Heather had several attractions in the Loveland and Fort Collins areas lined up for today. The first part of today's adventure was to explore some of US Route 34 which serves as the main thoroughfare from Greeley to Loveland. I explored a small part of the road earlier immediately outside of Loveland, but hadn't ventured into the city, itself. So this was something new.

But he real treat begins past Loveland where Route 34 continues west through Big Thompson Canyon toward the town of Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. This is normally a wonderful scenic drive into the mountains. But repairs were being made to the roadway somewhere in the middle of the canyon, and the road was closed after a certain point. The plan was to explore Big Thompson Canyon Road as far as possible before heading back into Loveland. After that, we would head to the Anheuser-Busch plant in Fort Collins, Colorado to check out the Visitor's Center before heading into downtown Fort Collins to grab some dinner and see the Downtown Holiday Lights display.

Loveland is about the same physical size as Greeley, (roughly 26 square miles, Greeley is about 30 square miles), but has about 30,000 less people. We didn't encounter much in the way of traffic driving through the city on a Tuesday afternoon.

The photo above is of the Veteran's Memorial at Dwayne Webster Park near the center of town.

Across the street from the Veteran's Memorial is the appropriately named Lake Loveland.

Lake Loveland is a man made reservoir that was built in 1894.

Originally used as a source of irrigation for farming, Lake Loveland now serves as a source of drinking water.

When the lake was built, Loveland was about ½ mile away.

But over the last century, Loveland has grown to the point where the lake is now in the center of town.

Today, the lake is a residential area surrounded by more than 100 homes, most of which look very nice !

Residences around Lake Loveland.

Some of these residences looked very nice !

The lake is privately owned, meaning the recreation rights are owned by the residents whose homes surround the lake. Public access is available in several places.

The homes may be a little too close to your neighbor for my taste. But waking up each morning to mountain views might make up for it.

The best reason to buy a lakefront home here is for the incredible view !

But with a view like that, I suspect that the homes are priced accordingly.

View from Lake Loveland.

View from Lake Loveland.

View from Lake Loveland.

Route 34 continues west past Lake Loveland toward Estes Park. Our next stop, the Devil's Backbone Open Space, sits a couple of miles outside of town.

The Devil's Backbone Open Space is a 2,198 acre nature preserve that features 12 miles of hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding trails and wildlife viewing areas.

Welcome to the Devil's Backbone Open Space.

The name Devil's Backbone is a reference to the shape of the rocks on the peak above when viewed from a distance.

The jagged peaks are arranged in a line and look like a "backbone."

I wasn’t able to get a shot of The Keyhole, (a unique rock formation within those peaks), from my vantage point.

But I could zoom in on some of the other rock formations.

Zooming in on the Devil's Backbone rock formations.

We decided to take a short walk on one of the trails that would provide a great view of the area.

Initially, it looked like we were walking into the woods.

Once out on the network of trails, the view opened up.

We encountered some interesting rock formations along the trail. I know nothing about geology. But I am reading that the rocks seen along the trails are Sedimentary rocks. They protrude at an angle as a result of being uplifted millions of years ago.

Across the valley from where we were standing is a matching set of protruding Sedimentary rocks. At one time, the layers of rock were horizontal and continuous. The angles seen today are the result of everything being uplifted and then eroded into the valley

There are 12 miles of trails in the Open Space. Some are designated for foot traffic, others for horse traffic.

I spotted a number of homes in the distance.

The neighborhood seen in the photos above and below sits along Hidden Valley Drive.

Homes along Hidden Valley Drive across from the Devil's Backbone Open Space.

Panorama from one of the Devil's Backbone trails.

The Hidden Valley Drive neighborhood looks "upscale" to my untrained eyes.

And I'm not kidding when I say "upscale !"

These homes were awfully nice !

Homes across from the Devil's Backbone Open Space.

I discovered that the home seen in the blurry photo above was for sale during my visit for a mere $2.4 million.

More homes from the Hidden Valley Drive neighborhood.

Very nice homes from the Hidden Valley Drive neighborhood.

More homes from the Hidden Valley Drive neighborhood.

For those who can afford the price of admission, this would be a great place to live.

Waking up every morning to the view offered by one of these homes would be wonderful !

Hidden Valley Drive neighborhood across from the Devil's Backbone Open Space.

We took in the awesome view for a while before heading back to the car to continue our trek on Route 34. Traveling west past the Devil's Backbone takes visitors toward the town of Estes Park following the path of the Big Thompson River through Big Thompson Canyon. My ride through the canyon began at The Dam Store at its base.