Ever since I started out on this adventure I've been attracted to small, independent coffee shops, partly because of the crowd that hangs out in them and partly because they often have free wireless internet access. I guess I just like the atmosphere. I saw this place in Frisco (CO not CA) and couldn't resist. So I bought it! Abbey doesn't think the sign does her justice, though. OK, I only bought a cup of tea, not the place, but if it was for sale it might be tempting. Maybe I'll come back next year and see if they want to sell.
On Saturday morning Abbey and I headed up to Columbine Lake. The road up is pretty bad so I took Jim and Jeri's car, which they graciously offered. When I went to Snow Mtn. Ranch last year with my brother's family and my parents we did this trail. It was such a nice trail, and not too long, so I decided to do it again. Believe it or not, my mother hiked it with us last year and she was 75 then. It's about 3 miles long with around 1100 ft. of elevation gain. The lake is beautiful and the views from the trail aren't bad either on the way back down.
We got done early so I headed into the town of Grand Lake for a while. I was hoping to find wireless internet access somewhere, but it's not to be found in Grand Lake. I could have gotten on the internet at a coffee shop, but they wanted $15/hr! I've paid $2/hr before, but even that bothered me. Wireless access should be free if you ask me. So I said, 'No thanks!' Other than that drawback, Grand Lake isn't a bad little town, with the emphasis on little. Though I think it's pretty dead in winter, which lasts until June. Jim and Jeri seem to like it there, though. The scenery is gorgeous.
Sunday didn't start off too well. I had wanted to do a hike that actually started in the NP, but was mostly in the National Forest in the Never Summer Wilderness. It was one that Jeri suggested. Normally you can't take dogs on the NP trails, but she thought it wouldn't be a problem because you are only in the park for ' mile. Well, when I got to the trailhead, not only were there signs prohibiting dogs, but there were a bunch of Park Service workers across the meadow right where I had to go. So I decided it wasn't worth it since the weather looked iffy anyways and headed off down towards Winter Park. I figured I would spend some time catching up on updating my blog online. I found a place in Fraser that supposedly had wireless access but it didn't work. This has been one of the harder areas I've found to get wireless access, especially free. After getting frustrated with the internet situation I decided I would try another trail. I probably should've turned back when the sign said it was 14 miles to the trailhead on the dirt road I was driving on. Well, the road soon got pretty bad (made yesterday's look pretty good) and it took me over an hour to get to the top. But I made it and the views were great and I got a lot of smiles and laughs from people on the way up who must have thought I was crazy to drive an RV up there. Of course, a lot of things in the RV got pretty shaken up, and Abbey did too when the thunder started. Needless to say, I did the hike by myself. It wasn't a long one, but it was still pretty nice, starting out on the Continental Divide and passing 3 lakes.
King Lake
Betty Lake
Winter Park Area
It was a nice place to eat lunch at least. On the way down I missed a turn, but before I figured it out a huge bull moose jumped out in the road about 100 ft. in front of me. He wasn't too accommodating as he was trotting down the road and I had to try and take a picture out my window while I was driving to keep up with him.
Unfortunately, the pictures didn't come out at all. He did jump back down into the woods and when I stopped I could see that he was standing only 20 or 30 ft. in the woods. I thought about getting out to see if I could get a picture, but then thought better of it. Bull moose aren't really something you want to mess with. I could just see him banging into the RV as I ran back and hopped inside.
When I got back to town my luck changed in the internet arena. I found a Mexican restaurant that had wireless access. The wait staff didn't know it, but it was actually free. So I updated my blog for a few hours (yes, it takes a while to upload all this stuff) while I ate some real good fish tacos and drank a few Fat Tire Ales. (OK, it was 3.) Guess that's why I fell asleep early last night. Monday morning we headed off to the Frisco/Breckenridge area in Summit County, but not before doing one last hike in Grand County at the top of Berthoud Pass.
Indian Peaks Wilderness from Berthoud Pass
Frisco seems like a nice little town (as I mentioned above) and I'm anxious to check out the hiking here. Summit County is well-known for the great ski areas '? Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Vail among others. I've always heard of it, but never been here before so I'm looking forward to spending a few days here. Who knows, if I like it I can always make an offer for 'Abbey's Coffee'.