Month: January 2019
Mountains, Mountains, and More Mountains

Mountains, Mountains, and More Mountains

By |

Hey Guys! Here’s part two of our Denver area explorations. If you missed part one, you can find it here. We were only in the Denver area for one measly week, but we crammed every bit of adventure we could into that one week.

It was so cold and windy the day we went to Loveland Pass. Alex forgot his jacket and wasn’t up for doing much exploring so we walked around a little, snapped a few pictures, and got back into the warmth of the car.

Even on a cloudy day the view was breathtaking…and not just because it was cold.

We got there right as the clouds started brushing the tops of the mountains. We thought briefly about walking up the trail…but with one of us without a jacket and the bitter cold…we passed.

This picture was taken the same day as the ones on Loveland Pass. We took a drive up the Mount Evans Scenic Byway. We barely squeaked in on the last day the road was open for the 2018 season.

We made it all the way to Summit Lake before we had to stop. The road to the summit was already closed. Alex was still without a jacket so our hiking was pretty limited. It was a balmy 30° with a wind-chill much lower at Summit Lake that October day. Those of us who braved the cold and wind to see the views really wished we had actual coats and not just jackets. But Guys…look at that view!

We saw some female longhorn sheep. There was a whole herd of them just hanging out right by the road. Checking out the cars as they drove by. Meandering into the road whenever they felt like it. We thought they were goats until we talked to a Ranger. The Ranger told us all of the goats had been staying higher up on the mountain. Wildlife is one of our favorite things to see while we’re out exploring.

Here’s another shot of the view. This one was on the way back down. We were super bummed we couldn’t go all the way to the summit. We’ve made plans to go back to Colorado next year and have this on our list of places to revisit. Hopefully, on a warmer day.

Mount Evans, with a height of 14,264 feet, is the twelfth highest mountain in Colorado. The Mount Evans Scenic Byway is the highest paved road in North America and takes you through several biomes before getting to the top. We stopped at the Mount Goliath Natural Area to see the Krummholz Forest.

Krummholz comes from a German word meaning crooked wood. The stunted, twisted trees mark the transition between forest and tundra.

We love National Parks. We basically make all of our plans based on National and State Parks along with the State Capitol Buildings. Jerl had been looking forward to this particular National Park since we started this crazy nomad life. We were staying in Golden, CO so it took us a good two hours to get to the Rocky Mountain National Park. We only had one day to explore RMNP so we got up super early and spent the entire day seeing as much of the park as we could.

It was rut season for the Roosevelt Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park. We were hoping to see and hear them. We hadn’t been in the park an hour yet, and we both saw and heard them. You can’t see them in the picture above, but this is where we were standing when we first herd them. Bugling to one another. Calling out challenges. Staking claims.

The mammas and the babies were grazing by the road.

The day we were at RMNP was the last day the Old Fall River Road was open for the season. We couldn’t have timed it better if we’d tried. And trust me, I try…but this was just a happy coincidence. Old Fall River Road was built between 1913 and 1920 as the first motor route to cross the Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s only a nine mile road, but it took us a couple of hours to traverse it. Every turn was cool enough to stop at and take pictures of and ogle, there were waterfalls to hike to, and all four life zones to learn about. The road ends about half way up the main park road at the Alpine Visitor Center.

 Welcome to the high mountain country! It was super windy up on the mountain at the Alpine Visitor Center. Soooo windy and not even close to warm. But I like the views…so we hiked the Alpine Ridge Trail. The trailhead is right off the Trail Ridge Road which is the highest road in any of the National Parks. The trail itself isn’t long…it’s just over half a mile, but it is a steep climb up 220 or so stairs. The trail ends at 12,000 feet. It was so windy the day we went that we kept expecting to get blown off the trail. It was a pain going up…but it totally made the trip down faster.

The view at the top was spectacular! There were mountains in every direction.

On a different day, we would have stuck around and really taken in the view…maybe even picnicked up there, but the warmth of our car was beckoning to us. So, we looked as long as we could withstand the cold and wind then raced back down the trail to get warmed up.

The aspens were showing off their colors. We found this gorgeous grove along the Trail Ridge Road. Fall colors are some of my favorite colors. I spent a good portion of our time here trying to find some fall foliage.

We were in Colorado three whole weeks. We’ve changed our plans for our next loop so we can spend more time in Colorado. For the first time…in 49 states…we’ve found a state that gives our love of Texas (our home state) a run for its money.

Colorado, we will be back.

See y’all down the road!

#westernloop2018
State Forty-Nine

State Forty-Nine

By |

Hey Guys! I realize that Colorado was actually the thirty-eighth state to be ratified but, for us, it’s the forty-ninth state we’ve been to! We only spent a week in the Denver area, but we crammed so much into that one week that I’m going to break it up into two different posts.

