Rocky Mt High and the Chapel in the Rock.

Denver area, early August 2012.  We departed our AB Campground on the southern edge of Cheyenne a little after 10am on 5 August, picked up I-25 and headed south to the Denver area for a few days visit and sightseeing with my sister, Sandi.  Sandi has lived in Highlands Ranch (HR) – an unincorporated community just south of Littleton, CO, and about 17 miles south of downtown Denver – for several years now.  We arrived at Chatfield State Park around 12:30, got everything set up, and headed over to see my sis and her two totally-too-cute Yorkshire terriers, Benzee and the alpha (fe)male, Bella.  Two very loveable, but very spoiled kids – but, oh, so cute.  Sandi fixed us a lovely supper and we visited and caught up on each other’s worlds far too late into the evening. I should say something about Chatfield before continuing this blog entry.  This state park sits on a man-made lake, just southwest of the Denver area.  Very clean and well-maintained, but has very little shade.  The park probably caters more to boating activities than just camping out, since there’s very little in the way of amenities other than restrooms and pay showers.  No playgrounds for kids or open areas.  Each site is very clean, has a picnic table and outdoor grill.

The next morning Sandi suggested a short sightseeing trip up into the Rocky Mt National Park (RMNP) area to look for a small chapel she had come across several years ago called the Chapel in the Rock (more on this later). We headed west on I-70 out of the Denver area for about 30 minutes and turned north on state Hiway 119/72.  This curving, twisting mountain road led us thru the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, along with several quaint mountain towns. Our plan was to find the Chapel in the Rock, aka Saint Malo's, and continue on to Estes Park, which sets at the entrance to RMNP.  Saint Malo’s suddenly came into view as we rounded a corner and what a sight it was.  And, yes, it is built right into the rocks, with a Rocky Mt background.  Officially known as Saint Catherine of Siena's Chapel, Saint Malo’s is located on the grounds of the Saint Malo Retreat Center of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver. In 1999, Boulder County designated the chapel as a historic site.  We toured the small chapel and took several photos from several different angles to gain an appreciation of the whole scene. 

We hit the mountain road again and continued our sightseeing trip thru some marvelous scenery, finally arriving in Estes Park.  After enjoying a brief rest and lunch, we headed back east on Hiway 34 that followed the Big Thompson river.  We thoroughly enjoyed the majestic mountain views until we finally exited this area via a small, very narrow and rugged canyon.  Stopped and took several pix of both the canyon walls and the river below.  We finally reached Loveland, CO, and picked up I-25 that brought us back into the Denver area and  Highlands Ranch. 

Big Thompson River canyon road

Big Thompson River rugged scenery

So, we’ve finally reached the edge of the Rocky Mts and the Continental Divide – which will prove a good test for the Winnebago pulling the Saturn thru the mountains.  I’m not sure how high in altitude we got during our Estes Park sightseeing trip, but we did pass by Twin Sisters Peaks that looked quite close to us and stood at 11,400 ft.  We saw several other mountain peaks that reached 14,000 and 12,700…at least according to the hiway signs.  As we passed thru several of those quaint mountain towns, the “Welcome” signs usually read somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 ft. in elevation.  Oh, BTW, while the temperatures in the Denver area were in the low 90's when we left on our day trip into the mountains, it was 68 degrees during parts of our drive.  What a nice respite from the sweltering heat - felt great!

Our plans right now have us departing here on 14 August and heading back up I-25 to Cheyenne and then west toward Laramie.  We plan to spend the night in Rawlins, WY and then cross the Continental Divide on the 15^th.   But right now we have more visiting with my sister, Sandi and her two "kids" -- and, of course, some more sightseeing to do.