The next morning, after a good night's sleep, it was time for us to hike back to civilization.

Despite the difficult hike we had had the day before, to get to the Boulder Brook campsite, our hike out the next morning was anything but difficult.  We only had to hike two miles on the Boulder Brook Trail to the trailhead, and that hike was through the beautiful, lush forest that we had missed during the previous day.  We enjoyed every minute of it.

And, by 9:00 a.m., we found ourselves at the Storm Pass Trailhead, waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the parking area, with the whole day ahead of us, for exploring through the Colorado Rockies.

Since we were unable to book a hotel in Greeley for our last night in Colorado (due to the Greeley Stampede), John decided to book a room for us at the Best Western in the town of Winter Park, on the other side of Rocky Mountain National Park.  By doing so, his intention was to give us the opportunity to explore the rest of the park.  We could take our time driving through the park, seeing all of the sights along the way; and at the very end, we would stop at the Visitor's Center at the western edge of the park, so that Mary could get her Junior Ranger badge.

As we discovered, there was quite a lot to do along the main road that runs through the park.  At every turn, there were overlooks with parking areas, where we had to stop to take pictures.  Some of these vistas had rangers there, giving talks about the various peaks and valleys.  We stopped and listened in on one lecture.

The main road that runs through the park happens to be one of the highest paved roads in the continental United States; the highest point along the road is at an elevation of about 12,183 feet - roughly, the height of Humphreys Peak in Arizona.  Driving up to that point on the road, we certainly felt like we were on top of the world, especially since we were above the tree line. 

There were several vista points at that elevation, and we made sure to stop at one of them, to check out the tundra.  We explained to Mary that, above the treeline, it was too cold for trees to grow, so the only plant life that can survive is the fragile tundra that grows there.  We also explained that it is so cold up there that, way up high in the Rockies, the snow never melts, so even in June, there will be snow on the ground...

...and, of course, we found a field of snow to play in along the way.  We had a snowball fight in the middle of June. John even got involved in a snowball fight with a pair of pre-teen boys, who initiated the fight; he showed them who was boss!

After leaving the tundra, we followed the main road down to the western part of Rocky Mountain National Park.  Soon, we were back in the trees again, on the other side of the Continental Divide, descending towards the Colorado River valley.

We stopped along the way to check out one of the historic sites that was listed on Mary's Junior Ranger book.  In order to receive her Junior Ranger badge, Mary had to do one of the tours listed there and have the ranger sign off on it.  We were in luck, because the Holzwarth Historic Site was en route to the Visitor's Center.

To get to the historic site, we had to park at the designated parking lot and hike a half of a mile to the old homestead, by way of a paved trail.  The trail took us through a beautiful meadow, in which we found a herd of elk, sitting in the tall grass.  We also passed over a bridge with a sign posted on it, stating that we were at the headwaters of the Colorado River. 

"Mary!" we said.  "You know that river that formed the Grand Canyon?  The same river we pass over to get to California, when we're driving to Disneyland?  This is where it starts!"

I think we were more impressed than Mary was, but she did spend some time standing there on the bridge, admiring the river. 

When we arrived at the historic site, the ranger was just beginning his next tour, so we walked right up and listened to his lecture.  He then led us to the various buildings at the historic site and explained that it was once a guest ranch, run by John Holzwarth.  Although many of the buildings were closed, some of them were open, and we were allowed to wander through them, to get a taste for life in the 1920's in Colorado. 

At the end of the tour, Mary asked the ranger to sign her Junior Ranger workbook; with that, she had completed all of the activities necessary to become a Junior Ranger.  Now, we had to make it official.

After leaving the historic site, we drove to the Visitor Center at the western edge of the park.  That was where Mary turned in her Junior Ranger workbook to the park ranger on duty.  Instead of just looking through the book, though, the ranger sat down with Mary and went through the book with her, talking to her about some of the important things about being a Junior Ranger.  Then, he stood up and asked for the attention of everyone at the Visitor Center.  With all eyes on them, the park ranger officially swore Mary in as a Junior Ranger and gave her a plastic badge.  We loved that he made such a big deal out of it; it was something that she will always remember.

Once the ceremony was over, it was time for us to leave Rocky Mountain National Park and drive to Winter Park, to check into our hotel for the night and clean up.  We also had to pack our bags, to prepare for our flight home the next day.

It was four in the afternoon when we arrived in Winter Park, Colorado.  After checking into the hotel and dragging our gear into our room, we all stripped down and took a long, hot shower, to wash off the dirt and the stink from our backpacking trip.  Once we were clean, we went to dinner.

One of the things that we discovered, while driving around Winter Park to look for a place to eat, was that that town was just as busy as Greeley was, during the stampede.  During the wintertime, Winter Park is a popular skiing destination; but during the summer months, the town is flooded with college students looking to spend their summer cycling or hiking in the cool mountain air.  The streets and the restaurants were crowded with them, as was our hotel.  (We discovered that at two in the morning, when several of the drunker ones were having a party outside of our room.  John had to call the front desk to have them come shut them up.)  In a nutshell, this was not the quiet little mountain town where one would go to find peace and quiet and to get away from it all.

But we were only there for one night.  In the morning, we were going home...

Return to The Verleys' Rocky Mountain Adventure.

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