flagship store to see what all the brouhaha was
about. This is a mega store with everything you could ever imagine for outdoor
excursions. We spent hours looking at all the items in the store.
With time to
spare, we headed downtown, which was vibrant. We shopped, people watched, and had lunch.. 2 Chicas love the frozen tea drinks served with boba, taro balls added to the beverage. The Mango Boba Tea we had in Denver was the best one we've every had! We stumbled upon the Downtown Denver Arts Festival and walked around for quite some time. It was fun but we had to leave prior to the performances.
As we headed to the airport, we quizzed each other over our favorite Colorado experience. It was just too hard to narrow it down to one thing. Our Rocky Mountain high vacation was now over, but we both
agreed that Colorado, and especially Denver required return trips!
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