Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is known for its big mountains and wildlife. The Continental Divide runs through the park over the high mountain peaks and the views from those mountains go on forever. We just happened to be here during the elk rut which made for prime wildlife viewing as well. Put it all together and you get an absolutely stunning place to visit, even though it seems that everyone else has already figured this out as well.
We arrived at Estes Park and found that it was insanely packed. The elk rut brings the crowds, apparently. Our campground was right outside of the gates of Rocky Mountain National Park, so we decided to head in as soon as we unhooked the Airstream. There was a line of cars waiting to get into the park. It was worth fighting the crowds because we were immediately greeted by the site of elk in a field squaring up one another to impress the ladies.
We decided to drive the Trail Ridge Road and do some short hikes our first full day in the park. The Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved through road in Colorado, runs through the park. It travels through the alpine tundra at elevations up to 12,183 feet. The scenery on the road is amazing. The open landscape of the alpine tundra allows you to see out forever over the Rockies. We went for a couple mile hike above treeline at about 11,500 feet to take in the view and experience the mountains.
The hike was beautiful, but we found out on the top of the mountain that our four year old cousin, Rowan, had just passed away. She has been battling a rare form of leukemia for the past year. She was a true warrior princess and the strength she showed to the end is an inspiration to us all. We waited until we got to a good spot to sit down to tell the kids. They were devastated as they were all very close. It was a strange contrast to be dealing with such sorrow in a place of such raw beauty. It makes you realize how small we are in this world. We felt that again later that night as we sat outside the Airstream listening to the sounds of elk bugling in the distance. We are so grateful that we were able to take a side trip to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to see Rowan a couple weeks ago. We will miss her dearly.
The next day, we decided to go on a hike to clear our heads. We wanted to get an early start since the trailhead parking can supposedly fill up fast. After breakfast, we all piled into the car and drove into the park. We had to park at the park and ride lot and wait for a shuttle to take us to the trailhead since the trailhead parking was already full. When we finally got to the trailhead about an hour after leaving the campsite, Jamie said that she thought she left the oven in the Airstream on, so we needed to go back. I was fuming mad and I was doing a bad job of hiding it. We took the shuttle back to the truck, drove the 20+ minutes back to the Airstream, and found that the oven was off. Oh well, the kids did their homeschooling instead. Jamie could tell I was still mad so she told me to go for a run. I got back, made some lunch (toasted peanut butter sandwich), and started talking to our neighbors who also had an Airstream. When I was talking to them, Jamie sent me a text message to let me know I that I had left the oven on when I made that sandwich. What comes around goes around.
We did end up hiking that afternoon after the parking lots cleared up. It turns out that hiking later in the day is your best bet for finding parking (but also for getting hit by lightning up on the peaks). We hiked to Emerald Lake passing two other lakes, Nymph Lake and Dream Lake, along the way. It was beautiful seeing the clear water surrounded by the high mountain peaks, some of which still have glaciers on them. This park is crowded, but I can see why. On the way back to the campsite, we stopped to hear a talk about the elk from a ranger and could hear them bugling in the distance. We got stuck in a traffic jam coming out of the park. It was caused by a ton of elk, two big bulls with big antlers included, right off the side of the road.
We were really excited about seeing Boulder while we were in this area. On paper, Boulder looks like it would be a great place for us to land one day. It is a cool town with lots of great shops and restaurants, lots of biking, lots of skiing nearby… the list goes on. We visited the next day and loved the town. However, Boulder is crowded and insanely expensive. We looked at houses in town and there was a 900 square foot fixer-upper that was going for $850k. That seems pretty typical of the whole town. Scratch that one off the list… I think we are going to find that a lot of places in Colorado are overcrowded and expensive. Too bad because Colorado seems really awesome. I guess that secret’s out.
The next day, Jamie stayed back with the kids while I woke up at around 6:00 a.m. to hump it up a mountain. I hiked up Hallett Peak, which is about 12,700 ft. high. The hike stretched the legs a bit as it was 10 miles with 3300 ft elevation gain. It was really cold towards the top and the wind was howling. I had to wear a stocking cap, gloves, and my heavy fleece. My fingers were still freezing. The cold was worth it though because the views from the top were amazing. There are two advantages to waking up that early to go for a hike, in no particular order. First, you avoid getting struck by lightning in the all-too-common early afternoon thunderstorms. And, you get to get back home in time for lunch! Hopefully, you forget to turn the oven off making that lunch though.
We all went for a hike together on our last day in the park. We hiked to Alberta Falls and to Loch Lake. The hike to the falls was relatively short which, in a national park, meant it was pretty crowded. The falls were great but we quickly headed further up the mountain towards Loch Lake where it was less crowded. It was a gorgeous alpine lake with huge mountains extending out of it on all sides. We could see several glaciers on the mountains as well. It was a peaceful retreat capable of filling your soul during a stressful week. On the hike down, we talked about how much variety you can see in this park – big mountains, waterfalls, alpine lakes, sweeping vistas, all kinds of wildlife, etc. Right after that, we saw a huge bull elk and one of his ladies right off the edge of the trail.
We are going to really miss Rocky Mountain National Park and this area. Even though the park is crowded, it is unbelievably beautiful. If you want to find peace and solitude, it is there just a couple miles from the trailhead. Being in the mountains is very spiritual for me. The alpine peaks have a big, raw and powerful beauty to them. They make you realize how small you really are in this world. Being surrounded by such natural beauty helps calm the sorrow we are all feeling now. The strength and power of these mountains remind me of the strength that Rowan had. Please keep her family in your prayers.
Hi guys !
Love the sticker! So 😎 cool
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