Click on photo to see larger version
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, September 13, 2009
On the Cliff Palace loop you may visit one of two cliff dwellings by guided tour, Cliff Palace or Balcony House. These sites can only be reached by a one-hour ranger-guided tour. Tickets for tours are purchased only at the Far View Visitor Center. Rangers begin the Cliff Palace tour from the overlook at the end of the entrance trail. To enter Cliff Palace on a guided tour, one must descend approximately 100 feet into the canyon on a steep trail that includes 120 uneven stone steps. Throughout the tour one will climb five eight foot ladders.
The photo is from the newest of my photo galleries and the second from Mesa Verde. The gallery includes images from Cliff Palace — a Puebloan culture cliff dwelling —, the Knife Edge Trail and more.
Gallery: Cliff Palace and More — September 13, 2009, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
See more of our
Image Galleries at Haw Creek.
I’m continuing to process photos from last year’s travels into photo galleries.
The most recent is from the day that we arrived at Mesa Verde National Park during our 2009 trip to Colorado.
Because it was actually a fairly short drive from Ouray to Mesa Verde, by the time we got set up at the campground, we still had plenty of time to go exploring, including a hike down to one of the cliff dwelling ruins, Spruce Treehouse.
The gallery includes images from the ruins as well as other views in the park, including several images of the beautiful Colorado sky that we had that day.
Gallery: Spruce Treehouse and More – September 12, 2009, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
See more of our
Image Galleries at Haw Creek.
The economy is loosening up and people seem to be changing the way they vacation. These, along with other factors, are resulting in improved RV sales, according to an article in the Denver Business Journal.
Recreational vehicle (RV) dealers report big sales increases, and RV show organizers say there’s been higher attendance at their events in early 2010.
The number of RV units shipped from national manufacturers to dealers rose by 116 percent from January 2009 to January 2010, from 7,300 units to 15,800, according to the Reston, Va.-based Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA). The numbers have spurred RVIA officials to predict shipments will increase 30 percent this year, a predictor of vehicle sales.
That growing interest in motorized homes and non-motorized trailers was visible at two Denver-area RV shows this year. Attendance at January’s Colorado RV Adventure Travel Show at the Colorado Convention Center rose by 24 percent over last year. And it was up 14 percent at March’s Colorado RV, Sports, Boat and Travel Show at the National Western Complex, said Vilma Fraguada, regional manager for Affinity Events, organizer of both shows.
Read the rest of the Denver Business Journal article: RV dealers expect much better sales this year
Image Gallery:
Around the Upper Loop, September 13, 2007
(click on image for larger version)
We were camped at West Yellowstone KOA several miles west of town for nearly a week in September 2007. Our camper was a Big Horn fifth wheel by Heartland. We were set up with satellite TV and satellite internet and had almost all of the conveniences of home.
For all of the conveniences, though, we found that we were not doing the kind of camping that we really preferred. We prefer national and state park and forest campgrounds, but found in some of those kind of campgrounds that maneuvering into sites that could accommodate the size of our 5th wheel was often difficult and, in some instances, there just were not any sites that we felt comfortable with trying to get into.
We now have a small motor home and are able to get into just about any campground that we want to with little or no difficulty. The only ones we can’t get into are those restricted to tent camping and those that we can’t get to with the camper. We’ve visited a couple of places where the curves were so tight that our 25 foot motor home was over the length limit. We’re also not quite yet prepared to go too many miles down an unpaved road.
In 2009, we camped in 4 national park* campgrounds, 4 nights in each one. We didn’t have satellite TV or internet and we were doing the kind of camping we really prefer.
See more of our
Image Galleries at Haw Creek.
* Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Mesa Verde National Park
Old Colorado City, Colorado Springs, August 22, 2004, teardrop trailer
There was some sort of festival in progress the day that we visited Old Colorado City.
(click on image for larger version)
Gallery:
Cripple Creek, Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, etc. – August 22, 24, & 27, 2004
See more of our Image Galleries at Haw Creek.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working on new photo galleries, mostly from Colorado and some from as far back as 2004.
I’ll be posting a few images from these galleries over the next several weeks to exit78 and Haw Creek Out ‘n About.
Except for photos while we are traveling, most of the images that I post from my photography are randomly selected from my on-line galleries.
I am currently publishing images on alternate days on two blogs, exit78 and Haw Creek Out ‘n About. Except for photos that may have been posted during a trip, photos are only published on a blog one time and the images are not replicated between the two blogs.
We will be traveling again this year and will be visiting new places as well as old favorites – and, of course, I will have a lot more new photos.
Colorado
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Cripple Creek, Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, etc. – August 22, 24, & 27, 2004
- Dome Rock State Wildlife Area – August 29, 2004
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – August 24, 2004
- Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs – August 22 & 23, 2004
- Gold Belt Byway – August 29, 2004
- Mueller State Park – August 28, 2004
- Ouray and Vicinity – September 8 & 10, 2009
- Pikes Peak – August 25, 2004
- Royal Gorge – August 23, 2004
- Silverton and Animas Forks area – September 6, 2009
Kansas
Oklahoma
Estes Park, September 5, 2009
Located in Larimer County, Colorado, Estes Park is a popular summer resort and the eastern entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park. The town lies along the Big Thompson River. It is named after Joel Estes, who founded the town in 1859.
Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous road in the United States, runs from Estes Park through Rocky Mountain National park to Grand Lake on the western side of the continental divide.
The town suffered severe damage in July 1982 from flooding caused by the failure of Lawn Lake Dam. In October, 2009, a fire in the Park Theatre Mall – caused by a natural gas water heater in a small closet – destroyed eleven businesses and several apartments. The building had been built in 1914 to house Stanley Steamers.
Gallery:
Estes Park and then up to Trail Ridge – September 5, 2009
See more of our Image Galleries at Haw Creek.
