July 1, Still in the Rockies

Hi friends and family, We are here for another day and studied some of the history of the Park and did some exploring. George is in withdrawal because there are no off-road roads to explore so we explored the little town of Grand Lake where we had dinner last night. You will see the lake in the pictures. We are glad we were able to see the ridge of the park. It is 11,000 ft. for 10 miles. 78 of the summits exceed 12,000 ft. We saw the Alphine lakes on the way. They reflect the grandeur of the region. The first summits protruded as islands above a shallow sea more than 135 million years ago, when the dinosaurs reigned. Another range grew out of a later sea some 75 million years ago. Over the eons these summits eroded to rolling hills, which rose again, although unevenly. Some portions sank along fault lines, helping create the texture of the scenery. Rock as old as that at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, nearly 2 billion years ago, caps the Rockies summits. Within the last million years, glaciers, grinding boulders beneath them, carved deep canyons. Erosion later scoured the more jagged summits into their present profiles. I wish we could be here a million years from now to see the changes that may occur over time. It is amazing to me that geologists have all this information for us. It is a miracle of nature. To top off our trip here, our volunteer friends had a progressive dinner for us and we had a great time with them. All 8 of us played dominoes after dinner. They are staying at the Holzworth Historic Site. It used to be a fishing camp and the owners donated it to the Park. They live in the sweetest cabins. We are leaving for The Grand Tetons in Wy. tomorrow. Love you all.