TUESDAY - Today we have a 132-mile moving day and it's the last 32-miles we're both looking forward to.
ROVER and THE POD however are looking forward to the first 32-miles, because we are first headed to the Blue Beacon Truck Wash in Cheyenne to give them both a much needed cleaning.
After getting the outside nice and sparkly we will be headed to the FREE dump station at the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center on Interstate 25. There we will empty the contents of the waste tanks and begin our travels once again through Colorado.
After spending about an hour heading south on I-25 we finally came to the exit for US-34 in Loveland, CO. It's where everyone who's heading for Rocky Mountain National Park exits.
Lucky for us, it's also where you'll find 1 of only 2 Runza Restaurants in all of Colorado. Guess where we ate lunch before continuing our journey?
Leaving the Runza Restaurant we still had 35-miles to get to our campsite, but it's the portion of the route we've been looking forward to.
ON THE ROAD TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN N.P.
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Traveling west on US-34 at the outskirts of Loveland we could see our destination up ahead.
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Just a few miles later the road started to gain elevation in the Big Thompson Canyon.
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The Big Thompson River was traveling downhill just as fast as we were going uphill.
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A short 3-miles later we popped out of the canyon onto a flat plateau named Dickson Gulch.
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Soon we re-entered the Big Thompson Canyon, but it was much wider this time.
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Then we traveled through the small community of Drake, CO. (pop. 786)
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Apparently some townsfolk believe there are fish in the river.
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US-34 pretty much follows the path of the Big Thompson River all the way to the park.
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Estes Park (pop. 5,904) is the Gateway Town just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park.
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We received quite a view as we drove through town.
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I wonder if the town population figure included this mama elk?
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She knew the safest place to cross the road was in the crosswalk! Only in Estes Park!
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Coming out the back side of town we were only 5-miles from the park entrance.
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I don't know, but that sign looks brand new to me!
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100-yards from the Entrance Station is the turnoff for Aspenglen Campground.
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I can't believe how far away our picnic table, fire ring and bear box are from our site.
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We very quickly had the welcoming commitee come by for a visit.
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I'm not sure what's up this tree that grabbed this one's attention.
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This one looks a little upset at being left alone.
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This one seems to be admiring itself in the reflection of the front of our neighbors van.
WEDNESDAY - The weather is not supposed to be favorable towards outdoor activities later during our stay here, so today we are going to get right to our sightseeing.
From May 23 through mid-October Rocky Mountain National Park requires a Timed Entry Permit to enter the park between 9:00AM and 2:00PM every day. Additionally, if you want to travel on Bear Lake Road between 5:00AM and 6:00PM (like we are doing today) you'll need an additional Timed Entry Permit.
There are exceptions to these requirements if you have a camping reservation inside the park. With a camping reservation you can enter the park anytime after 1:00PM the first day of your reservation. Additionally, your camping reservation will admit you to Bear Lake Road any time, any day, during your reservation.
These permits are only $1 each, but you have to go online exactly 30 days or 1 day ahead of time to reserve them. There are a limited number of permits each day and they do sell out, especially for the weekend dates.
There is a FREE shuttle bus system that will transport you the last 5-miles up to Bear Lake. When we approached the Shuttle Bus parking lot there was a roadside electronic sign announcing that the Bear Lake parking lot was full and that you would need to ride the shuttle.
The road had been open since 5:00AM and it was now after 10:30AM. I was feeling lucky, so we bypassed the shuttle station and kept driving up the road.
Let's just say that we burned some more of those Good Karma points today. As we approached the gate there was a guard there gesturing for us to turn around and head back down the mountain. As he approached I rolled down the window and asked what time the parking lot usually fills up and he told us typically around 8:30AM.
As he was telling us this I noticed a couple of cars pulling out of their parking spaces to leave. I then asked him if he let cars in as cars left and he said yes. We were halfway into our u-turn to head back down the road when he said he would now let us in since a few cars had left.
I backed up a little to get pointed at the gate again, much to the displeasure of the car behind us, and was allowed into the parking lot. I guess good timing was just as important as good karma in today's situation.
THE ROAD TO BEAR LAKE
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While the scenery on Bear Lake Road is special, it's what waits at the end that we came for.
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There is only one 14,000' peak in the park and it's none of these.
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Here we are approching the end of the road and learning the fate of our gamble.
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That dominant peak on the left of the photo is Flat Top Mountain (12,361' elev.).
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Here I am approaching Bear Lake and looking for a place to sit down.
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This bench has a pretty nice view, I'll wait for you here Tricia.
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It will be hard to get lost with trail markers like this.
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Views like this could be found from all around the lake.
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Tricia zoomed in on me from across the lake and caught me talking with an interesting young man visiting from Austrailia.
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If I knew there were benches along the 3/4-mile long trail I might have tried it.
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Not sure why Tricia found this shot special, but she took several of them.
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The trail did leave the shoreline for a while here.
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The crystal clear water made it possible to see the grasses on the bottom.
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The bridge over the creek that keeps the lake full.
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Ah, another bench.
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Here the trail is more like a walk in the woods.
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She's almost back to the start, I better get up and go meet her at the trailhead.
Heading back down Bear Lake Road we noticed just how beautiful our surroundings were.
We could also see some early yellow and orange fall colors showing in the higher elevations.
I'm not sure if there is any moving ice under that snow to qualify it as a glacier. FYI - I looked it up, this is a cirque glacier (bowl-shaped depression on the side of a mountain).
We also noticed a deep canyon with a fair amount of water flowing through it. I began wondering where all that water was going? We soon found out.
Just a few more miles down the road we saw a sign for the Sprague Lake Picnic Area and Nature Trail. It sounded like it could be worth a stop, so we did.
SPRAGUE LAKE
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To see Sprague Lake you'll need to use this bridge to cross over a marshy area.
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There were some fairly good sized Brook Trout in the water under the bridge.
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I've already found my bench with a view. Now let's find out if Tricia is going to walk this 3/4-mile trail around the lake.
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We are still at 8700' in elevation, but it's getting warm sitting here in the sun.
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Tricia has started her walk around the lake and I'm looking for a new bench in the shade.
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This is one of the two places where the water exits the lake.
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This was the only dock around the lake where you could get out over the water.
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The view from the dock was pretty amazing.
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There's another one of those cirque glaciers up in the mountains.
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Can you spot me sitting on my new bench?
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Tricia sure did when she zoomed in with her cellphone camera.
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More than half way around the lake now.
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More benches, I guess I should have gone on this walk too.
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She's in the home stretch now. I should be right around the next corner.
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This woman sat down right in front of me and brought out her watercolors to paint with.
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I found this bridge to be very interesting and asked Tricia to take some closeup photos.
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In this photo you can start to see the wood grain in the handrails.
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Up close it's real easy to see.
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We heard some loud neighing sounds and looked to see the tail end of a horse ride tour.
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On our way back to the parking lot Tricia took some more fish video.
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Here's some more of that fancy wood grain we saw.
After exploring the Sprague Lake area we headed further down Bear Lake Road towards the Moraine Campground. The fact that this campground is located on Bear Lake Road is the reason anyone with a camping pass on their windshield can gain access to the road at anytime.
Just outside the campground is a large meadow area well known for elk sightings.
It doesn't look like we are going to be disappointed today.
THE ELK HERD AT MORRAINE MEADOWS
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Every herd can only have one alpha male in charge of the entire herd and by the end of this slide show I think you'll agree that this guy is it!
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This is one of three wanna-be alpha males watching the herd from afar.
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This silent long distance standoff between the two males has the entire herd on edge.
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All right young guy here comes your final warning to back away from my herd.
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Yeah, that's right! I'm the Top Dog around here and don't you forget it!
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This big guy probably won a lot of battles to obtain his position in the herd.
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Ladies, let's stop straying away from the herd. Are you trying to tease those guys over there into thinking you're available?
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These three guys are just waiting their turn to hookup with one of the ladies, but the big guy is not about to let that happen.
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Watch the herds reaction, you just know who will be appearing from the left.
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I'm not sure if licking each one of the females will deter the young bucks desire.
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Once again, everyone get back under that tree. I won't tell you again!
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After 30-minutes of watching the elk it's time to head back to THE POD. It's after noon and I'm getting hungry!
You can never let your guard down when driving through the park. This young deer never even hesitated at the edge of the road before crossing.
I know these pine trees with the crooked tops are a certain species, but I can't find the name.
They do seem to be everywhere in the park though.
We almost made it back to THE POD, but when you see a bunch of cars haphazardly pulled off the side of the road and a crowd of people outside of their cars pointing their cameras into the woods, you know you have to stop and see what it's all about. Such was the case today!
Can you tell what this is without looking at the next photo?
This ought to make it easier.
Here he looks kind of shy, but don't let them fool you. They are quick and can be mean, not to mention an adult male can weigh up to 1100 pounds.
We started the day around 7:30AM watching three deer dart (so no photos) passed the back of our trailer at nearly 8200' of elevation.
We then headed up to Bear Lake and the elevation from where I watched Tricia walk the 3/4-mile trail around the lake was at almost 9500'.
Sprague Lake was at 8700' and the elk meadow was even lower at 8100'. Finally, the moose sighting was at 8600'.
So as you can see all of today's activities occured between 8100' and 9500', that won't be the case tomorrow as we head up and over the Rocky Mountains upon the Trail Ridge Road.
THURSDAY - As I alluded to yesterday, most of today's sightseeing will be between 10,000' and 12,000' in elevation.
Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States. It is 48-miles one-way across Rocky Mountain National Park and climbs to an elevation of 12,183' near Fall River Pass.
There is the 14.5-mile long Mount Blue Sky Scenic Drive just south of here, which is the highest paved road in North America at 14,264'. It dead ends at the summit, so it's not continuous, also it's closed this year to make some much needed road improvements. We had planned to drive that road next week, but it'll have to wait until our next visit to Colorado.
In order to get to Trail Ridge Road from our campsite we had to pass right by the spot where we saw the moose in the woods the day before.
Wouldn't you know it! Once again there were cars pulled off the road in the exact same place and a dozen or more people with cameras were pointing into the woods.
TRAIL RIDGE ROAD (48-MILES END TO END)
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Today the moose wasn't feeling very photogenic so he remained hidden in the grass.
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At higher elevations I guess the fall colors come earlier.
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The Aspens here go from green to yellow to orange and then brown.
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This is the Many Parks Curve Overlook and yes you have to cross the road on a blind curve.
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Here at 9690' elevation we were able to get up close to the yellow-leafed Aspens.
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These have got to be three of the hardiest trees in the park growing straight out of the rock.
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This is why this variety of Aspens are called Quaking Aspen or Trembling Aspen.
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There is a curved sidewalk behind a short stone wall around the entire overlook.
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There were some mighty colorful views from the Many Parks Curve Overlook.
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Even the montone color of the green Ponderosa Pines made for a "colorful" photo.
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One last video from the Many Parks Curve Overlook.
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This time of year it's easy to spot the Aspens hiding in the Pine Forest.
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Well, according to our trusty GPS we've made it up to 10,000' of elevation.
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They were doing a little repair work to the low stone wall at the end of the curve. I hope no one was injured when a vehicle took out the short wall.
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Now there's something I didn't expect to see today.
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A roadside storyboard explained how these trees were killed by a Pine Beetle infestation.
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Looking out over this mountainside you can see just how devastating the Pine Beetles can be.
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This next group of photos were all taken at the 10,820' Rainbow Curve Overlook.
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There was an older gentleman here feeding the wildlife. I wish he wouldn't do that!
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Here you can see the Trail Ridge Road as it snakes it's way up the mountainside.
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Near the back center of this photo is where our campsite is down at 8178'.
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That is the Fall River winding it's way through the valley floor.
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This little creature is an American Pika and is a close relative of the rabbit.
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Here we get to watch as the Pika chows down on all the nearby vegetation.
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Pikas do not hibernate and remain active throughout the winter by traveling in tunnels under rocks and snow and eating dried plants that they have stored.
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There's that daytime moon high up in the sky.
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That's quite a bit of ice and snow for the middle of September.
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OK, as you can see we've now made it up to 11,000 of elevation.
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This is the view from the Ute Trailhead at an 11,447' of elevation.
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We're getting close to the Trail Ridge Road Summit now.
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We've now made it to 12,000' and look at the 50°F outdoor temperature.
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For some people 12,000' isn't enough, they want to be at 12,500'.
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Somewhere just around this curve is the Road Summit.
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Well maybe it's just arund this next corner.
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Oh no, we've still got a ways to drive to get to the road summit.
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We are on this high flat plateau and just can't get to that road summit.
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Here we've pulled off the road at the Lava Cliffs Overlook (12,100 elevation).
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Here the mountain takes on a slightly different color thanks to the lava rock.
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Now that little lake's water temperature has got to be just above freezing!
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There's quite a view from the Lava Cliffs Overlook.
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The softer lava rock erodes differently than the rest of the mountain does.
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OK, we've finally made it to 12,183' (well close enough) summit of the Trail Ridge Road.
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Maybe I need to get my GPS checked for accuracy? 12,183' is the posted summit of the road.
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Either way the view from up here is spectacular.
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Now it's time to start heading down the westside of the Rocky Mountains.
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You don't want to fall asleep at the wheel when on a road like this.
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Just up ahead on the right is the Alpine Visitor Center at 11,786' of elevation.
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This is the Medicine Bow Curve at 11,630' of elevation.
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From here you can see the Poudre River Valley neary 1300' below.
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We are now nearing the Milner Pass at the Continental Divide (10,755' elevation).
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This is where you'll also find Poudre Lake.
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We are now back down below 10,000' among the Ponderosa Pines.
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On this side of the mountain range the Aspen are already turning orange.
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Not much of the yellow colors can be found here. Could be due to temperature differences.
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The East Troublesome Fire scorched 193,812 acres in October of 2020.
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193,812 acres equals about 302 square miles of destruction.
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We ate lunch outdoors on the shore of Grand Lake in Grand Lake, CO. We had to eat fast thanks to the thunderstorm rolling towards us.
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Back on the road and heading home we noticed the burnt trees looked more alive when wet.
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When we were approaching the Holzwarth Historic Site we got a real treat.
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A mama and baby moose were just casually stolling through a wide open field area.
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They didn't seem to be in too big of a hurry to get out of sight of predators.
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Just a casual afternoon stroll without a care in the world.
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Here you can see just how close they were to the Historic Site's walkways.
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Here's some of that yellow and orange mixture that is so pleasing to look at.
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Back at the Continental Divide the storm clouds were gone and the sun was out.
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Fifteen minutes from the Continental Divide is we saw this little alpine lake.
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Maybe the eastbound lane is higher OR my GPS needs to be calibrated.
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One thing's for sure, it's all downhill again from here.
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Same rock as before, different people this time.
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Looks like that thunderstorm is going to be visiting us on the eastside soon.
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This is the Gore Range Overlook at 12, 028' of elevation.
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Looks like we're in a race to beat the storm home.
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Stunning!
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Just outside of the Fall River Entrance Station we saw this small herd of elk.
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It looks as if the storm has arrived. Most of the next 2-days are forecast to be similiar. That's a good thing, it'll give me a chance to create this blogpost for you all.
I'm not sure if I've ever had a slideshow on this blog with 82 photos and videos before! I hope it wasn't so much that it wasn't enjoyable to watch. Keep in mind that Tricia took 362 photos that I had to search through and paired it down to just the 82 that I shared with you.
Next up? We're visiting a trio of Colorado's Top State Parks before we visit our 40th and final National Park for this year.
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
Traveling west on US-34 at the outskirts of Loveland we could see our destination up ahead.
Just a few miles later the road started to gain elevation in the Big Thompson Canyon.
The Big Thompson River was traveling downhill just as fast as we were going uphill.
A short 3-miles later we popped out of the canyon onto a flat plateau named Dickson Gulch.
Soon we re-entered the Big Thompson Canyon, but it was much wider this time.
Then we traveled through the small community of Drake, CO. (pop. 786)
Apparently some townsfolk believe there are fish in the river.
US-34 pretty much follows the path of the Big Thompson River all the way to the park.
Estes Park (pop. 5,904) is the Gateway Town just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park.
We received quite a view as we drove through town.
I wonder if the town population figure included this mama elk?
Coming out the back side of town we were only 5-miles from the park entrance.
I don't know, but that sign looks brand new to me!
100-yards from the Entrance Station is the turnoff for Aspenglen Campground.
I can't believe how far away our picnic table, fire ring and bear box are from our site.
We very quickly had the welcoming commitee come by for a visit.
I'm not sure what's up this tree that grabbed this one's attention.
This one looks a little upset at being left alone.
While the scenery on Bear Lake Road is special, it's what waits at the end that we came for.
There is only one 14,000' peak in the park and it's none of these.
Here we are approching the end of the road and learning the fate of our gamble.
That dominant peak on the left of the photo is Flat Top Mountain (12,361' elev.).
Here I am approaching Bear Lake and looking for a place to sit down.
This bench has a pretty nice view, I'll wait for you here Tricia.
It will be hard to get lost with trail markers like this.
Views like this could be found from all around the lake.
Tricia zoomed in on me from across the lake and caught me talking
If I knew there were benches along the 3/4-mile long trail I might have tried it.
Not sure why Tricia found this shot special, but she took several of them.
The trail did leave the shoreline for a while here.
The crystal clear water made it possible to see the grasses on the bottom.
The bridge over the creek that keeps the lake full.
Ah, another bench.
Here the trail is more like a walk in the woods.
She's almost back to the start, I better get up and go meet her at the trailhead.
To see Sprague Lake you'll need to use this bridge to cross over a marshy area.
I've already found my bench with a view.
We are still at 8700' in elevation, but it's getting warm sitting here in the sun.
Tricia has started her walk around the lake and I'm looking for a new bench in the shade.
This is one of the two places where the water exits the lake.
This was the only dock around the lake where you could get out over the water.
The view from the dock was pretty amazing.
There's another one of those cirque glaciers up in the mountains.
Can you spot me sitting on my new bench?
Tricia sure did when she zoomed in with her cellphone camera.
More than half way around the lake now.
More benches, I guess I should have gone on this walk too.
She's in the home stretch now. I should be right around the next corner.
This woman sat down right in front of me and brought out her watercolors to paint with.
I found this bridge to be very interesting and asked Tricia to take some closeup photos.
In this photo you can start to see the wood grain in the handrails.
Up close it's real easy to see.
We heard some loud neighing sounds and looked to see the tail end of a horse ride tour.
Here's some more of that fancy wood grain we saw.
Every herd can only have one alpha male in charge of the entire herd
This is one of three wanna-be alpha males watching the herd from afar.
All right young guy here comes your final warning to back away from my herd.
Yeah, that's right! I'm the Top Dog around here and don't you forget it!
After 30-minutes of watching the elk it's time to head back to THE POD.
Today the moose wasn't feeling very photogenic so he remained hidden in the grass.
At higher elevations I guess the fall colors come earlier.
The Aspens here go from green to yellow to orange and then brown.
This is the Many Parks Curve Overlook and yes you have to cross the road on a blind curve.
Here at 9690' elevation we were able to get up close to the yellow-leafed Aspens.
These have got to be three of the hardiest trees in the park growing straight out of the rock.
