Saturday, August 10, Garden of the Gods, into Wyoming and Moose

 Saturday, August 10

We decided to re-visit Garden of the Gods this morning, hoping that it will be less crowded and less rainy.   It is both.

It began a little misty, but cleared up as we walked a few trails.  Already a good number of people, biking, hiking - and even getting married!

These deer were munching away fairly unconcerned with our presence.  We hiked to the Siamese Twins formation.

Later, spotted this doe with her fawn - spots fading, so probably about three months old.

 The Visitor's Center was still closed, so we guess it just wasn't meant to be visited!

Back to highway 25 through Denver with lots of traffic, and then off toward the Snowy Range.  Tim in Laramie said Monday would be a better day to visit, so we will spend some time in one of my favorite places - the Snowy Range.

Nasty storm when we were part way there included a few minutes of hail, followed in short order by glorious sunshine!  The wind in this part of the country is almost always strong, so the clouds move quickly.

We stopped in Laramie for gas and then headed west on WY130.  It goes through 20 miles or so of golden prairie and ranch land before reaching the small town of Centennial.  We saw quite a few pronghorns, but none close enough for pictures.

Stopped in Centennial at the Nici Self museum. Nici was a local women who put the museum together.  Dorothy, the volunteer there, was friendly and sweet.

Quite a variety of local historical pieces.  I had always read about buffalo coats, but this is the first one I'd seen!  Farming, ranching, mining, railroad and other equipment all tied to this area's history.

Next, we stopped at the Medicine Bow National Forest ranger station and got a good map of the area and some suggestions as to camping. (Caught the final minutes of the Olympic Men's Bball final, courtesy of a ranger who had it on his lap top!)

With all the wide open spaces, we can see rain coming.  Shortly after Libby Flats, we spot several bull moose munching away in a meadow.  Four of them! All their antlers are in velvet.  We take a few (dozen haha!) pictures in the wind and drizzle, and watch for a while before moving on. 

Pull into the parking at Lake Marie - very crowded but many folks are probably out on trails.  It pours hard for a while as we sit in the parking lot.  Beth notices three shivering young men hanging out and asks if they are stranded.  Turns out they were and so we offered to take them back to Centennial.  They were from the Chicago area and said they'd been coming here every year for several years, as they have a friend in Centennial. Three were in college and one just graduated.  A few miles into the drive, they spot their ride (which was very late at this point), so we turn around and take them back to Lake Marie where they re-unite with their friend.  Nice, polite young guys.

This area is just gorgeous - and the rain was short-lived. We decide to try Silver Lake Campground ( a national forest campground) and find a primo spot that is open. $10 with our Sr Pass!  We hike down to the lake and find some nice rocks to add to our collection at home.

I love the reflections, and look at that BLUE sky!

 Lots of chipmunks and birds around the campsite.  We  put out a little (all natural) trail mix and the chipmunk seems to love almonds.

 

 We find out later that they are going to close and completely re-do this campground next year.  Unfortunately there are lots of stumps amid a scattering of trees that survived the bark beetle epidemic of the early 2010's.   It gets very cold and snowy here, with a short growing season, so it takes quite a while for the area to recover.

Hot dogs and beans for dinner and definitely jacket time!