Day 4 Rocky Mountain Higher

We woke up early eager to make it to the Rockies and quietly rolled out of the campground before anyone really knew we were there. Still traveling on Route 36 just south of Nebraska, This might be the loneliest roads in America. We had breakfast at a little ranch town named Cope. When we walked in, the half dozen or so locals all went silent. We were definitely not from around here. The conversations started up again and the cowboy in the booth behind us shared his newspaper and we started to feel a little less strange. I don’t think they saw the VW camper. Good thing.

We can see the Rockies off in the distance far past a thunderstorm about 15 miles away. We see antelope playing, No Bull!

Made it to Boulder. Spent some time celebrating the great crossing by wandering around the downtown buying coffee and wondering how everyone here makes a living. Very hip place. Excellent ped and bike accommodations. Please note, I am writing this whole trip off as a business expense.

Next we began the climb to Estes Park. Listened to John Denver sing Rocky Mountain High. Thanks Marty for the CD.

Found a nice lodge further out of town. Rather rustic and quaint. It became a little too rustic the longer we stayed but the showers were hot. Did a little hiking at Lilly Lake to get acclimated to the altitude. It may take awhile, we are at 9000 feet.

Checked out early and drove back into Estes Park to head up into Rocky Mountain National Park for the rest of the day. Finding internet access to keep up with work may be very difficult. This is our first connection in 3 days. The west is truly wild, pardner.