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Blog Entry 24 of 82 The Happening

Steve Shultz here. I am the YourHub.com community journalist representing the vast and sunny land known as Highlands Ranch. My blog will present a quick synopsis of the hip, and maybe not so hip, happenings in Highlands Ranch and all the great photos and stories posted by residents just like you. Every now and again, I will rant and rave about what deeply interests me, and ask for your personal feedback. We like to be personal here at YourHub.com - YourHub.com is not just some nameless, faceless ghost.


Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~aspiringmuni

Hot springs and a lake that hangs

Contributed by: Steve Shultz, YourHub.com   on 7/12/2006

Summer means different things to different people. One popular summer pastime is vacationing.

I just returned June 19 from my vacation to Glenwood Springs, and I had a blast.

My wife, Melinda, and I camped out for four days at Ami's Acres Campground, located in the west part of town. Actually, it was my first time camping.

Of course, I've stayed in an RV and a little pop-up trailer with my parents before, when I was younger. But I've never really been in the rough. Melinda, however, has had plenty of camping experience. She absolutely loves the mountains.

We borrowed all the gear from family and friends - the tent from our friends Matt and Jackie, sleeping bags from Melinda's mom, Tami, air mattresses from my brother-in-law, Tom, and a cooler and lanterns from my parents.

Did I mention a medium-sized black bear walked right past our campsite? He was heading up the side of the mountain, about 40 to 50 feet away from us. He didn't mess with us, though. It's pretty memorable to see a bear up close during your first camping trip.

We spent our first day in Glenwood setting up camp and perusing the downtown shops. Melinda found an array of gemstones at High Country Gems & Minerals for a good price.

We went to the Hot Springs Pool only two days; however, I think two days at the world's most crowded, natural hot tub and swimming pool is sufficient. It was rather relaxing.

On Saturday, we rode the gondola up the side of the mountain for a tour of Glenwood Caverns.

It was amazing to see all those stalactites and stalagmites, which took millions of years to create some of the longer ones. Actually, according to our tour guide, it takes 1,000 years for a sugar-cubed piece of stalactite to form, and we saw some that were more than 20 feet in length.

The highlight of the whole vacation was our hike to Hanging Lake, located off Interstate 70 just east of Glenwood Springs.

We were told that the 1.2-mile hike was fairly easy. I guess that's true if you have a lot of hiking experience; I found it to be a challenge, and it was fairly steep in some parts.

But I'm not complaining; Hanging Lake is well worth the exercise. In fact, we saw something on the hike that confirmed the honeymoon-esque nature of our vacation: A heart shape inside of a tree stump. Pretty poetic, if you ask me, since we never actually went on a honeymoon.

That hike took us up to the most magnificent place I think I've ever been to: A beautiful lake - created by a fault and 25 feet deep in the center - and two amazing waterfalls, complete with a natural bridge you can walk on.

We thought we had seen it all, but a fellow hiker told us about Spouting Rock, the source of Hanging Lake's waterfalls. Spouting Rock is just a simple hike up above Hanging Lake, and, just as the name implies, you can see three separate spouts of water pouring through the rock. You can even walk behind the waterfall.

The vacation's over and I'm back in the office. To keep me pacified, I'd love to see your summer vacation stories and photos. Post them on YourHub.com when you get back home.


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Showing 1-10 of 11 comments
Submitted By: Carrie Nortillo
posted on 6/21/2006 @ 12:13:31 PM
Rated Blog Entry
I'm so glad you two finally got to take your "honeymoon"! Speaking of which, the view from your campsite reminded me of Kauai -- minus the ocean and tropical trees, of course!
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Submitted By: Steve Shultz
posted on 6/21/2006 @ 10:32:45 AM
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Thanks Robin!
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Submitted By: Robin Ricci
posted on 6/21/2006 @ 9:58:06 AM
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Those were truely amazing photos.Your story left me feeling as if I was on the trail and at the waterfall with you.
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Submitted By: Charmaine Robledo
posted on 6/20/2006 @ 3:12:35 PM
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Steve, awesome photos! I especially like the stream coming down from Hanging Lake. Looks like something on the wall of my dentist's office with the word "Perseverance" under it.
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Submitted By: John Zwick
posted on 6/20/2006 @ 2:01:11 PM
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Ah, man - you gotta do more tent camping. It's a blast. Cold weather camping is especially nice if you dig on "roughing it" a bit. You learn a lot when you're doing that.
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Submitted By: Tabitha Dial
posted on 6/20/2006 @ 1:40:08 PM
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I've never been to Hanging Lake. I do look forward to camping on my vacation next month, though. Cool pictures. Especially the fishy one.
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Submitted By: Eric Lubbers
posted on 6/20/2006 @ 1:35:37 PM
Rated Blog Entry
That makes my upcoming vacation to Yuma look pretty unimpressive. Thanks a lot, Steve.
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Submitted By: Brendan Leonard
posted on 6/20/2006 @ 1:35:04 PM
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Nice pics. Where's the one of the bear?
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Submitted By: Brendan Harrington
posted on 6/20/2006 @ 1:31:23 PM
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Nice photos! I like the one from behind the falls, and of you next to Spouting Rock. Makes you feel small, no?
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Submitted By: Karen Gilbert
posted on 6/20/2006 @ 1:31:16 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Looks like a great vacation. I'm inspired.
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Showing 1-10 of 11 comments
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