On September 30 we did another road trip into the mountains seeking changing leaves and sister Stacie was able to come along this time. This trip was not so high or dramatic as the one over Trail Ridge Road but still very beautiful.
The Peak to Peak Highway showed us gorgeous sights between Estes Park and Nederland. Our first stop was in western Longmont near Lyons, where we visited the
Ya Ya Apple Orchard and Farm. It was a great place, with apples of course but also some beautiful horses and other critters.
At Ya Ya, they breed fabulous draft horses called
Percherons. These gentle giants are so sweet and the foals weigh 200+ when they are born! I found them every bit as intriguing as the Budweiser Clydesdales I've seen and so open to interaction with people.
On the left is Sweetie, who came to greet us as we entered the barn. Don't you just love her bangs? Her son Meister joined her and they let us stroke their faces and necks.
There were also some quarter horses and two miniature donkeys named Betsy and John Henry. I had a lot of fun feeding a bucket of carrots to the donkeys, who were every bit as sweet as the giant horses.
We left Ya Ya with the car full of apples and happy thoughts about this wonderful place.
On to the leaves, primarily quaking aspens but lots of others as well. Below is a shot of Long's Peak and sisters Susie, Valerie and Stacie at a stop along the way.
We stopped in Allenspark to see
St. Catherine of Siena's Chapel, often referred to as the Chapel on the Rock. The chapel is a part of St. Malo's Retreat Center, which was severely damaged by a fire in November 2011. It sits atop a massive boulder and reminded me of a mini Mont St. Michel.
We really loved this place and did a little exploring around the immediate vicinity - despite the bear warning signs! Here we are getting ready to leave. From left, it's Valerie, Stacie and Susie.
We cruised over to
Nederland for some lunch, which turned out to be quite a challenge. Nederland is sort of a hippy town but with bikers as well, all in the shadow of Mt. Meeker. We just wanted a burger but between the crowds and the scary bars with flies, we searched in vain. We finally landed in a place that seemed a throwback to the 1950s and indeed, it is over 50 years old and nothing has changed, including the waiters.
Here are Stacie and Skipper, who was our good shepherd and chauffeur that day. Inside the restaurant we entered a time warp. Waiters in their 70s responded to questions such as "What's good to eat?" with "What the hell do you expect me to say?" Okay, uh, really? A visit to the single restroom was even more odd. Here's a picture of the tiny
pink toilet, which was very close to the floor.
Our food was lousy but the whole experience was quite entertaining, including the patron at another table who took turns leering at each of us female types. From the left, Susie, Skipper, Valerie and Stacie.
So ended a memorable day of sightseeing and sisterly fun. I am continually discovering new and beautiful surprises in these fabulour Rocky Mountains.
