Saturday morning Larry embarked upon a fishing venture just after sunrise. From underneath the Shadow Mountain/Grand Lake Channel Bridge, he was able to catch sight of a beautiful sunrise, but alas, he did not catch anything. Me (Stella), I slept in a bit and had awoken to the gentle pleas of little Aspen who wanted to get the day moving. Once Larry had returned and breakfast was finished, he made a break for Granby to pick up some ear cleaner at the local vet clinic (because I forgot to pack it) so Aspen could go swimming. Just before his return, a good friend of mine whom I used to work with had arrived.
First stop, swimming Aspen! Aspen had an awesome swim session on Saturday. She never wants to stop, but we monitor how she’s doing so that she doesn’t over exert herself. Once back at Base Camp and Aspen’s grooming needs were taken care of; Larry, myself and my friend took off for the Alpine Center at the top of Rocky Mountain National Park. My friend had not been there before, so she appreciated gazing down into the “Tundra,” as well as looking around the awesome gift shop. We also embarked on a short hike into the Holzwarth Historic Site on our way back down from the Alpine Center.
Prior to heading back to Base Camp, we hiked the Adams Falls loop. After a delicious vegan dinner, my friend headed back to Denver while Larry and I took to reading for the rest of the evening.
Sunday, we again, swam Aspen in the morning. Debating on our next move, we loaded up “The Big Mango” and planned to kayak Willow Creek Reservoir. However, in route our plans changed to kayaking Lake Granby. We launched from the Stillwater Boat ramp and headed North towards Cut Throat Bay. About a mile into the paddle, just south of the entrance into the bay, the rain began to fall, forcing us to paddle back to shore. Our goal was to paddle for about 3 hours which would have allowed a peek at the outflow of the Colorado River from Shadow Mountain Lake. We headed back to Base Camp and relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon.