Dutch George Campground
Roosevelt National
Forest, CO
Cache la Poudre to North
Park – Scenic & Historic Byway
Our adventure
today takes us on Colorado’s only designated wild and scenic river, the Cache
la Poudre. The byway runs 101 miles
between Fort Collins and Walden. We
start about 30 miles from Fort Collins from our campground climbing toward
Cameron Pass with an elevation of 10,276 feet.
We drive past Profile Rock, which Jack can make out easily but I just
can’t seem to see. Same with Sleeping
Elephant – Jack sees it immediately, but it takes me a bit of time to visualize
the elephant. Evidently, Jack has a much
better imagination than I do. We have a quiet picnic along the Poudre River before we venture upon WILDLIFE!
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| Lunch along the Cache la Poudre River. |
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| Very beautiful. |
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| This little guy joined our picnic. |
More than one moose: Moose,
Mooses, Meese?
Before we reach
Cameron Pass we come upon several vehicles stopped alongside the road. They have spotted moose! Four bull moose to be specific. We park the Jeep and watch these extremely large,
beautiful creatures lunching on the willows not far off the road. They are magnificent.
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| You can see all four bull moose if you look closely. |
We also came across this cow moose and her not-so-little one. They were a little shy.
Neaho-no-xhu, or
eagle's nest.
Just over
Cameron Pass as we come to a turn on the highway, the bare spires of rock rise
a couple of thousand feet above the pass – the Nokhu Crags. They are stunning to see.
A display at the
Moose Visitor Center near Gould states that the Arapahoe Indians named the
peaks Neaho-no-xhu, meaning eagle’s nest.
The name was later shortened to Nokhu Crags.
The abbreviated
version of how these crags came into existence:
Molten rock rose
up and melted into the surrounding rocks.
Extreme heat caused the shale to turn into very hard rock called
hornfels. Hornfels, being very
resistance to erosion, remained after the glaciers, weather, and erosion wore
away the softer rock. Hence, the
saw-tooth-shaped Crags we see today. God’s
handiwork before our eyes. Simply
beautiful.
Gould, moose signs, and
no gas.
We drive as far
as Gould. It’s a small enclave of homes
and a few small businesses – but no gas station. Moose crossing signs abound. I think we’re in moose alley, but none happen
our way today. The day is coming to an
end and we have a long drive back to camp and we’d rather not do it in the
dark. Walden will have to wait for
another day.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Dutch George Campground
Roosevelt National
Forest, CO
Hummingbirds looking for
something sweet. They find feeders and Savannah.
Hummingbird
feeders are a staple at mountain campgrounds during the summer. This little girl, Savannah, is invited to share the
hummers' space. There are 30 or more hummers
at a time buzzing around taking their turn at the feeders and Savannah’s
fingers. This will be a special memory
for this young lady.
Another lovely day in Colorado. What more could you ask for?
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