Cross country trip: The end of our first day in Colorado

After we accomplished as much of of our original goal (driving through Rocky Mountain National Park) as possible, we turned back south the same we we had just driven to head back to I-70. It was already pretty clear to us that the plan to get to Grand Junction before dark was pretty well shot. Plus my husband still wanted to see more of the Colorado high country before we headed to the Great Basin and beyond. He had remembered seeing a sign about the highest road in the US back in Idaho Springs. Maybe we'd have a chance to make it to the summit of that mountain since instead. So when we got back to the interstate instead of continuing west, we went back east a few miles. We got off in Idaho Springs again and set off for Mount Evans but no sooner had we turned onto the road than I spotted a sign that said the summit road was closed. I suppose I could have kept my mouth shut about seeing the sign, but I was pretty tired by this time, hungry too. I said "Hey, I think I saw a sign that the road is closed." Ron seemed like he didn't hear me, but I noticed his jaw was set very firmly. We continued following the road another seven miles or so before he sighed and asked if I was SURE I'd seen the sign. "Yes, I was sure." We turned around and headed back toward the town and the visitor center. The visitor center was also closed by this time so there was no use stopping to ask questions. We sat in the parking lot a few minutes to figure out again what we wanted to do. It was getting pretty late by this time so we decided to stay the night in Idaho Springs and attempt Mount Evans in the morning. We hoped the road was just closed for the evening and not for snow up at the summit.

I wish I could remember the name of the hotel we stayed at in Idaho Springs. It was the largest room of any of the hotels we stayed at during our entire trip. All that I remember was that it was on the east side of the town, and on the north side of the main street. It seemed to be an older hotel and it was mostly one story, white and fairly spread out compared to most motels. It's a shame I can't remember it because I'd recommend it to travelers passing through who want to stay at a nice, relatively low cost place. We did some laundry here, mostly because we wanted to wash the car seat cover after the incident earlier in the day at Estes Park. Then the kids and I relaxed for the evening with a TV movie and some pizza. Ron was having difficulty relaxing since none of his plans had gone the way he wanted that day. He decided to walk down to the nearest bar he could find for a beer.

The next morning we headed for Mount Evans. We sat in the visitor center parking lot for a couple of minutes trying to find out if the road would open. The center, unfortunately, wasn't open but Ron managed to track down someone who told him that the road was open at least as far as Echo Lake and that it was worth the drive to go here even if the rest was closed. We took their advice and drove on up. A little before the lake we noticed the wind pick up considerably. The view was beautiful, but the wind was unbearable in the clothes that we had available to us. We stopped on the side of the road while Ron jumped out to take some quick pictures. Then we drove a bit further until we came to a restaurant, a barrier gate in the roadway, and a parking lot full of cars with trailer. There were also several park ranger trucks and a large mobile command bus. I was curious to know what was going on so I hopped out and asked. Some hikers had been reported missing the day before and everyone up there was involved in the search for them. While I was gathering the information Ron got the kids out of the car and herded them over to the restaurant. Inside we got more news that the summit road was indeed closed. They expected it to open later in the day. Could be in minutes, could be in hours. We decided to wait an hour or so and have some breakfast. The restaurant at Echo Lake does a tasty homestyle breakfast and the staff up there were very helpful and nice. We sat near some of the search crew who were also eating breakfast. Just before we got up to leave I overheard on their radio that the hikers were found alive and well and were being brought to base camp. That was nice news to hear! Our kids picked out a couple of souveniers before we headed back to the truck. The summit road was still closed and the place was getting more and more crowded as news of the hikers made it's way to the search crew members. We turned around again and headed back to the highway.