I left early and took the shortest route to Rabbit Ears Pass, as I wanted to have time to hike up to the "rabbit ears". The name comes from the appearance of several large and tall rocks atop a hill one sees coming from the east on US 40 or from the north on CO 14 (the better view).
Rabbit Ears pass is several miles long, much of it atop a plateau popular for hiking and camping in the summer, snow mobiling, snow shoeing, and cross-country skiing in winter. The wild flowers in late July are the best I have seen anywhere, including Crested Butte's celebrated wild flower festival. A pleasant stop if one doesn't have much time is a national forest picnic area just before getting to the campground, which is marked on the highway. Going on past the campground leads to the trail head.
Much of the trail is a gentle climb with some steep spots, but about 1/2 mile from the top steepness increases a lot. There is a welcome stop with great views just before the last, really steep haul.
From the highest points Rocky Mountain Park, the Gore Range, and Flattops can be seen.
On to Rawlins for an overnight and early start to get to GTNP. Coming into the park from the east was major road construction and lots of rain, but I was at the Colter Bay visitors center by lunchtime. It was still raining so lots of people were inside, but as it tapered off I found the picnic area by the bay completely deserted. Some hiking around the water was pleasant, and I ran into a sweet companion.
Actually an slightly overcast day is a welcome change. Later I drove toward the Jenny Lake area (but no way would I venture to those loved to death trails) and hiked along String Lake to Leigh Lake. It was plenty crowded until the parking areas were a bit further off the trail, but eventually I came to a bridge crossing the spillway between the lakes, wandered through an empty back packer campground to Leigh Lake. I found a large boulder on the edge for a seat and table while enjoying solitary time with a snack.
The next day after waiting on road construction off the main highway and a trip for a couple miles on good unpaved road, I came to the trail heads Two Ocean Lake and Emma Matilda Lake. Heeding numerous bear warnings, I locked all food and food scented pack in the trunk and took the shorter trail to Emma Matilda Lake. A steady climb through forest came to a huge meadow filled with flowers. From there it was a mixture of flowers and trees to stunning views of the glorious peaks.
One last picture shows the view off a drive to the top of a high point in the park that overlooks Jackson Hole. The word "Hole" was used by early explorers here to mean a large mountain valley. In Colorado the word "Park", as in South or North Park is used the same way. Then it was on to Flaming Gorge Reservoir after one long drive south through Wyoming the next day. I took a side trip into a scenic canyon and was well rewarded with views and sheep. The lead sheep had just started across the road coming down from a steep trail when he saw the car. He went back to the trail, then back to the road, back to the trail, where I finally got a snapshot of him and one of his two companions.
The picture above is in the scenic canyon in the Flaming Gorge area.
The picture above got out of order. This is the view of Jackson Hole.
On to Flaming Gorge itself, where I tried to get a room for the night in spite of my reservation in Vernal. But alas they were booked. Another time I think a trip to Flaming Gorge and Dinosaur National Monument along the way will be in order.
The next day I headed to Brown's Park and the Jarvis Ranch from Vernal. The last part of the road in was through a really narrow, but beautiful canyon. Then it was across the Green River on an old fashioned wooden suspension bridge to the area. Jarvis Ranch is beautifully restored, and now days probably most famous for the outlaws who did business with Jarvis and hung out in the area. This includes the famous Butch Cassidy gang. But poor Jarvis was murdered by some less honorable outlaws, who were never brought to justice.
My last picture is in the north part of Dinosaur NM, the Gates of Ladore. I would love to raft through here but not sure I could take the long old school bus ride with guides and rafts to get here.
Headed for home on US 40, through Craig, Steamboat Springs, Rabbit Ears Pass, down CO 9 to Silverthorne and I-70 to Denver. Great, great trip!!!!!!
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