Daytrip to Loveland & Ft. Collins

High winds were in the forecast for April 9th, so we decided not to hike. Instead we did a scenic drive to Loveland, Fort Collins, then back to Estes Park.

Hwy 34 from Estes Park to Loveland is amazing, even more so than the drive from Boulder to Estes. We traveled through the Big Thompson Canyon, that had steep rock formations and boulders line the route as we followed the path of Big Thomson Creek. We took a few pictures, but they're nothing compared to the actual site. 

We had a cool lunch at a diner in Loveland which included a bison burger. We both liked it.

On our way to Fort Collins, we passed a Sierra store. We're big fans of their online store so we stopped in for a spell and each got a few clothes. We both agreed if we had one of those near us, we would shop there often.

We found the old town area of Fort Collins and walked that for an hour or two. It is a neat area which we'd seen just once before. They had a lot of public art, so I snapped a few pictures. Mostly we enjoyed wandering in and out of little shops.

We took the different route back from Fort Collins through Bellevue that took us near a large reservoir. That drive was anxiety-inducing with steep, blind hills, no guardrails at times, and mountains on one side with water 100 feet below on the other. I started feeling really sick because I was so freaked out, so I had to close my eyes and Leon was white-knuckling it to get through. Probably the scariest dry road we've ever driven. County Road 23 south of Bellevue if you want to check it out. Once we got past the scary part of driving, we passed a herd of elk, easily 60 strong that were just sitting out in a field together.

I made dinner at home and relaxed the rest of the evening, watching "The Americas" narrated by Tom Hanks. Some of the episodes cover areas that we are yet to visit on this trip, so we are enjoying getting a preview of sorts. Each night we are in bed before 10 - being at higher altitude takes extra energy.