Fort Collins Colorado

We arrived at Fort Collins Colorado on Wednesday 25 September 2024. We stayed at Horsetooth Reservoir South Bay Campground. It is a county campground and we enjoyed our stay there. We arrived early enough on the 25th to take a walk around the campground. We checked out the Horsetooth Area Information Center which was at the entrance to the campground. On Thursday we had lunch with a friend we met on our RV caravan to the Baja in February of this year. Laura lives near Boulder, so we met in Boulder for lunch. Laura’s husband, Paul, was not in town when we got together, so we missed seeing him. It was good catching up with Laura on what’s been happening since we parted. They’re seeing the finish line on a major renovation project that began last May. They hope to be in their home by November.

While in Boulder, Anita wanted to see the “Mork and Mindy” house. It happened to be just a few blocks from where we were meeting Laura for lunch, so we walked to it. The sitcom from the late 70’s and early 80’s was based in Boulder but actually filmed in California. The outside of the Boulder house was shown, but indoor filming was in California. While we were taking a picture, a local lady told us she’s 54 and remembers “Mork and Mindy”, but wonders how many people pass the house every day and have no clue.

Our home on Horsetooth Resevoir Fort Collins CO 25-28 Sept 2024

Horsetooth Area Information Center Fort Collins Colorado 25 Sept 2024

Horsetooth Area Information Center Fort Collins Colorado 25 Sept 2024

Horsetooth Area Information Center Fort Collins Colorado 25 Sept 2024

Actual Horsetooth Mountain - Fort Collins Colorado 28 Sept 2024

View from Horsetooth Area Information Center Fort Collins Colorado 25 Sept 2024

"Mork and Mindy" house Boulder Colorado 26 September 2024

"Mork and Mindy" house Boulder Colorado 26 September 2024

Boulder Colorado 26 September 2024

On our walk back to the restaurant we saw this tree, with a spiny fruit and it turns out to be a buckeye tree

Boulder Colorado 26 September 2024

Us with Laura

After we left Laura, we decided to drive to the University of Colorado at Boulder since it was about a mile from where we were parked. It’s a nice campus, but we felt sort of old seeing all the young students scurrying to classes and so full of energy.

Boulder Colorado 26 September 2024

Flatiron Mountains

Boulder Colorado 26 September 2024

Boulder Colorado 26 September 2024

University of Colorado at Boulder - Home of the Colorado Buffalo

Boulder Colorado 26 September 2024

University of Colorado at Boulder

On Friday we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. We woke up at 5am to leave by 6am to arrive before 9am when vehicle passes are not needed. We made it in plenty of time, but we didn’t get to drive to Bear Lake and Grand Lake because vehicle passes are needed from 9am-6pm. We saw quite a bit with driving and we stopped to do a couple of short hikes. We did the Coyote Valley trail and the Lake Irene trail. We hoped to see a moose, but we saw none. We saw quite a few elk throughout the day. Before we headed home, we stopped at the Estes Park Golf Course. A park ranger had told Steve that elk are known to hang out there. They absolutely were! We saw this huge bull elk chase a female elk! It was exciting to see how fast they move! The bull elk was laying down with his head down and when the female got up and started walking, the bull was up and chasing her in two seconds. This city girl had never seen something like this, so it was the highlight of the day. Steve talked to the course manager who said the elk have been coming there since the golf course opened in 1918! This year he had to close the 9th hole because there were too many elk. The golf course is active and the golfers and elk just co-exist and don’t seem to bother each other.