ve really enjoyed your trip.... the cliff dwellings, ship rock, Mesa Verde, Montrose... all of it... we have done most of it but you gave us some new looks. Did you like the dragons in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison?
When you said;
"At the park entrance station we were surprised when the ranger said "oh yeh, it is closed, but give it an hour and they should open it" - now that was good timing."... That happened to us at Yosemite National Park... we wanted to enter from US-395... the ranger at Lone Pine told us that it was still closed for the season... I expressed my disappointment. After a few minutes he said to us "You could stay in the Alabama Hills and the Eastern slope of Mount Whitley tonight... the Tioga Pass would open tomorrow at noon." We stayed, we were the first and only vehicle to enter Yosemite for the first hour of so... the plows had cut through 8' snow drifts to make access... the lakes were still frozen.
If you have a genuine smile and be pleasent the rangers can always do just a little more... then thank them for goodness sakes.
Then you headed north to places we haven't been... Rocky Mtn Nat Park.
Looking for the additional installment. favorite places, etc.
Chet
