Camping in RMNP

Sunday, August 1, 2010

I woke today to the sun streaming through the passenger window. I checked to make sure it wasn’t a photographic sunrise, then I checked the time….6:10am. Ugh, too early still. I fell back asleep and was soon awakened by the sun right in my face! Only 7:30am, but it’s too sunny and now warm to stay in the car.
I took advantage of the wifi here at Beaver Meadows Visitor’s Center and at 8:00am I was inside inquiring about campground status’s. They were just getting the report and luckily there were “some” spots open at the Glacier Basin Campground. Woohoo!

Entering the park proved to be time consuming with the lines of cars at the 4 entry booths. This reminded me of Six Flags or Disney Land. I know the place is popular! Then at Glacier Basin Campground there was another line of cars to get in. We waited there for more than 10 minutes and I’m guessing the ranger was not at the booth. Finally I secured my campsite for the next 4 nights.
The campsite is very roomy and quite nice for a first-come, first-serve site. I was able to get one in the shade, even. I noted in passing that most people had those multi-room walk in tents and pop-up shelters next to it over the picnic bench, but I only had my 2-person tent. After setting up and getting the car organized again, I started down the road just planning to stop when I felt like it.

I found a stream alongside the road that was littered with rocks, boulders, fallen trees, and all kinds of natural debris to create rapids. I walked along with my tripod and took advantage of the cloudy weather to get photos of the moving water.
I also stopped at Hollowell Park area which was pretty much deserted. I had a peaceful lunch and watched the birds in the trees and admired the meadow in front of me.

At the Moraine Visitor’s Center I got some advice on waterfall locations and learned about the Rocky Mountains in their museum displays. The museum was just the upper floor of the ranger center with several displays, but was informative and not swarming with kids. I also looked around their artist area and got some inspiration for photography in the park. One photo was of the moraine area just across the way. As it started drizzling I walked along the creek looking for good photo opportunities to make note of to come back when it wasn’t so wet.
While walking I looked up and saw a herd of animals a little distance away. I thought, elk! Then I remembered there was a stable nearby and those were probably just horses. I watched and this was definitely a herd of animals not horses guiding people. I debated hiking towards them along the creek to get a closer view or driving to a road I saw in the distance. I decided to drive over and found a good place to pull over for a good view. This was indeed a herd of elk, cows to be exact. I watched and took pictures and slowly the whole road filled up with cars all parked on the side of the road. People were streaming from their cars and holding cameras just walking out across the meadow towards the elk. I believe the park has a policy about staying on the trail, and this act of pure tourism at its worst took away from my moment with the elk. We had an all out “elk jam” on the road much like the “bear jams” in Yellowstone Park. I marked the spot to see if they were here later and I decided to head back out to the Beaver Meadow Visitor’s Center for some wifi.

Having secured a campsite already, I planned to be lazy today. Plus the threatening rain made sitting at the Visitor’s Center with my laptop sound like a good plan. I was able to talk to Mark for awhile and upload my photos to the computer.

My only real plan for today was to find a good spot for sunset photos and the Bear Lake area was recommended. So, up the windy road, through the rain I went.
At Bear Lake the parking lot was nearly empty as everything had left due to the rains. It was raining pretty hard and not really worth getting out, so I read my book and listened to the rain. Finally, I decided that it was time to go hiking in the rain. It’s been a while since I’ve worn full rain gear and I’m glad I have it.

Bear Lake has a short nature trail that loops around the lake and I meandered around it. I felt free with no bag, no tripod, nothing in my hands. However, I also kept stopping at wonderful photo opportunities and wishing I had brought my gear.

I watched the rain falling in a puddle and though about what settings I would use on my camera to capture the ripples. I watched the clouds flow over the surrounding mountain peaks and thought about how great those would look in a photo. I saw the section of trees that was multi-colored looking almost like fall because the Mountain Pine Beetles have killed so many trees in the area. I sat for a while in a most beautiful scene of dripping water, droplets holding stubbornly onto pine needles, and grasses stretched like long fingers across the edges of the lake underwater. At one point I even considered going back for gear, but instead I sat and just watched. I saw a weasel of some sort dart down the trail. I watched chipmunks play. I looked at the beautiful panorama even through the rain. The grass that was stretched just under the surface of the water reminded me of the inferi in the Harry Potter books. I just finished Book 6 on audio book over the thousand miles up here and I’m sure that’s why I was reminded.

