SRGC TRIP TO DENVER & THE ROCKIES JUNE - JULY 2014
We are proposing to take a trip to Denver and the Rockies visiting the famous Denver
Botanic Gardens, private gardens and to look at alpine plants growing in the wild.
The trip will leave at the end of June 2014 for 10 -14 days, with a maximum number
of 16 people.
The tour is being organised by Brightwater Holidays with Julia Corden as tour leader Rocky Mountain High – Gardens and Wildflowers of Colorado30 June – 14 July 2014 from £2995.00
Colorado is noted for its vivid and varied landscape of mountains, mesas, canyons, plateaux and plains. With a climate of seasonal extremes of heat and cold, gardening here can be something of a challenge but on our late summer tour of the Centennial State we will discover some splendid gardens, an array of Alpine and Arctic wild flowers, not to mention monumental landscapes and awesome scenery.
Itinerary
Monday 30 June 2014
We depart today on a flight from Edinburgh to Denver, Colorado. Flight upgrades available at a supplement. On arrival we will be met by our local coach and transfer to our hotel in Denver, the city that lies exactly one mile above sea level close to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Evening at leisure.
Tuesday 1 July 2014
We depart for a full day visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens in York Street, which present a wide range of gardens and collections that illustrate an ever-widening diversity of plants from all corners of the world. There are over thirty different gardens here with themes that range from All-American Selections, Dryland Mesa and Flytrap Feast to South African Plaza, Western Panorama and Yuccarama. These distinctive gardens define and celebrate their Western American identity and a unique high altitude climate and geography. Many of the innovative gardens are models of drought tolerance and showcase native and adapted plants that thrive in Western gardens. Throughout Denver Botanic Gardens the time honored traditions of European horticulture merge with a dynamic diversity of plants and design that represent the best in horticultural achievement. Be sure to check out the champion trees – there are around thirty different specimens, from Texan Walnuts to Weeping Alaskan Cedars.
This afternoon we visit Cherokee Ranch, which comes alive at this time of year with a wide variety of flowers, including one-sided penstemon (Penstemon virgatus), lupins and monument plants. It is also peak season for the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds that have made their way back from Mexico and Central America to nest at Cherokee.
Evening at leisure.
Wednesday 2 July 2014
We leave Denver today and travel north to Medicine Bow in the neighbouring state of Wyoming. Like many other towns across southern Wyoming, Medicine Bow was established as a result of the construction of the transcontinental railroad in 1868 and today has a population of under 300. We continue to our hotel in Sheridan, Wyoming, our base for the next three nights. Evening at leisure.
Thursday 3 July 2014
After breakfast we depart for a botanising trip to Ten Sleep, a small town at the base of the Big Horn Mountains. Its name derives from the Indian custom of measuring distance by the number of days (sleeps) it takes to get from one place to another, and it is thought Ten Sleep was half way between two well-known Indian camps.
We return to our hotel, where the evening is at leisure.
Friday 4 July 2014
Following breakfast we depart for a botanising trip to Shell Canyon, Hunt Mountain and Medicine Mountain. Shell Canyon is noted for its geology, with outcrops of Cambrian flathead sandstone, about 550 million years old, resting on 2.9 billion year old Precambrian rocks - some of the oldest rocks on earth. Hunt Mountain is the highest peak in the northern half of the Big Horn Range in Wyoming, rising to 10,162 feet. Medicine Mountain is home to the Bighorn Medicine Wheel, a pre-Colombian stone circle which has been found to feature various astronomical alignments and is still used today by Native Americans for ceremonial purposes.
We return to our hotel, where the evening is at leisure.
Saturday 5 July 2014
After breakfast this morning we check out of the hotel in Sheridan and depart for Steamboat Springs, back in the state of Colorado. Here we visit the Yampa River Botanic Garden, which is situated in a valley beside the Yampa River at an altitude of 6,800 feet (2,100 m), and has a frost-free growing season of just 60 days. The park is made up of a large number of individual gardens, including annuals, high country native plants, penstemons, summer bulbs and roses.
Later we will check in at our hotel in Steamboat Springs where we will stay for the next two nights.
