Wednesday July 22 (Maroon Bells)

After very little sleep I was up and about fairly early. I decided to catch the free bus to Starbucks for a coffee and then catch the one an hour later to the station to get the bus to ASPEN. The bus was a bit late as there had been an accident, vehicle against utility box, along the way.

After my coffee I waited and waited and waited for the bus until one of the RFTA buses came along with Aspen as his destination. Turns out this was the slow bus (I now know what the L means, lol). So I changed buses at the station to catch the direct one. Free rides for over 65s, lol!! These buses also have WiFi as I found out by accident, it is an excellent service. This is a lovely ride up into the mountains. Today is the "where do I catch the bus to......what time does it leave for .........?" day, everyone is so very helpful!!

The day started quite overcast but gradually the sun came out and the clouds lessened, it was pleasantly warm. Into Aspen the traffic was backed up for a couple of miles, fortunately we were in the bus lane! It seems to be popular even in summer and the ski fields are quite clearly visible.

Well, it took four bus rides to reach Maroon Bells but it was so worth it. The driver of third of them was most helpful and pointed out where I needed to catch the bus to Maroon Bells. The last one was narrated so we learned a lot about the area. Some terms from my school geography that I never thought I would hear again, lol, terminal moraine, lateral moraine, alluvial fans and hanging lakes to name but four. 

There are a large number of Avalanche chutes along both sides of the road, one Avalanche came down the left side and pushed snow 500 feet up the order side of the valley leaving 75 feet of snow over the road. 


There were also a lot of bike riders out on the eight mile climb!! in fact, I have never seen so many rental bike places!!

The valley is U shaped due to the existence of glaciers many thousands of years ago. There is a lot more of the red rock that I have seen at Glenwood - it is weathered hermatite. 

It contains fossils and produces sharp edged peaks as it has only been above ground for a relatively short time, geologically speaking. 

The view was evident as we got off the bus, it is a magnificent setting, not a bad place to eat lunch. 

I chatted to a couple from Colorado Springs, he has visited NZ and I was able to get my photo taken in this gorgeous place.

I went for a walk to the other end of the lake, there were quite a few other people doing the same. The paths had been closed earlier due to animals on them and last Friday there was a bear down low. There was evidence of beavers at work although some of the dams have been left as there is no fresh wood nearby. 

I wandered back to the bus stop and we did not have long to wait to drive the eight miles to the Highlands. I got chatting to a woman who spends the summers up here and it is because her husband is the Tennis pro for Aspen, not a bad life!!  At both the Aspen Highlands and Aspen terminal stops there was very little wait time for the bus.. I saw the driver who had been so helpful and told him what an awesome trip it was. 

The bus to Glenwood came along fairly soon and I started the trip back at 1.50 pm arriving in Glenwood at about 3.40 pm. There were a few patchy showers on the way back but nothing to worry about. The driver looked so much like Novak Djokovic it was uncanny. He was just as skinny too, lol!! I nodded off at one point and was woken hearing a voice saying "young lady, where are you going?", it was the driver, lol!!!

The bus dropped me off at Starbucks again so I could have another coffee and also check my IPad, which seemed to have died on me. The coffee was good but the IPad would not come round. This was going to cause me a lot of strife as it is my phone in the USA.

The Ride Glenwood buses are running so late today and that was the longest wait of all the parts of the trip. So my trip to Maroon Bells only cost me $4, not a bad day out, lol. Aspen to Glenwood is 40 miles through a long valley and some pleasant scenery.

Once the bus finally came it was back to base for a shower and to do my washing. I then did some research on the Internet and tried one suggestion to reset the IPad, and YAY it worked. Such a huge relief!!

I had my dinner and then it was time to write the blog  and reflect on how beautiful Maroon Bells is. I will be sorry to leave the area but not sorry to leave the motel, lol!!