I emerged from the lake trail and noted that the temperature was 52 at the ranger station. Brr, no wonder I’m comfortable in 3 layers. =)
I couldn’t think of anything else to do in the rain at the moment and still had hopes that it would stop before sunset. So, now I’m typing up my journal under an overhang as it rains while a chipmunk races around my feet hoping for food.
The rain slowed down, but there was no hit of clouds clearing for sunset. So, I headed back to camp early to make dinner and head to bed. I was very disappointed that my camp stove would not light tonight. I don’t know if it’s broken or if it’s just me. I’ll take it into town tomorrow.

Sand Gets Everywhere

Saturday, July 31, 2010

It’s not raining! I was very happy to wake up to dry weather, though still cloudy. As I waited for the Oasis store and camp headquarters (the private campsite I arrived at last night) to open I walked around and took some landscape photos, noticing the fog sitting on the side of the mountain where the campsites were supposed to be. The car wasn’t amazingly comfortable, but I was happy to hot have wet gear.

I had a marvelous shower at the Oasis facilities and then proceeded on to Great Sand Dunes National Monument. I was rather shocked at the $3 entrance fee that would last the whole week!

The park is rather large, with only a portion of the park containing the sand dunes. I didn’t realize the park included forested trails as well. But I’m not here for trees, I’m here for sand.

At only 10am it was feeling toasty under the sun which had escaped the clouds. I realized that I could wear shorts as there would be no tall grasses to brush my legs as I hiked passed and I headed into the sand. Hiking on sand is similar to snowshoeing because there are no trails and you do not harm the environment by walking your own path. However, everyone was headed to the highest sand dune where a 360-degree view of the surrounding area was promised by the visitor’s center. So, that’s where I was going to.

I immediately noted that the dampish sand was much easier to walk on than the sand dunes I walked on it Australia. In Australia, we took a trip through sand dunes to go sand toboganning which was simply sliding, head first, down the dune on a long piece of wood that was waxed. I remember in AU, each stem up the dune was like taking one step up and sliding half a step down. It was an insane climb! Well, with this somewhat damp, though rapidly drying sand, it was much easier to step. What got me most was the altitude. We were about 7,500 feet up and my Houston lungs needed frequent breaks as I hiked in the sand for 1.5 miles up 750 feet across several dunes.

I had fun both enjoying the landscape and people watching. The dunes were gorgeous. The sand in some places was rippled by wind and the clouds made interesting shadows on the dunes. I took many, many photos while I breathed heavily during my breaks. The people were interesting as well. I saw little toddlers playing in the sand as if it were a beach. I saw 8 year old boys sprinting past their parents who were calling after them in huffs and puffs. Many people carried sleds in order to slide down much like I went sand toboganning in AU. The sleds ranged from cardboard (which the ranger station said wasn’t the best) to plastic snow sleds, to tops of coolers, to obviously special boards meant to slide on sand. But the most memorable was a group of teenagers who were climbing to the top. The oldest was carrying a snowboard and boots! The others had plastic snow sleds. They heaved their way up the dune chanting, or more descriptively, gasping the words: “I’m alive. I’m alert. And I feel great!” I have to say that that chant stuck in my head too as I climbed to the top.
At the top of the tallest dune, I found many people sitting in the sand relaxing. I was very impressed by the view of all the sand dunes in the distance. I was impressed by spots of white who were obviously humans out there hiking through all that sand. I was even more impressed when a family arrived that all knew gymnastics. Down a slight incline, they all did backflips, roundoffs, and other amazing stunts while we all watched and clapped. Amazing! And to do it down an incline of sand! Of course many people were scouting out areas to slide down and the slides looked quite thrilling into deep pits of sand that then had to be scaled to get out.

Finally, I left. Coming down the dune was much easier than going up, but my hiking boots were full of sand by the time I reached the bottom! I dumped as much sand as possible in the parking lot, had lunch, and then started on my drive north.
Most of today’s 300 miles drive to Rocky Mountain National Park will be on interstate 25 which means less stops. I did stop when I saw a lightning storm in the distance, but was still out of the rain. I tried to get a photo, but never did get lucky. Oh well, I will eventually find a storm to photograph. I listened to the rest of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I reached Colorado Springs and Denver around 5p and just in time for the evening traffic. Oh well. I looked at my navigation and was excited to see that I was very likely to arrive in the park before dark. Setting up the tent in light is much easier than in the dark!
I did indeed arrive in Estes Park before dark and boy was it crowded! There was some horse show this weekend and the fairgrounds were full of RVs and horse trailers. In fact, the whole town was fully of RVs in various private campgrounds. I’ve never seen so many in one place before. Also, everyone was out on the town. The small town’s sidewalks were so stuffed with people that I was reminded of New York City.