Evening at leisure.
Sunday 6 July 2014
After breakfast we depart for a botanising trip to the Zirkel Dome Wilderness Area. Ample winter snowfall and summer rain combined with fertile soils makes the area very lush with some of the best wildflower displays seen in Colorado. Abundant wildlife flourishes here as well, including moose, bighorn sheep and deer.
In the afternoon we also hope to visit a private garden before returning to our hotel, where the evening is at leisure.
Monday 7 July 2014
Enjoy your breakfast. We leave Steamboat Springs early this morning and after a stop for lunch (not included) in the well-known resort of Vail we continue to Breckenridge, our base for the next two nights. Best known as a winter ski resort, Breckenridge has a rich mining history and is the largest historic district in Colorado, with many original buildings still in existence.
Evening at leisure.
Tuesday 8 July 2014
We will spend today botanising in the Mosquito Mountains, to the south of Breckenridge. This area of alpine tundra on limestone supports a number of very rare plants, including Alpine and Arctic braya, Penland Alpine fen mustard, dwarf hawksbeard and Altai cotton grass.
Later we return to our hotel in Breckenridge. Evening at leisure.
Wednesday 9 July 2014
We leave our hotel this morning and head for Crested Butte, travelling via the Monarch Pass, one of the most scenic mountain passes in Colorado, 11,312 feet above sea level. Crested Butte is even higher, at 12,168 feet above sea level, and as it is primarily a winter ski resort in summer it is relatively quiet. Evening at leisure.
Thursday 10 July 2014
We spend today botanising in the local area around Crested Butte, known as the ‘Wildflower Capital of Colorado’. There is an extensive list of Alpine flowers and shrubs that can be found in and around Crested Butte, including gentian, phlox, valerian, spotted and snowball saxifrage, Colorado columbine, forget-me-not and skypilot.
Evening at leisure.
Friday 11 July 2014
We check out of our hotel today and head for Pikes Peak, where there will be an opportunity for lunch (not included). At 14,115 feet Pikes Peak is one of Colorado's 54 ‘fourteeners’, mountains that rise more than 14,000 feet above mean sea level, and is a designated National Historic Landmark. In July 1893, Katharine Lee Bates wrote the song "America the Beautiful", after having admired the view from the summit.
We continue to Denver, where we return to our original hotel for the final two nights of our tour. Evening at leisure.
Saturday 12 July 2014
We depart this morning on a botanising excursion to Mount Evans, another of Colorado’s ‘fourteeners’. The Mount Evans Scenic Byway is the highest paved road in North America and we can expect to see some stunning views as well as more lovely alpine plants as we round off our tour.
Evening at leisure in Denver.
Sunday 13 July 2014
Today we will have some free time in Denver for some last-minute shopping and sightseeing. Later we will transfer to the airport for our evening flight back to Edinburgh.
Monday 14 July 2014
We arrive in Edinburgh where the group will disperse or make onward connections.
BrightWater Booking form :
BW BOOK FORM (BWH) srgctrip.pdf (157.07 kB - downloaded 328 times.)
For more information please contact:
Julia Corden : 2 Lettoch Place, Pitlochry PH16 5BB
mobile number 07976 849 666.
Included in the price
• 13 nights’ hotel accommodation: 4 nights in Denver (room only); 3 nights in Sheridan (bed and breakfast); 2 nights in Steamboat Springs (bed and breakfast); 2 nights in Breckenridge(room only); 2 nights in Crested Butte (room only). All room have private facilities
• Return flights from Edinburgh to Denver. Flight upgrades and/or overnight accommodation available at a supplement
• Comfortable coaching throughout
• Visits to Denver Botanical Garden, Cherokee Ranch, Medicine Bow, Ten Sleep, Shell Canyon, Mount Hunt, Medicine Mountain, Yampa River Botanic Park, Zirkel Dome Wilderness Area, Vail, Mosquito Mountains, Crested Butte, Pikes Peak, Mount Evans and a private gardens
• Services of Julia Corden of the Explorer’s Garden in Pitlochry as tour manager and guide
Not included (per person)
• Single room supplement £650.00
• Insurance TBA
