Hiking to the old ones...

We're spending the weekend with our niece, Amanda, who lives in Denver. We suggested hiking in the mountains, to look for more fall colors and pick up one of Colorado's oldest geocaches.

First we went to her favorite breakfast place, which does make-to-order steel-cut oatmeal. Sort of like a sub shop, where you choose the toppings you want. She eats here several days a week, and I can see why. It was yummy.

Then we headed toward Estes Park and our trail. The trailhead was a simple wide pull-out along the highway, and a small trail sign. We scrambled up the rock switchbacks to the open meadowland, then walked through pine forests with distant views.

Dave kept us on track to the cache, and we finally got close enough to send Mandy off to make the find. We signed the log and let Mac, the travel bear, pose for a photo with the original log. Mac has taken a TB to a lot of old caches on this trip, then we'll send the TB on it's way with a lot of miles in its log.

Also in the area is a collapsed homesteader's cabin, and an odd log cabin-type structure build over a pit in the granite. It was fun to explore a bit, before we had to head back down.

What a beautiful day for a hike in the Rockies!