Fall colors and cooler weather...our last camping trip of the year

Cool, crisp mornings and warm, slow afternoons make for a great camping weekend.  We headed up to the Lyons/Allenspark area to do some camping/hiking/biking.  We stayed at Camp Dick campground.  Luckily, we made it there around 2:30-3 in the afternoon on Friday and got the second to last campsite available (you weren't allowed to reserve spots after a certain time).  We were stuck out in the grassy, open area instead of nestled in some of the 'better' campsites but it ended up working out for us.  The sun in the morning helped warm us up and the sun in the late afternoon kept us warm as it started to get cool. 

We started Saturday morning out with a nice family hike.  The views were nice

and the Aspen were in full fall color.

 

 

We tried to show the kids how the GPS works and to use landmarks to keep track of where they are. 

 We saw these cool caterpillars all over the area this weekend.

I liked how wiggly this guy was.  It's hard to believe he was moving fast enough to create camera blur.

 

Hike: Sourdough Trail Cut-off to Beaver Reservoir

Trails Used:  Sourdough Trail Cut-off

Distance: 4.94 miles

Difficulty: Moderate
Overall average: 1.5 mph
Overall Time: 3 hrs, 17 mins
Total Ascent: 1529 ft.

 

 We went on a small hike in the afternoon along the river (Middle St. Vrain) and found some neat rocks and these cool, overturned trees.

 The cousins showed up Saturday night for a quick camp experience.

 

The kids had fun collecting 'wheat', and building their own campfire rings.  We went for another hike Sunday morning down Buchanan Pass Trailhead to Timberline Falls.  The kids had a great time trying to capture the falling leaves and shaking all the Aspen trees.

 Luckily he didn't fall in...but he did lose his sunglasses!

Hike: Timberline Falls

Trails Used:  Buchanan Pass Trail head to Timberline Falls

Distance: 4.82 miles

Difficulty: Easy
Overall average: 1.5 mph
Overall Time: 3 hrs, 16 mins
Total Ascent: 1281 ft.

Wolves at Hermit Park

Drove up to Hermit Park right outside of Estes Park this morning.  We went to see the Wolfwood Refuge (near Durango) put on a presentation about the wolves and wolf dogs that they rescue.  The hour long program was very interesting.  I learned all sorts of things about wolves that I didn't know.  We got to go pet this 5 month old puppy who is a new addition to their refuge.

 

The dogs were just gorgeous and had varying levels of wolf in them.  They just got a pack of nine from Alaska and brought two of them on their tour.  This was a full wolf.

 This was a low level wolf:

 After the talk we headed up the Kruger Rock trail for about a 4 mile hike.

 

The views from the top were fantastic.  You could see Long's Peak,

 

and the whole valley of Estes Park.

 

We had a yummy lunch up top before we headed back down.

 Sadly, the Aspen have already started changing colors.

 

 

At the beginning and end of the trail there were many wildflowers.  

Porter Aster:

Aster:

Bush Sunflower:

 

Kinnickinick:

 

Hike: Kruger Rock (Hermit Park)

Trails Used:  Kruger Rock

Distance: 4.01 miles

Difficulty: Moderate
Overall average: 1.8 mph
Overall Time: 2 hrs, 16 mins
Total Ascent: 1195 ft.