June 10 – 20, 2016: Over the course of ten days we took advantage of the craft beer mecca of Colorado, stopping in at eight breweries and two renowned beer bars:
Euclid Hall, Great Divide Brewing Company, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Gravity Brewing, Avery Brewing Company, Oskar Blues Brewery, The Mayor of Old Town, Odell Brewing Company, New Belgium Brewing, and Funkwerks.
Interspersed with the good beer, we had a fantastic time visiting with friends, checked out the local reservoirs, and spent two nights in Rocky Mountain National Park where we hiked from the Bear Lake trailhead. We covered 3.6 miles roundtrip with a 605 foot elevation gain and passed by three beautiful lakes (Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes). It somewhat reminded us of some hikes we’ve done in the Banff and Jasper areas in Alberta, Canada. However, there were a lot of people on the trail (especially at the lower elevations / up to second first lake) and this detracted from the otherwise peaceful atmosphere. At the higher elevations the trail was still partially snow covered and this made for some interesting and funny moments sliding downhill whilst trying to climb upwards.
We also drove the whole of Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park. We stopped at various overlooks and short trails along the way; of note was the Tundra Communities hike which leads to a rocky outcrop with a sign and map containing distances to other National Parks, and a short .5 mile uphill walk at the Alpine Visitor Center that afforded views of the surrounding area. We viewed elk and marmot along the way. Unfortunately, despite two attempts, we were never successful in spotting bighorn sheep in the Sheep Lakes area.
Accommodation:
- with fabulous friends, greater Boulder area, Colorado, United States
- Glacier Basin Campground, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado, United States
- Fort Collins North / Wellington KOA, Wellington, Colorado, United States
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