Hello and welcome back.  We’ve made it to the last day!  Thanks for hanging in here with me.  🙂  So, without any further ado, let us get on to Day 7.

We left our hotel at 8:30; it was a drizzly, dreary morning.  We wanted to take a different route home this time, so instead of heading back through Big Thompson Canyon, we went south on C7.  Soon after we passed the Long’s Peak area, we came to an awesome log building called Meeker Park Lodge.  Of course, we stopped and checked it out.  Meeker Park Lodge has been run by the same family since 1922.  Besides the Lodge, there are rustic cabins scattered around the property as well as a recreation hall, general store, laundromat, and stables.  Looks like a truly peaceful place to stay and explore.

Awesome stairway in Meeker Park Lodge, CO

Railing full of character

Rustic cabin on Meeker Park Lodge property

Above and below, rustic cabins on Meeker Lodge property

Meeker Park cabin, Allenspark, CO

Secluded and peaceful…..

Black Hawk, CO

Walkway in Black Hawk

Black Hawk, CO

Black Hawk, neat town 🙂

Mining beside I-70 in Colorado

Mining right beside the interstate

Ski runs with no snow

What ski runs look like without snow!

We accidentally ended up in the town of Lyons, but that was okay because we got to drive through beautiful South St. Vrain Canyon twice!  We drove through Nederland, a place we had heard a lot about, and then got to Black Hawk.  That town is basically nothing but casinos.  The buildings are big and well taken care of, very appealing!  We didn’t go in, though.

We had decided that we wanted to drive west for awhile before heading east for home, so we got on I-70 West at Idaho Springs.  There are many tunnels on I-70.  Have you been through the Eisenhower Tunnel?  It is over 1.5 miles long!

 I love all the towns on I-70.  They exude history and excitement.  Many are/were mining towns, and they just cling to the sides of the mountains.  There is a variety of beautiful scenery on I-70, but you have to look quickly.  The speed limit is 80 mph!  Sometimes, especially while going down the steep grades, it is hard to hold it to 80 mph.  It is quite an adventure just driving the interstate in this part of Colorado!  😮

We tried a new place to eat that day.  We stopped in Silverthorne and ate at Smashburger.  I loved it!  When we got home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Omaha has 3 Smashburgers.  😀

First time eating Smashburger, YUM!

My first Smashburger ever  🙂

Tunnel in the Rockies

One of many tunnels on I-70

Runaway truck ramp on I-70, Colorado

These runaway truck ramps are exhilarating just thinking of what could happen here  😯

After that good lunch, we continued on, exiting the interstate in favor of US 24, a 2-lane highway.  In 2013, we had taken a road trip through Colorado instead of just staying in Estes and spending all our time in the Park, and this was one of the areas that we had been in.  We were glad to revisit this extremely scenic area, although this time it was cloudy.  🙁

I am sharing this photo of the Minturn Country Club (although it is rain-splotched) to give you another example of how most (all) Colorado towns are so colorful!

Minturn, CO

Brightly painted buildings and, oh so many, potted flowers!

On our 2013 trip, we had seen this most awesome green bridge but hadn’t taken the time to go into the nearby town.  I had wanted to see that town, Red Cliff, ever since, so this time we did go check it out.  The town, population 267, is a former mining camp situated in the canyon of the Eagle River just off US Highway 24.  (We should have left it a mystery because imagining it was better than the real thing!)  OOPS!

Awesome bridge near Red Cliff, CO

Unique bridge near Red Cliff (sunny picture taken in 2013)

So colorful! Near Red Cliff, CO

So cloudy, but still colorful scenery!

Near Red Cliff, CO

Good view, I liked the low hanging clouds

Red Cliff, CO nestled in the mountains

Red Cliff, a tiny town nestled into the mountains

On to Leadville, which is the highest incorporated city (10,152 in elevation) in the U.S.  Alma, Colorado is the highest statutory town at 10,578 feet.

While we’re on the subject, just a bit of history about Leadville.  Formerly a silver mining town, it lies in the heart of the ruggedly beautiful Rocky Mountains.  Founded in 1877, Leadville contains many historic structures and sites from its dynamic mining era.  It was the second most populous city in Colorado, after Denver, in the late 19th century!

With the Sawatch Mountain Range containing Colorado’s two highest peaks to the west and the Mosquito Range with North America’s highest mountain pass to the east, Leadville sits in a high mountain valley.  It is literally surrounded by the mountains and has one of the most amazing views of any town that we’ve seen!

Colorful Leadville, CO

Leadville has vibrantly-colored buildings, too!

Leadville, CO

This view doesn’t show it, but Leadville is completely surrounded by the Rockies.  😀  Sunny photo taken in 2013

Mountain poking through the clouds

The wonderful “hole” in the clouds 🙂

Sunset in Nebraska

Perfect ending to our trip!

We started heading back east.  😥  It had been a dreary and rainy day but before we left the highest part of the mountains, a “hole” appeared in the clouds and gave us a good view of the mountains that we had been surrounded by, but basically hadn’t seen, all day!

Our trip was coming to a close.  We stayed in Paxton, NE that night and drove home the next day.  Thanks to our daughter, Chelsea, and her husband, Jacob, for house and dog sitting!  ♥

It had been a good trip, well maybe except for the first and last days!  (If you missed Day 1, go read about that adventure!)

We were blessed with a beautiful sunset as a perfect ending to the trip!  Ahhh  🙂

Well, that does it for this Estes trip.  Thanks for sticking around.  Until next time,

Blessings and blooms,

Pam

Author: Pam

Glad you’re here!