At the Beaver Meadows Visitors Center just outside the park I was disappointed to find out that the campgrounds were all full. I knew it would be popular as there were no reservations available online and only the first-come, first-serve camping was available. I had arrived too late, however. The ranger told me about some overflow camping 13 miles away around the side of the park and I headed off in that direction to find it full as well. On my way back I stopped everywhere looking for a tent site vacancy, or even an Inn vacancy to no avail. Finally I came back to Beaver Meadows Visitor Center at least to get ready for bed and consider sleeping in my car again.

I bumped into a ranger who was checking up on the area and he told me that indeed though I was not allowed to sleep in this parking lot in my car, that other people did it all the time and I should too. He told me that the rangers would stop patrolling in just an hour and if one stopped me I was to say “I’m sorry, but I’ve been driving all day and I am afraid of getting in an accident if I drive anymore.” Apparently that’s the secret pass code. This was quite true as I was exhausted. Luckily no rangers came to patrol the area and I even found a more comfortable spot to sleep in the car. The nightly weather was in the 50s, so with my sleeping bag as a cover, I was quite comfortable in the car.

Driving through Texas

Friday, July 30, 2010
I opened my eyes to a beautiful sunrise! Wow, my breath was taken away as I noticed my tent faced the rising sun over the lake. The orange ball of fire begged to have its picture taken, but my camera was in the car, so I settled for some iphone photos.

I was up much earlier than expected (around 7am) and was able to pack up the campsite before my scheduled phone call with Mark. He was able to call my cell phone using his skype service and we managed to talk for a while before the reception got too bad.

Then, I was on my way, back on 287 going towards Amarillo. I passed the signs for Palo Duro Canyon State Park which Mark had recommended, but I thought that if I kept going, I had a chance to reach Great Sand Dunes National Monument in Colorado before dark, so I kept going. I did have to turn off the road to go see the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum.

Then, I saw Cadillac Ranch on the left side of the road and just had to turn around and go back to see it. I’ve heard of it and seen photos and I wanted to see it for myself. Unfortunately it was the middle of the day, so the harsh mid-day sun did not provide the best lighting for photos. But, you get what you get. I noticed that most people arriving brought spray paint cans to add to their own graffiti to the ten graffiti-covered cars that are half-buried, nose-down, facing west "at the same angle as the Cheops' pyramids."

I was excited to see the sign that I was leaving Texas and entering New Mexico. I was at the very north western most corner of the Texas panhandle and entering Mountain Time Zone. New Mexico was a short drive compared to crossing Texas and I only briefly stopped at a few places for rests. Then, I arrived in Colorado.
I’ve never been to Colorado in the summer and really have only been to Steamboat Springs for skiing. So, I was excited to be here in the state that hosts adventure, a multitude of national parks, the Rocky Mountains, and so much more. There is so much in this state that I want to do, but my main destination is Rocky Mountain National Park, so I will head there instead of going everywhere. =)
My goal was to hit the Great Sand Dunes National Monument before dark so that I could secure a campsite and set up my tent in the light. However, I came across a lightning storm in the distance and just had to stop before I entered the storm to try and take some photos. I thought for sure I’d be able to get a photo of lightning, but after spending a good amount of time trying and not succeeding, I decided to continue on.

I drove through a crazy storm to get to the park. While I was inside the storm I wished I could somehow take photos of the lightning because there was quite a show. Finally I passed through the worst of the storm and arrived at Great Sand Dunes NM after dark and in the rain. The campground was full. =( I drove out a little ways to a private campsite just outside the park that offered tent camping. However, it was dark, raining and their sign said that the road to the campsites had been washed out from the heavy rains and to go carefully. I decided to skip that in the dark.

I didn’t have much choice at this point. I could drive many miles to the nearest town, or I could just sleep in my car. So, I did. It wasn’t so bad and it was pleasant to be out of the rain while I slept. I do love my Prius as so much stuff fits in it and it is quite a versatile little car. Well, it works pretty well as a bed, too. Good thing I’m small.