The Colorado State Capitol Building will be the last SCB we visit for a while. It’s SCB number forty-eight for us even though Colorado is state number forty-nine on our map. If you’ve been with us for a while, you might remember that we missed the Alaska SCB. Planning didn’t work out…it would have cost way more than we wanted to spend for us to lay eyes on a building. So, we skipped it and went on a day cruise instead.

On the first floor of the Colorado SCB the “Women’s Gold” wall hanging celebrates all of the achievements of women in Colorado through its first one hundred years of statehood. The maker of this quilt had a little help though…she had 3,500 people put at least one stitch in the wall hanging.

Colorado Rose Onyx marble from Beulah, CO is so rare that all of the known reserves were used to build the SCB. So, if you ever want to see it in person, you’ll have to visit the Colorado State Capitol Building.

Around the dome is the Colorado “Hall of Fame”. There are sixteen stained glass windows depicting individuals who helped with the growth and development of Colorado.

During the tour, we were able to go up into the dome and out on the little walkway around the dome. Check out that view! Those are the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

Between the third floor of the SCB and the dome, there’s a museum. It’s not a huge museum, but it’s packed with a ton of information about Colorado and the SCB.

They call Denver the “Mile High City” because the SCB sits exactly one mile above sea level.

There are three “mile high” markers on the steps of the SCB. The first one was put on the 15th step in 1909.  After the brass cap was stolen seven times within thirty-eight years the “mile high” was etched into the step itself.  In 1969, some students at the University of Colorado remeasured and found that the first measurement was off a bit and a brass cap was installed on the 18th step. In 2003, measurements were taken again and they found that the “mile high” marker was still off…so, another brass cap was installed on the 13th step. You can see all three steps in the picture above.

The exterior cast iron dome was recently restored and covered in more than sixty-five ounces of pure gold.

While we were in the area, we took the time to go visit Buffalo Bill’s grave and museum.

William F. Cody was born in 1846 on a farm in Iowa. Throughout his life, he embraced the Old West and did everything from herding cattle to riding on the Pony Express to scouting for the Army, but it was his time as a buffalo hunter that scored him the name “Buffalo Bill”. In 1872, Buffalo Bill joined a theater production that would one day become Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.

William Cody was buried on Lookout Mountain in 1917 where he loved the view of the Rocky Mountains.

Not far from where Buffalo Bill is buried, is Genesse Mountain Park where you can see Denver’s buffalo herd. There are a couple of overlooks and a few hiking trails you can use to catch a glimpse of them.

On our last day in town, we snuck in a visit to Dinosaur Ridge.

We missed the tour by like…five minutes. So, we opted to walk it. Well, actually, we walked one part, drove to the other parking lot then walked the other part. We probably ended up walking more this way, but the rain was threatening so we tried to stick close-ish to the car.

Dinosaur Ridge is world famous for its dinosaur tracks and bones. Kind of cool to walk where the dinos once walked.

Dinosaur Ridge is known for the world’s first stegosaurus discovery. While you walk the trail, you can touch actual dinosaur fossils.

It’s called a dinosaur bulge. It’s where a big dino…maybe a brontosaur…steps in soft ground like a river bed or mud and it creates this bulge shape as the ground hardens. We’ve been to 49 states, but this is the first time we’ve taken the time to visit a dinosaur site. I can promise you…it won’t be our last. My little science nerds were in paleontology heaven.

Let’s talk foodies! Y’all know we like our burgers! Check out this jalapeno popper burger. Yum-oh!!

Stay tuned for Denver Part Two!

See y’all down the road!

#westernloop2018
Pizza Roundup Leon Gessi

Pizza Roundup Leon Gessi

By |

To my fellow pizza lovers! I bring to you a post from Colorado Springs, CO.

Leon Gessi is a pretty good pizza place. They have all the sizes of pizza right on the wall so you don’t have to ask!

Leon Gessi has a nice crunchy crust, but it’s also pretty soft. It’s a magical combo!

They have lots of toppings to choose from, jalapenos, sausage, peppers. And if you want them all, just get the Kitchen Sink pizza!

They also have some subs, although I think they could use a little more meat. But the sammich looked really good with the sauce to dip it in. My brother really enjoyed it.

I really liked the décor of Leon Gessi. It feels like a cabin. We ate here after a LOOOONG day of exploration. The pizza was even better after all that hiking!

Leon Gessi will always be a special pizza place for me. It’s where I completed my goal of eating pizza in all drive-able states! That’s 49! With that being said, the speed limit on Pizza Street will slow down a bit. I won’t be doing posts as often, but they’ll still be made! We have had some really good pizza… ehem Potsy… and some not so great pizza… sorry Hometown. But I think that there would be some ups and downs with 49 states worth of pizza, right? Speaking of, I’m giving Leon Gessi a 4.5 star review! Well, I think I’ll…

See y’all next time on…

Pizza Street!!

Written by Nicholas