Laramie to Broomfield

The final two days of the trip were long, exhausting, and too late at night to blog.  I know you all are wondering if we just stayed in Laramie forever!  No, we did not...we got home safely Wednesday night.  I finally am able to get on my computer, so there are three blogs that I will post today...one from Tuesday, one from Wednesday, and an overview/thoughts of the whole trip.  Enjoy reading and thanks for your support and prayers.  They worked, because the thousands of miles we drove went safely.  

Today, I woke up at 8 AM, had breakfast (chocolate oatmeal and apple juice), visited with our friend for a bit more and thanked her for putting us up, fueled up the car, and headed on at 10 AM.  We drove through the Roosevelt National Forest and finally entered Rocky Mountain National Park.  We had lunch there at the  Egg & I Restaurant, where I had an apple-chicken-walnut salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  Also took a cookies-and-cream smoothie to-go.  It was a great lunch.

Then we drove on the Trail Ridge Road (still in the park).  It was gravel and took us to 12,183 feet.  We stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center, which is very near the top at 11,796 feet.  At the visitor center, you can walk through a small museum (it tells mostly about high altitude -- animals, people, climate, all the changes that occur at such high elevation), as well as visit the store.  Of course, we got hatpins and I got a book.  On the way back down, we stopped at an old ski area called Hidden Valley.  Interestingly, that is the name of our hometown ski area, so of course we could not just drive by! :)

At 6 PM, we arrived in Broomfield, Colorado, where we stayed with cousins.  They fixed us a delicious, hearty supper of steaks, corn on the cob, potatoes, salad, yummy bread, and ice cream with strawberries and chocolate syrup for dessert.  They were all so kind, hospitable, and welcoming, and it was really nice to visit with them.  I went to bed at 11 PM.

The view from the Alpine Visitor Center.

~Anna~