May 28, 2014 (37th Day)

It was chilly when Edith stepped out of the van at 5:30 a.m. to see what the weather was like. She decided to go back to bed for a while longer.

While Kendall's wife, Alison was fixing breakfast, we and Kendall were out on the back porch catching up on news. Delicious and hearty breakfast was served.  Always hard to say 'good-byes' to family members and friends, but it was time for us to hit the road. Left their house at 9:45 am. Thank you, Kendall and Alison for having time to let us visit and stay with you.  Hope we meet again.

Alison and Kendall

We decided we wanted to go visit Arvada historic town to take pictures of this and that. While we were meandering we spotted this cute pink mustachy car.

We got on I-70 to go to Golden, CO.  Coors Brewing Company is headquartered in this town.  We did not go on a tour because we figured that we will not have enough time to reach the destination by the evening. Besides it was way too early in the day to sample beer!

Tokheim Vintage Gas Pump 

So confusing! I can't find where I should go...so I went to all of them, almost! 

Giant Lighthouse Candle (now a storage facility)

On US 6 the drive was very pleasant and the view was scenic.  Then we got on CO-119 to Blackhawk.  We noticed that the leaves on aspen trees were not fully green

Arrived Blackhawk town to check out casinos and sculptures.  Walked around a bit. Lots of interesting bronze sculptures throughout the town.

Brief History of Blackhawk, CO:  It was once a thriving mining town during the 19th century, then declined during the 20th century. After allowing gaming in this town it started to revive.

Left Blackhawk to go visit Arapahoe National Park. Beautiful park, but the roads were so twisty and there were no guardrails all around when we "climbed" up to the top that was over 9,000 feet elevation

The panoramic views was majestic and inspiring, we never tire of views like these!

After exiting the park we got on the highway (CO 72) that is known as "Peak to Peak" Highway. This highway is recognized as a Scenic Byway. It starts as CO Highway 7 in Estes Park, goes past Lily Mountain and Twin Sisters, then turns south just past Allenspark on CO Highway 72, goes to Nederland where it continues south on CO Highway 119, through Blackhawk, through Clear Creek Canyon and down to I-70.  It is Colorado's oldest scenic highway. Very beautiful! There was some road construction along the way

Still enjoying the scenic highway when we turned left for CO Highway 7 from CO 72 to go to Estes Park. Gorgeous view of Mtn Meeker from the overlook area.

While on US 7 we saw few cars parked on the shoulder and we wondered what was going on, so we decided to pull out to check.  There is this beautiful Chapel on the Rock (Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel and it is situated on Saint Malo Retreat property. It is said that Pope John Paul came to visit this church during his trip to USA in 1993.

Just as we were approaching Estes Park there were 16 elks grazing near the road.  Then two more came running from above to join the bunch. They were not fazed by passing cars.  We guess they have gotten used to them.

Good Night Y'all!

Arrived Estes Park at 4:15 pm. Checked into KOA campground. Restful night!