Gnome Hunting at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

August 7, 2012

I have been to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science twice before this visit, but never have I enjoyed it so much!  Shortly after moving to Colorado I saw a story on the news about hidden gnomes painted in the dioramas at the museum.  I quickly searched for them the first couple of times I was there but the crowd I was with thought gnome hunting sounded lame.  So I let it go.

When my best friend Kimberlee came to visit with her husband and 8 year old daughter I told her about the tale of the gnomes and of course she was intrigued as well.  This is why she is my best friend!  So, we spent the day hunting for gnomes!  What a day!  We actually found quite a few on our own before we realized the museum provides you with a detailed list of where to find the gnomes.  We were too good for that though and felt very proud of ourselves for finding most of them without any assistance.

We found six painted gnomes, a gnome constellation, two 3D gnome figurines, and Yoda.

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We had a lot of fun with this!  I didn't type out the specific locations of all these since you can get it at the information desk, but this way you can see what you're looking for should you decide to go gnome hunting at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  I highly recommend it!

Lu Lu City

 July 14, 2012

The Lu Lu City trail starts at the Colorado River Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Colorado River Trailhead

I will be honest... The only reason we did this hike is because I was told you were likely to see moose near the end of the trail.  We did not, and without seeing moose I found this trail just so-so.  Nothing spectacular.





The hike is 7.4 miles round trip and I would consider it easy for the distance.  The only tip I have is get to the trailhead early!  The parking lot was nearly full when we got there and we are very early starters.

The trail takes you to the site of Lu Lu City, once home to 200 residents with high hopes of finding enough silver to make it big.  Needless to say, that never pannned out and by 1884, just four years after plans were made to build the city, it was abandoned.

Site of Lu Lu City

Now the only remnants of the city are a few logs and mining machinery left behind.  Personally, I wasn't impressed by what we saw along the hike.  Below is the picture of the only log cabin along the way, and I think we saw a rusty mining cart, but really there wasn't much to see.

Shipler Mine

Once you get to Lu Lu City the view opens up and it is really quite pretty.  We found the perfect log on the shore of the Colorado River to sit and eat lunch before the hike back.  We also ran into some small wildlife friends along the way.

Marmot Friend

Chipmunk Friend

Colorado River

Lake Haiyaha, Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake

July 7, 2012

I have wanted to do this hike since I saw it in my hiking book.  It's a relatively easy hike and you see 5 beautiful lakes, so what better day to do it than my birthday!  What a great birthday it was!!!

The hike starts at the Bear Lake trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Obviously, the first lake you pass is Bear Lake.

Bear Lake

Bear Lake is beautiful, and if you feel up for it you can take the very easy .5 mile hike around the lake.  The best views are from the opposite side of the lake where Hallett Peak rises above the lake.    

The next lake along the trail is Nymph Lake.  It's .5 miles up the trail from Bear Lake and an easy elevation gain.  This lake was my favorite!  The top was covered in water lillies and I thought it was so peaceful.

Nymph Lake

Just before reaching Dream Lake (1.1 miles into the trail) you come to a fork in the trail.  We decided to head to Lake Haiyaha first since it looked to be the more difficult of the options.  To get to lake Haiyaha you  take the left fork.  If you head right you will pass Dream Lake and then head towards Emerald Lake.

The hike to Lake Haiyaha is a little steep, but not too bad.  This lake lies 2.1 miles from Bear Lake, and it's full of giant boulders.  We hiked on a cloudy day, which kept us from really seeing the views, but it added a creepy feeling to the hike.  We felt like we were hiking in the clouds!  It was really neat!

Lake Haiyaha

After reaching Lake Haiyaha we headed back down to Dream Lake and took the other fork in the hike.  Dream Lake was very pretty, and there seemed to be good fishing there as well.  It was the largest of the 5 lakes we saw, but again I think it would have been a better view had it not been so cloudy.  I think beyond the clouds there would have been some beautiful views of mountain peaks.

Dream Lake

Past Dream Lake the hike climbs uphill for .7 miles until you reach Emerald Lake.  Emerald Lake was pretty, but I wish we could have seen the views.  We may have to take this hike again, but even a cloudy hike is better than the best day at work!

Emerald Lake

I calculated the whole hike, seeing all 5 lakes, (not including the .5 mile walk around Bear Lake) to be around 7.5 miles.  I would call this hike relatively easy with a few uphill climbs just before Lake Haiyaha and Emerald Lake.  But, if I can make it, anyone can make it!

This hike a must do!  I am also planning to do it again on a clear day, but I have so many others to do first before we can think about doing any hike a second time.