Winding River RV Resort, Grand Lake, Colorado
Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. ~ Proverbs 27:6
When we set out at 8:00am, we set out into a heavy blanket of fog. When we got up this morning, we thought it was a cloudy, but eventually, Blaine realized it wasn’t the kind of clouds we were thinking of. It was kinda weird (which is why I didn’t buy it at first) because it wasn’t foggy around the campground – just more in the distance. However, once we started down the road, it was easy to tell. 😊

After a quick stop at one of Grand Lake’s small-town groceries for bananas, we drove to the parking lot for the seven-mile round trip Cascade Falls. We were shocked by how many people were already there!

The trail begins at 8,545’ elevation, but doesn’t change a whole awful lot, so it wasn’t overly difficult, just long. And beautiful! And part of it goes through private property, so there must be some type of agreement in place between the property owner(s) and the National Park Service.





It’s not so bad if you do it in bits and pieces. : )









And it was pretty exciting, as we had fairly close encounters with wildlife along the way! No mountain lions though. . . Whew!


It’s obviously boarded up, but we liked the “slide” over the steps. : )
It’s either to keep the snow off, or keep people from walking up to the door. . .






until I caught movement through the brush and trees.



We both agreed, that wildlife aside, it was a much, much better hike than the Green Mountain Loop we did the other day. Willowy Aspen with leaves fluttering in the gentle breeze, tall stately pines wafting their scent all around us, a sometimes quiet, sometimes raging river, abundant wildflowers painting the landscape with a variety of color, lots of luscious green ground cover, leftover fog or dew droplets glistening on pine needles and flowers, rocky tree-covered mountains, the sight and sound of water from the North Inlet River racing and tumbling over rocks, all culminating into a splendid roaring waterfall, plus the discovery of a few large critters along the way . . . what’s not to love?!?






Obviously it was liquid at some point.










Oftentimes, we couldn’t see it, or if we did, it was only a glimpse through trees and other growth,
but it sounded so nice!




Blaine’s app told us that every part of this plant is edible.
We loved the water droplets on it too. : )


And yes. There will be too many water pictures. Just slide right over them if you want. : )
Blaine’s searching for a way to get over to see the falls from a better vantage point.
We had to cross a run-off stream. I don’t know what they’re really called, you know what I mean, the water that escapes and runs off to the sides of the main flow.
Once we found a place, he had to help me out a little to get across, since I’m not as sure-footed as I once was.

It was sooo exhilarating! And yes, a bit damp.
But so very worth it!














before dropping down to join the rest.




Blaine found an easier way across.
Not easy. Just easier. : )










I know, you may be thinking that we’ve shown you bigger and better waterfalls in the past, but maybe because we’ve not seen this much flowing water since November, it just seemed outrageously spectacular to us.


and found him to be extremely adorable.

I know, I know. We shouldn’t do that.
But doesn’t God want us to care for the animals?





Oh, that’s right ~ there was a sign at the beginning that told us that. Duh!


There were also three horses we had to move over for.
Beautiful place for a ride!


Probably because it was still shaded from the sun, due to the fog and mountains.



People had to jostle for position to get in and out!
This is one reason why we head out so early in the morning!
We finished up, and because the trail was so close to home, we went there for lunch.
Then it was back in the Jeep, and off to Trail Ridge Road once again, to embark on another wildlife safari.


I probably could’ve done a better job filming, but it’s hard to film and watch at the same time, at least it is for me. : )

We thought to check out a small portion of the Colorado Trail, thinking it would take us on a walk along the River, but it was crowded, and it started climbing steeply, so we turned around and headed for home, but not before making a quick stop at the Coyote Valley Trail, where once again, we encountered too many people. Too many people equals no wildlife. I mean, what wildlife would want to hang around yelling, running kids and loud-mouthed adults?




Never saw another soul. : )





That’s okay though. We already saw plenty of wildlife today. Including a horse parade on the way home.

We think this is a guided trail ride that was returning to our campground.
Tomorrow we move to the East Side. Just like the Jefferson’s! (Did you catch my little joke? The Jefferson’s? The sitcom that ran from 1975-85?)