September 11-15, 2024
A few hours south of Laramie, between Ft Collins and Denver, is Loveland, Colorado. My friend Lindsay, that hiked Medicine Bow Peak with me, had recently purchased a home here. The town is not far from the Estes Park entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, close to Boulder, has a great State Park for camping, and is a nice little town for breweries and eating.
Boyd Lake State Park was my home for a few nights. Loveland, and Colorado in general, is incredibly biker (bicycle) friendly. After setting up camp i took my first bike ride on the trails from the campground to to Downtown Loveland. I met Lindsay and Hal at Verbotten Brewing for a beer and a bite.
Liberty Puzzles
One of my objectives in Colorado was a tour of the Liberty Puzzle factory. I had been introduced to the wood jigsaw Liberty Puzzles ten or so years ago by my sister – her friend lent one of the puzzles to my sister for a Christmas “thing to do”. Completing one of these puzzles at Christmas has become a tradition.
I have been a “puzzler” since a kid and these puzzles are truly addictive.
They didn’t allow photography inside the factory. So jus the signage and the three puzzles I purchased.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Of course another objective while in Colorado was Rocky Mountain National Park. The park is on a timed entry system – you need to make reservations with a time slot to enter the park. And then certain areas with the park (Bear Lake Road) require as additional timed entry reservation. Kind of a PITA. When I made the reservation I could only get a 12-2PM slot for Bear Lake Road. I got in two short hikes.
First up, the Emerald Lake Trail. This is a 3.3 mile trail that takes you by Nymph Lake, then the aptly named Dream Lake, before arriving at the spectacular Emerald Lake. Signage says that Emerald Lake is one of the most photographed Lakes in the Country.
First Nymph Lake:
The trail between the lakes:
Then on to Dream Lake:
And then Emerald Lake:
I finished the day with a hike around Bear Lake.
On my last day in Loveland Lindsay and I hiked the Gem Lake trail. This is a 3 mile hike with about 1000 feet of elevation gain. It really is a beautiful hike and although it is within the Park you don’t need to pass the Estes Park Entrance to access the trail head. Hiking this trail you pass some really cool rock formations and great views of the city of Estes Park.
The next day I left Loveland and crossed the Rockies via Trail Ridge Road through the National Park. Here’s a parting pic of Boyd Lake.