Spontaneous Travel

Thursday, July 29, 2010

And so it begins. I am looking forward to this road trip. I am planning on being spontaneous for one week before I meet my college roommates in Denver, CO for our annual roommate reunion. I put my tent and sleeping bag in the car and I have no reservations to be anywhere until August 5th. My adventure starts today.
The drive north is so far mundane and uneventful. I started listening to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and this passes the driving time on I-45 quite nicely. Only when I exit 45 and go towards Fort Worth am I on roads I’ve never driven before.

In Fort Worth I passed a 7-Eleven and immediately exited to turn around and go back for my slurpee. Unfortunately my exit took me far out of the way and in attempts to get back to where I had been before I passed another 7-Eleven. =) That works for me. Slurpees are not available in Houston and have always been a part of our visits to Dallas.

After Fort Worth, I traveled northwest on US 287. For the most part I drove straight through looking forward to leaving the heat of Texas, but I did stop at rest stops to use the wifi and take frequent breaks. Most of the rest stops along this route had signs warning to watch for rattlesnakes.

As sunset approached, I exited US 287 to find a good spot for a photograph. I did find a decent spot with little passing traffic to set up my tripod.

With darkness approaching, I started watching for camping signs. I saw a sign for Lake Arrowhead State Park near Wichita Falls and decided to take a chance on it. Luckily, the park did offer overnight camping and was fairly empty. I drove around in the darkness looking for a decent campsite and found one that I knew I didn’t want. There were two skunks fighting each other with tails raised and everything! It was too dark for photos, and I moved on.

When I did locate a campsite, I was happy to note that I was in a nice open area perfect for taking star pictures. While taking star photos, a skunk wandered by and I spent the whole night worried about skunks. The moon rose over the lake, dark orange, and about three quarters full. There was a nice breeze which cooled the temps down into the high 70s and I had a wonderful night camping in Texas. Usually Texas camping involves sweating on top of a sleeping bag. Tonight was perfect temperature. Clear skies and no rain meant no rain fly on my tent, too, so I felt the breeze through the tent.

MS150 is finished

We had a blast on the 2010 MS150 as usual.

We biked with the Schlumberger Team for the second year in a row. The start point was behind the main start line, so we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes until we actually got on the road.

We encountered a little bit of drizzle on the way out of Houston, but the rest of Day 1 was awesome. We had a great tailwind taking us all the way into LaGrange. We rode our first century (100 miles) on day 1. I was very excited to make it to LaGrange and find that I had trained well this year. I had no pain or really any discomfort. I think my training on the San Antonio rolling hills helped a lot this year. Also, all that training into the headwind, in the rain, and in cold weather helped us become quite tough. =)

We felt like there were less cyclists on the road than usual this year. I do not know the actual numbers that biked, but perhaps the prediction of heavy rains scared some away.

The second day of the MS150 started out rather cold and wet. All night it stormed and poured, but when we left the tent at 5:30am, it wasn't raining. Once we got in line, however, it poured on us. So, we got a wet start. Luckily we had no rain on the actual ride and no rain for the rest of the day. Mark and I took the Challenge Route through Bastrop Park again this year. The park route is very challenging with many hills and technical turns. We made it through and only fell behind Erik by about an hour for the rest of the ride. After lunch the headwinds picked up, but they were fairly light and we'd trained so much in the wind this year that we could keep a good pace even in the wind.

Arriving in Austin is always an amazing rush. All the volunteers and spectators make me feel like a hero. I always get a little choked up biking into the finish amidst all the cheers. We found out that the ride ended exactly at the parking garage where my car was! So, we went ahead and put our bikes away. Once they were packed up we realized we couldn't take the customary bike-over-our-head photo in front of the Capitol. Oh well, we've got plenty of those photos.

At the Schlumberger tent we caught up with Erik and his family and had yummy burgers for our after-ride meal. We had a great time on the ride. I can't wait for next year, but I'm sad that Mark will have to miss it. He's schedule to be in Algeria for next years MS150.

See all our photos here:
http://www.photobooksolutions.com/personal/2010/MS150_2010/

See three videos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gumchain/sets/72157623782392081/

2010 MS150

The 2010 MS150 is right around the corner. In fact, here's the countdown timer:



I only have a few training photos from this year. We've had lots of very windy rides, rainy rides, and chilly rides. With these conditions, I don't pull out my camera often. Anyway, enjoy.

Smart Car

Here's a photo showing the dimensions of the Smart Car. Mark could sit inside the car and touch both the front windshield and rear windshield at the same time. However, we definitely both had adequate room inside the car both of us and our luggage. See the second photo to see how much luggage we brought.