Into Rocky Mountain National Park

July 5 & 6

On this trip we have seen some really interesting places. And today was no exception. Today (July 5), we traveled from Loveland, CO to Estes Park. Estes Park is the gate to the Rocky Mountains. If you haven’t been to it, it is easy to compare it to Gatlinburg. The big difference to me is that most all the folks visiting are really outdoorsy people, from fishing, kayaking, biking, hiking and nearly all other outdoor activities. Driving over to Estes Park we drove up one of the most spectacular drives we’ve ever driven. This road went through a canyon that was just about as wide as our car, with a lot of curves. The walls of the canyon did not slant to the road they were vertical and solid rock. You won’t find any pictures of this canyon because I had both hands on the wheel and eyes straight ahead. There were no turn outs either. Since we were early traffic wasn’t a problem. The sun was flashing into the canyon, lighting upper section with almost incandescent colors.

Getting into Estes Park, we had a “timed entry” to drive “Trail Ridge Road”, we took just a moment to drive to the Stanley Hotel.

This is where Steven King wrote “The Shining”. Also, a fact that I learned was the owner and builder of the hotel was the inventor of the Stanley Steamer. The wood for the hotel was harvested from within what is now the Rocky Mountain National Park.

As we drove Trail Ridge the mountains and the meadows popped out at us. This road climbs from around 7800’ to over 12000’, above the timber line. On the way we got to see around 20 elk. They are magnificent to watch and see. At one point, there was a heard of cows in the lower meadow and up on the crest of the mountain was the “big guy” overseeing everything. His silhouette was all we could see from our point. Around each turn was a view that cannot be described or shown in my photography. The pictures attached will show some of their beauty, I hope.