Trip to the Tetons

While we were visiting with Andy, Tara, Hailey & Emily in Lander, Wyoming we decided to take a day trip to the Tetons on Monday while they were all either at work or school. We had not been to the Tetons or Yellowstone for some time and wanted to search out some of the large animals that populate these parks. Specifically we were looking for bison, elk and moose.
We drove the 21/2 hrs from Lander and arrived at Oxbow Bend just inside the park at about 7:15AM. Unfortunately we were about 15 minutes late for the sunrise but the scene was still breathtaking. Peter got out to take some pictures. As it was a very nippy 32 degrees, I decided to stay in the warm car and just take in the beauty.

From there we traveled south to the new visitors center and then headed back north to Yellowstone. We rode in search of lunch at one of the restaurants, but when we arrived at the Grant Village General Store and Restaurant we discovered a sign on the door saying it was closing on Sept. 20th (the day of our trip) and there was no food available.

We headed south again, still looking for moose & elk. We did not find any on our travels and decided to have lunch at Dornan's in Moose, Wy. We had our burgers outside on the picnic tables (by this time it had warmed up considerably) facing the Grand. We recalled fondly the time that we (Doug, Heidi, Peter & myself) made our journey up to the Grand. We figure it was the late 90's. Peter has a hankering to do that again.

We left the park and headed East over Togwotee Pass to Lander. If there had not been construction on the road it would have been an easier ride. As it was, it was dusty and slow. We arrived home to Andy's in time for pizza and story time with the girls.

Here are a couple of pictures from our Teton Day Trip.

The Grand.


Lupine Meadows near Taggert Lake.

Emily's Climbing Adventure

On Sunday, Sept. 20th, the Skiba family took a walk to City Park in Lander, Wy.
The girls wanted to play on the playground for awhile.
With the normal playground equipment of slides and swings there is a climbing wall that the girls gravitated to.
Both Emily & Hailey tried climbing the wall. A good adventure for both.
.
Emily on the wall.


Hailey trying to climb the wall.

Both girls did well with a bit of encouragement of dad and grandpa.

Colorado River

After Peter's long hike to Mount Ida, he was gracious enough to
go on a shorter walk with me. We went to the Hozworth Historic area in Rocky
Mountain National Park.
Trail goes along the Colorado River that Peter is standing by.

Beautiful day!

Hike to Mount Ida

Yesterday brought us back to RMNP for an early start on a hike that Peter wanted to do to Mount Ida. Road construction in the park slowed us down a bit on the way up, but he eventually started at 7:30AM on the trail to Mt. Ida (12,880) and returned to the car by 2PM.
I stayed and waited for him during his hike. Construction workers and trucks all around me.
Quite nosy and smelly at times. But gave me a chance to finish my book and do a bit of knitting.

Peter says that it was cold and very windy on top and I believe him because I was experiencing the same at my elevation.
The trail that he took was along the Continental Divide.

Peter was also able to see the smoke from the recent fires in Boulder and Loveland early on during the hike. These became less noticeable as the day progressed.

After Peter finished his hike, we waited in line with all of the other cars for the road paving equipment to let us proceed down Trail Ridge Road. As I had been waiting all day, I felt I need to have some kind of easy walk/hike. We first stopped at the Colorado River Trail but decided to go on to the Holzwarth Historic Site. This is in the Never Summer Mountain Range. Buildings on the site date back to the early 1900's. It was known as the Never Summer Ranch where tourists from the Denver area spent time relaxing.

Poudre Lake

On Tuesday, Peter & I were in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Peter's plans were to hike up to Mt. Ida on the following day.
The Poudre Lake shown in this picture is at the bottom/beginning of the trail.

Four Bikers that we met on the road to Mount Epworth

These are the 4 bikers hamming it up for the camera.
Picture taken with Mount Epworth in the background.

Bartek Wolczyk, Ruben Karel, Brett Marraccini, Summer Ruckman.

Great meeting all you! Enjoy your biking

Hike to Mount Epworth

On Sat. Sept. 11th, Peter hiked to the top of Mount Epworth. (11,843ft)
This was after an hour's drive up to Rollins Pass (near Winter Park, Co).
The road was extremely rutted. We bounced around driving to avoid the
holes in the road. Slow going. Some scratches on the side of the car.
We had to go on a CR as Hwy 40 was closed at the pass due to a pipe line being laid.
Made for an interesting, dusty and bumpy ride.

On the way we passed the old Moffat Railroad that was used in the mountains to
transport goods and materials.

When we arrived at Mount Epworth, we decided to hike on the trail.
Me on the safe side......and short side....
Peter opted to climb up to the top of the Mount.
He made it to the top despite the strong winds and signed in on the log.
Last climber was in Aug. 2010.
We kept in touch via 2 walkie-talkies. I feel better keeping in touch.
Let's me climb along while tucked away in a pocket!
Mount Epworth on the right.

Peter before the hike.