Hiking to Rocky Top

As we've been driving the area north of Durango, we have been looking longingly to the rock cliffs we could see from the highway.  More than once we've said, "We want to hike up there!" and point to those mountain rims high above us.

While visiting the ski resort we found that it was actually national forest land with a very long lease.  The roads and trails inside the ski area are open to the public in the summer.  So we headed up the gravel forest service roads that circled around the chair lifts until we found ourselves at a locked gate.  This picture was taken by a guy camping on one of the ski runs with a beautiful view.

We had gained good altitude with our drive, so we headed out on a level walk in the direction of that rocky rim that we had been yearning for.   It took us less than an hour to hike to a point where we could see the highway below us, and the Electra Lake area near the cabin.

It's always fun to hike until you can see at eye-level those craggly rims that look so far away when you're on that highway far below.

In the picture below you can see the three hikers in the upper right hand corner, making their way towards the point of the rim while Mark waited on the other rim with the camera.

 We made it to the point for even better pictures, and you can barely see us standing near the tip.  We have pictorial evidence of how steep that rock face beneath us was.

As high up as we were on this hike, it was fascinating that Mark found a perfect sea shell in the shale layers right below the rim.  Does that mean this area was once covered by water?

We worked our way around the rim, always amazed by the views of some more of God's wonders. We really enjoyed our time on top of that ridge!  We were on top of the world!


Then we play a game where we get on different cliffs, and take turns taking pictures of each other.  So Denisa takes a picture of Mark on his rock rim . . .

while Mark is taking a picture of Denisa standing on the adjacent rock rim.  Both of us are feeling very safe where we are standing because it looks like there is lots of solid ground around us.  But the other person can see the sheer drop-off hundreds of feet below.  So then we start yelling at each other to back away from the edge.









 










Connie and Steven witnessed our antics, but were smart enough not to join into our game.







 
After spending some good time at the top, we headed back to our vehicle.  Again, it was a predominately flat trail, punctuated by some beautiful meadows.  This was Denisa's favorite blue meadow that matched her blouse today.

There were also a few Monument plants that form tall stalks and bloom only once in their life-time when the conditions are ideal.  Plants can be 20-80 years old before they finally bloom, so they are in a very small group of plants called "monocarpic." With all the moisture, this has been an ideal summer and we have seen a few of these amazing blooms.  They remind us of the monocarpic Century plants that we saw in the desert this winter.

We are almost back to the car, and we are loving the yellow wildflowers and the mountain views from the top of the chair lift.

We stopped on the way home to look back up at some of the peaks from the highway.  It was a great hike!

But this was our last day near Durango, and it was time to pack up and head home.  Home to us is our motor home sitting in South Fork, while Connie and Steven headed home to Altus, Oklahoma and 100 degree heat.  But on the way home we crossed Wolf Creek Pass in the evening.  It was 39 degrees and the pass was covered with sleet.  That was Colorado's way of wishing two Okies a fond farewell.