We left Elk Creek by 8:30 this morning (for those of you following along at home, we've mostly stuck to the itinerary, so it makes me feel like all my time planning wasn't for nothing at least) and set out on the Trail Ridge Road across RMNP. I had a sample itinerary from someone who had taken the path and put their notes on Trip Advisor. I really need to repay the favors and go through and review things since I love to see what people say about a place before coming in - the good and bad, it's all helpful. Anyway, we took a couple of the stops for little hikes and picture turnouts that they had suggested (not all of them) so I'll give you a rundown of our SPECTACULAR drive through the north end of the park.
Our first stop was the Colorado River Trailhead. The river is not actually a destination along the trailhead but there is a little spur off the main trail that heads down to the Colorado River. It was a neat little hike - and the first one that we didn't make both kids go on. Max really wanted to stay in the camper and we decided that he had done a good share of hiking for the last 2 weeks so we let him off the hook and allowed him to stay back with Nana. The walk to the river was neat, it was really more like a little creek at this point. Hard to believe that it will eventually be responsible for carving the Grand Canyon. We did see a big track on the path almost to the river (moose? elk?) and then we spent some time throwing rocks into the water and wondering if the flecks in the water were just mica or perhaps gold flecks (one can dream right?) After a few minutes by the water, we decided to head back up the trail and continue down (or should I say up) the road. Tom and Sophie were walking about 10-15 feet ahead of me and Mike when Mike grabbed my arm and said "Moose!". Sure enough, just down the river we could see a moose's head framed through the willows and short little river trees and shrubs. Wow! I headed up to Tom and Mike took him back to see it and they were able to see the cow and the flicker of the calf beside her! We couldn't believe that the little tiny tracks in the mud could belong to a baby moose. They seemed too small to be a whitetail fawn let alone a moose calf. We didn't tell Sophie about it until we were out of the meadow since she definitely did NOT want to see a moose on the trail and almost didn't cross the meadow to start with since she thought there might be one. She was eager for us to tell the people we saw on the path about the moose, she just didn't want to have anything to do with it.
Animal sighting complete, we were on our way to our first overlook. Max did want to get out this time because he could see that there were signs to read. So proud of my little buddy when he ran right up to a sign and said "No feeding animals!" in a very authoritative tone. My little sign reader. We stayed for a few admiring the view out to the Never Summer Mountains (appropriate Arapaho name) and had no idea just how great the view would continue to get. We weaved and switchbacked our way further up the mountain to the Alpine Visitor Center which is in the tundra. Bust out your 7th grade geography knowledge and remember what a tundra is (or just see if you can figure it out from the pictures). We arrived to the Center in the clouds and I was a little bummed because I heard that the view is fabulous. Fortunately, the clouds burned off and we were left with some amazing views. Tom and I made the hike up the stairs/path to the top of the peak and were rewarded with a 360 degree view that was absolutely amazing. I'm kinda digging this tundra thing now. Shopping done, lunch consumed, we were back on the road and it was a white-knuckler for sure! No guard rails, no shoulder, humongous drop offs - I'll say it again, thank goodness Tom is embracing the driving part of this adventure with so much calm! The drive east not only awarded us with beautiful views of huge valleys framed by snow-addled mountains but we had the otherworldly feeling of clouds moving in and out. And the animals! We saw an elk heard down but a little pond and creek. We saw elk cows laying along the road. We saw a couple of bull elks laying on top of the hill, their racks standing silhouetted and in contrast to the gray-white cloud that had rolled in. Just amazing. It seemed like we saw animals everywhere. Even caught a glimpse of another bull moose in the willows up a creek. Amazing drive. Did I mention that it was amazing? 'Cause it was.
After getting out of the park, we had the not-so-fun task of driving to Loveland to pick up our rental car. Not a lot of rental options in this part of the state and this was the closest that I could find. Fortunately, the drive there wasn't a complete bust as we followed the Big Thompson River through a canyon over half the way on 34. Windy road, but neat ride.
After the car, Mom and I did a little grocery shopping (and a quick stop at Goodwill which netted her a nice hat, a strainer for the camper, and some jeans for Max) and then we joined up with Tom, Mike, and the kids at our campsite in Jellystone just outside of Estes Park.
Kids love it here. Despite the chill and threat of more rain, we did spend some time in the pool and at the little playground. It should be a great base for the rest of our trip and a good way to wind down a bit before heading home. The schedule is pretty light from here on out.
