jonesin' for a roadtrip 3
Well, it's time for me to hit the road again. I'm getting bogged down at work again, and it'll help me out if I take off and clear my mind. This is a big trip, and it'll be a bit before we hit home again. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the pictures!
Gettin' high with r-dub
Today, kiddies, we've seen the correct way to get high. That's right, by driving to over two miles into the air! Isn't this fun, boys and girls?
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Just about to go through the rock cut we've seen on the previous page.
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This is a two part rock cut.
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Rounding a corner towards another touron point.
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Well, I decided to place myself in the role of touron and get out and take some snaps. Here's what it looks like to the south of the highway. Can you spot the alpine lake in the middle of the mountain?
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Looking to the west-southwest.
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Looking back down the road.
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Now I'm standing in the middle of the road. I didn't play in traffic, though: there were no passing cars.
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Looking at where we're going. We're just under 12,000 feet now and will be heading down for a bit, but we're not done climbing yet.
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More snow. Getting deeper now.
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Hey! My camera can do panoramic shots, too. At least, it can once I crop out the hood and the blank grey sky, that is. If this was shot on a clear day, I'd have to make this the new header picture for my pages.
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Looks like a roller coaster I've been on before. In reality, though, it's Iceberg Pass, which is at 11,827 feet.
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This road looks like it was just laid on top of the tundra.
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Random pulloffs. I don't understand the point of these. They're too small for more than one car, and they're not aligned for a place to turn around.
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After that curve in the last pic lies this curve. Don't forget to turn the wheel or we won't be hearing from you for a while.
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Switchbacking up that slope from a few pics back.
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Looking back.
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Stupid Coloradans and their fitness schtick. Leads to shots like this.
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Taking a quick break at breakpoint 7: The Lava Cliffs.
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Yeah, those Lava Cliffs.
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What I see from here, huh? ...
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Nope. Can't see that. Stupid sign.
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Did I mention that we haven't hit the high point of Trail Ridge yet?
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In fact, our trusty altimiter says we still have about 500 feet to go. But you know what they say: it's that last yard that'll kill you.
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Clouds hugging mountain slopes and roadgeeks slowing up traffic. Cool.
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Mountain goodness off the port side.
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Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
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Why yes, yes we are. The elevation sign reads 12,020 feet just after that is a slight increase to the maximum height of 12,183 feet. TOP OF THE WORLD, MA!
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And it's all downhill from here. Literally.
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Did I mention that guardrails are a rare commodity up here? It makes it interesting when there's a huge-ass RV whose driver is scared riding down the center of the road.
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Closer shot of the switchbacks we're about to meet.
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Coming up on another tourist trap.
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This, my friends, is the Alpine Visitor Center. It's built to withstand over 200 mph winds and lots of snow on the roof.The old Fall River Road also meets up with this parking lot. Fall River Road was the original way through RMNP. It's tough on cars and in a valley, so the snow doesn't go away easily. Trail Ridge Road replaced Fall River as the main route in the 1930's. Fall River Road's east side is one way east to west now, and the west side was abandoned or taken over by Trail Ridge.
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Unless I see photographic proof of it, I'm ready to say that this is the highest sign goof in the world. Who's with me?
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That is a guide sign. And that other thing? Wiper blade.
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Nice. Better if it was sunny, I bet.
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Starting downwards.
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There's some Medicine Bow mountains in there somewhere. And I can't read that elevation sign.
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Oh yeah! The altimiter will tell us! Nerr!
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Another shot of where we were.
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De trees! De trees!
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And when we reenter the forest, we reenter the forest in a big way.
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Damned wiper blade. Makes it hard to get that shot.
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Coming up on a dammed lake.
- Where to next?
- Page 7
- This trip's Index
- Page 9
Section Links
- Trip Index
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the orginizations listed within this site. I'm just a bored roadgeek with way too much time on his hands. All of the picts in this page are mine and mine alone unless otherwise noted. Remember, kids: stealing is bad, mmmm-k? I get quite pissy if things are taken without telling me. I don't like to be pissy. You won't like it either. If you want to link to this page, that's fine. Please shoot me an email beforehand so I can link to your page as well. K? Thanks. --Ryan
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