Day 9; Estes Park to Craig

7:10 am; I wake up and call the front desk and make arrangements to join the 8am horseback ride.

I race out to the car to get the camera battery charger & breakfast stuff ...and I left the room key - in the room! So I race off in the car in my PJ's to the head office to get another key. I make it just in time for the 7:50 stable date.

8am; The ride begins; Dan is our lead cowboy& 'Trueman' is my horse~the ride was extraordinary; over creeks among the sunny yellow Aspens ; alongside a steep cliff; over a gorgeous meadow - the bestest way to enjoy nature... we are surrounded by massive red coloured pine trees are Ponderosa pines.

I leave for Salt Lake City after packing up; I have it down to a system now~this packing business! Always find out where the ice maker is and hot water dispenser, and the bike rack is super easy to take down and build up the next day.

The car drive is incredible! I wish that everyone could do it someday ~ I went from the valleys of Aspens and meadows of beautiful hayfields & creeks up higher than i imagined. I drove around so many S curves ...massive views of the valleys below and the ranges beyond... I drove through snow fields today---so fricken high - UNBELIEVABLE .,,I cried again because I was so moved by the mountains ....

• Trail Ridge High Point, the tundra level at 12,183 feet above sea level ~ it was difficult to breath! I checked the oil and water levels..the temperature of the car was higher than normal normal levels. Went through the following Mountain Passes after that....
• Milner Pass EL 10,759 Ft.,
• Willow Creek Pass EL 9,683 Ft.
• Rabbit Ears Pass EL 9,426 Ft.
• Muddy Pass EL 8,722 Ft.
• and then flat and dry and rolling hills of grasslands- lots of ranches with very interesting gate entrances. Lots of advertisements for cowboy hats, boots and saddles.

Craig; this is where i stopped tonight. A small town in the middle of nowhere; hotels booked for a big hydro project and hunting season! I'm just glad I found a place, a small place called America's Best Value Inn.