Colorado '17

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
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Lake Villa, IL
Day 13, August 3: Breck to Rocky Mountain National Park
- Had to start the day with Donuts! It was fitting because the guy I bought this truck from had gone to a number of LRNR's including the one in Breck, and there was a large Daylight Donuts sticker placed on the subwoofer tube when I took possession.
- Headed to Silver Plume for the scenic Georgetown Railroad. Total tourist trap, but we had fun in the mine, panning for gold, and riding the train.
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Day 13 continued.

After the train we were getting back on the highway. At the entrance ramp we saw a kid, no older than 5, wearing just a diaper, climbing up the concrete embankment under the I70 overpass!!! My wife jump out of the truck, sprinted the 100 yards, and grabbed him. She walked with him to into Silver Plume, which is a hell hole. She walked to the general store where someone told her he thought the kid lived nearby. My wife walked one house to the west and knocked on the door. A lady answered and said "did that little shit get out again!?". I think it took every bit of self control my wife had to actually hand the kid over to her.

My wife was pretty distraught so the next hour or so we spent looking around Silver Plume and Georgetown for some sort of law enforcement that might actually care that this kid was endangered. No luck. I think we ended up calling and reporting it to the county sheriff.

We finished driving to Estes Park. Took Tow Brother Rd to Virginia Canyon Rd to Hwy 119. Stopped for gas and heard a rotational clunk while coasting. I headed to Napa and asked if they could press new ujoints into my front driveshaft? They said no so I bought some oversized nuts and washers. I knew we didn't have any more offroad to drive so I dropped the front driveshaft, slipped the oversized nuts and washers over the studs, and tightened the regular nuts back on.

We set up camp at one of the campgrounds in the park and the kids did their last junior rangers book of the trip.
 

fishEH

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Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Day 14, August 4. :My Birthday!! :D Long day today exploring RMNP, Estes Park, and driving back to Lincoln, NE.
- Hiked to Emerald Lake first.
- Photo-bomb!!
- My daughter got a LifeStraw that she was just dying to try out.
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Day 14 continued:
- Hiked around the Alluvial Fan next. This place was Cool!! There's a bit of a trail to start but soon you are on your own, which I love.
 

fishEH

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Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Day 14 continued:
- We all agreed this patch of snow looked like a dragon flying downward.
- Construction traffic. :/
- Happy kids!

We walked around downtown Estes Park but were underwhelmed. Everything felt cheap and touristy. Many of the shops were run by people that seemed like they were just there to make a buck. Contrast that to Ouray, which we loved, where the shops we were by people that actually looked like they lived there.
Hit the road pretty late. Sat out a serious storm in a church parking lot. Rolled into Lincoln, NE about 1am.
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Day 15, August 5: Drove home from Lincoln, NE.
- Weird sculpture things.
- Wouldn't be complete without a journey through the World's Largest Truckstop!

All in all it was a great trip. It was stressful and trying at times, but I loved it. Having all 3 kids sit so close to us was nice...mostly. :) We put on 3300+ miles in two weeks and saw a lot of the state. We called a lot of audibles on the itinerary but I think you have to be able to do that. Didn't get to see nearly as much as I would have liked, but we started a list of things to see for next time!
 

fishEH

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Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Well crap. None of my pics made the transition to new Dweb. :confused:
That said the new pic uploader looks to be way easier to use and allows for multiple uploads at a time. Maybe if I get real bored I'll go back and add pics.
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
Replying to bump the thread. I'm going through and editing adding pictures since the few original pics I had didn't make the move to New Dweb. Going to try to update at least one trip day per day until done.
 
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