Scary and Magnificent Old Fall River Road

The eleven mile stretch of Old Fall River Road is a must for anyone visiting the Rocky Mountains.  There are very few people on the road and the scenic drive will take your breath away.  It started raining and the clouds were draped over the mountain range like a cloak.  The twist and turns of the road made me nervous and there was only one way to go and that was upward until you reached the top to the Alpine Visitor Center.  Once you start the trip on the dirt road, it is one way and no turning around!  The posted speed limit is 15 miles per hour, a journey up Old Fall River Road is not for the impatient. There are no guard rails along this road.  I plan to go back and hike some of the trips to the different falls.

Coyote Valley Trail Head - "Above the Bright Blue Sky"

 

 

 

The Coyote Valley Trail is a easy family friendly nature trail that makes a loop along the Colorado River in the Kawuneeche Valley. This trail is level, wide, and smooth. The trail begins from the handicapped parking area and travels across the Colorado River over a stone bridge. It was a nice area to fish and have a picnic.  The sky had swirling clouds against a bright blue heaven. These pictures of the sky is perfect imagery for a very popular children's poem written by Albert Midlane in the 19th century "Above the Bright Blue Sky."

 

Above the Bright Blue Sky

By Albert Midlane (1825-1909)

There's a Friend for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
A Friend who never changes
Whose love will never die;
Our earthly friends may fail us,
And change with changing years,
This Friend is always worthy
Of that dear name he bears.
There's a home for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
Where Jesus reigns in glory,
A home of peace and joy;
No home on earth is like it,
Nor can with it compare;
And everyone is happy,
Nor could be happier there.

Ute Trail at Poudre Lake

Ute Trail is moderate in difficulty but it was a cold crisp day and wet from rain which made it slippery on steep rocky paths.  We started the hike at Poudre Lake and the trail was muddy in places and you climbed upward and toward the rocky cliffs.  The trail leads to the Alpine Visitor Center a distance of 5 miles which I was not prepared to do. Several hikers wearing appropriate hiking attire and backpacks past us on the trail. My feet and ankles needed a break from the previous days hiking trip.

Grand Lake Colorado

This was taken from the historical Grand Lake Lodge.

Rocks and More Rocks, Oh My!

 The stone cliffs are from the Old Fall River Road and the Continental Divide.

Horseshoe Park and Falls

 

 

View from Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountains at Horseshoe Park.

Red Mushrooms Rocky Mountains

The mushroom which is red with white spots and grows in and around the Rocky Mountains is called Amanita Muscaria. The more common name for this mushroom is Fly Agaric. This mushroom can be deadly to humans if consumed. If the mushroom is prepared properly it can produce hallucinogenic effects.

Lulu City's Mother Moose

Lulu City is on the Colorado River and a mother moose and her calf decided to join us.  We quickly left the river and headed into the trees to avoid a hostile mother.

Hiking the Lulu City Trail Head

The Lulu City Trail head follows the Colorado River. Following the route of an old wagon road to the Shipler Mine and Lulu City, this hiking trail follows the Colorado River up the Kawuneeche Valley through Lodgepole Pine and Spruce forests to Lulu City. It rained heavily and we were stucked in a hail storm for 30 minutes.  We used an island of trees among the path as refuge from the storm.  The trail became swampy and white hail balls covered the ground.  There are a lot of stones and high cliffs along the trail. 

Tree Goblins

Strange twisted tree trucks were in our path hiking the Rocky Mountains.  I call them tree goblins. The kind J.R. Tolkien wrote in his books are also called Orcs.  Orc is from Old English orcneas, which appears in the epic poem Beowulf, and refers to one of the races who are called the offspring of Cain.

Humming "Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold"

 

With thunderstorms comes mist and the mountains were misty and cold during and after the thunder and rain.  In fact, many times it was hail coming down on top of my head.  Several times I started humming the lyrics of the dwarves' song from The Hobbit  "Far Over the misty mountains cold".

 

Full lyrics to the dwarves’ song from chapter 1 of The Hobbit

 

"Thunderclouds of Love" Sunset

Not all sunsets are brilliant colors of red and pink streaks in the sky.  There was a thunder storm everyday I was in the Rocky Mountains. I love being caught on the trails and getting soaking wet!  The temperature dropped drastically when the sun is covered with dark clouds.  These are photos of the sun setting over Columbine Lake. There is a bluegrass song entitled "Thunderclouds of love." 

Thunderclouds of love

 Your love hit me just like a flash of lightning
It came pouring from the thunder clouds of love
At first the turn of love was frightening
Now I know that it was sent from God above
I had been prayin' for nights on end
For some one who could make me laugh again
Then all at once from the darkness of my heart
There grew a light, the light was you love, fell like rain
No more, no more will I ever be lonely
I'll always have you here with me to love
An angel sent for an angel coming
To fill my heart with thunder clouds of love

Deep Within the Heart of a Mountain My Soul Longs to be...

 

The lady in red is me walking on The Medicine Bow Trail.  The image conveys a lonely feeling to see the vastness of the mountains and how small I am in comparison but I was feeling exuberant and not lonely at all.  There was no place I would rather be then on a mountain top.  I felt like I was close to heaven.  There are so many spectacular views that it is hard to know where to start.  I did not have the resources to document the name of the mountains and the valleys in my photographs.  At Medicine Bow you can see 20 miles of mountain ranges and Wyoming 35 miles away.

Deep Within the Heart of a Mountain...

Deep Within the Heart of a Mountain
My Soul Longs to be...
There's a fire burning,
A passion so deep within my soul
 It blazes like the sun
 With an unquenchable fire
To follow every mountain path
 To Touch the earth's greatest majesties
To see what the eagle sees
In flight over the mountain peaks
and into the valleys below...
By PL Fallin

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow express a love for the sea the way I feel about the mountains:

The Secret of the Sea

Ah! what pleasant visions haunt me
   As I gaze upon the sea!
All the old romantic legends,
   All my dreams, come back to me.

Sails of silk and ropes of sandal,
   Such as gleam in ancient lore;
And the singing of the sailors,
   And the answer from the shore!

Most of all, the Spanish ballad
   Haunts me oft, and tarries long,
Of the noble Count Arnaldos
   And the sailor's mystic song.
  
Like the long waves on a sea-beach,
   Where the sand as silver shines,
With a soft, monotonous cadence,
   Flow its unrhymed lyric lines:--
Telling how the Count Arnaldos, 
    With his hawk upon his hand,
Saw a fair and stately galley,
   Steering onward to the land;--
  
How he heard the ancient helmsman
   Chant a song so wild and clear,
That the sailing sea-bird slowly
   Poised upon the mast to hear,
  
Till his soul was full of longing,
   And he cried, with impulse strong,--
"Helmsman! for the love of heaven,
   Teach me, too, that wondrous song!"
"Wouldst thou,"--so the helmsman answered,
   "Learn the secret of the sea?
Only those who brave its dangers
   Comprehend its mystery!"

In each sail that skims the horizon,
   In each landward-blowing breeze,
I behold that stately galley,
   Hear those mournful melodies;

Till my soul is full of longing
   For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
   Sends a thrilling pulse through me.

Ranger Meadows Trail at Shadow Lake Dam

Shadow Lake was formed by the dam built on the Colorado River near Lake Grand.  Ranger Meadows Trail loops to the dam and the trail follows the Colorado River south.  There were a lot of wild flowers in the meadows among the tall grasses.

 

 

The Colorado River was wider and deeper at the south end of the dam.  On trails north in the Rocky Mountains, the River waters are shallow and narrow like a creek.