There is a curved sidewalk behind a short stone wall around the entire overlook.
There were some mighty colorful views from the Many Parks Curve Overlook.
Even the montone color of the green Ponderosa Pines made for a "colorful" photo.
This time of year it's easy to spot the Aspens hiding in the Pine Forest.
Well, according to our trusty GPS we've made it up to 10,000' of elevation.
They were doing a little repair work to the low stone wall at the end of the curve.
Now there's something I didn't expect to see today.
A roadside storyboard explained how these trees were killed by a Pine Beetle infestation.
Looking out over this mountainside you can see just how devastating the Pine Beetles can be.
This next group of photos were all taken at the 10,820' Rainbow Curve Overlook.
There was an older gentleman here feeding the wildlife. I wish he wouldn't do that!
Here you can see the Trail Ridge Road as it snakes it's way up the mountainside.
Near the back center of this photo is where our campsite is down at 8178'.
That is the Fall River winding it's way through the valley floor.
This little creature is an American Pika and is a close relative of the rabbit.
Pikas do not hibernate and remain active throughout the winter by traveling in tunnels
There's that daytime moon high up in the sky.
That's quite a bit of ice and snow for the middle of September.
OK, as you can see we've now made it up to 11,000 of elevation.
This is the view from the Ute Trailhead at an 11,447' of elevation.
We're getting close to the Trail Ridge Road Summit now.
We've now made it to 12,000' and look at the 50°F outdoor temperature.
For some people 12,000' isn't enough, they want to be at 12,500'.
Somewhere just around this curve is the Road Summit.
Well maybe it's just arund this next corner.
Oh no, we've still got a ways to drive to get to the road summit.
We are on this high flat plateau and just can't get to that road summit.
Here we've pulled off the road at the Lava Cliffs Overlook (12,100 elevation).
Here the mountain takes on a slightly different color thanks to the lava rock.
Now that little lake's water temperature has got to be just above freezing!
There's quite a view from the Lava Cliffs Overlook.
The softer lava rock erodes differently than the rest of the mountain does.
OK, we've finally made it to 12,183' (well close enough) summit of the Trail Ridge Road.
Maybe I need to get my GPS checked for accuracy? 12,183' is the posted summit of the road.
Either way the view from up here is spectacular.
Now it's time to start heading down the westside of the Rocky Mountains.
You don't want to fall asleep at the wheel when on a road like this.
Just up ahead on the right is the Alpine Visitor Center at 11,786' of elevation.
This is the Medicine Bow Curve at 11,630' of elevation.
From here you can see the Poudre River Valley neary 1300' below.
We are now nearing the Milner Pass at the Continental Divide (10,755' elevation).
This is where you'll also find Poudre Lake.
We are now back down below 10,000' among the Ponderosa Pines.
On this side of the mountain range the Aspen are already turning orange.
Not much of the yellow colors can be found here. Could be due to temperature differences.
The East Troublesome Fire scorched 193,812 acres in October of 2020.
193,812 acres equals about 302 square miles of destruction.
We ate lunch outdoors on the shore of Grand Lake in Grand Lake, CO.
Back on the road and heading home we noticed the burnt trees looked more alive when wet.
When we were approaching the Holzwarth Historic Site we got a real treat.
A mama and baby moose were just casually stolling through a wide open field area.
They didn't seem to be in too big of a hurry to get out of sight of predators.
Here you can see just how close they were to the Historic Site's walkways.
Here's some of that yellow and orange mixture that is so pleasing to look at.
Back at the Continental Divide the storm clouds were gone and the sun was out.
Fifteen minutes from the Continental Divide is we saw this little alpine lake.
Maybe the eastbound lane is higher OR my GPS needs to be calibrated.
One thing's for sure, it's all downhill again from here.
Same rock as before, different people this time.
Looks like that thunderstorm is going to be visiting us on the eastside soon.
This is the Gore Range Overlook at 12, 028' of elevation.
Looks like we're in a race to beat the storm home.
Stunning!
It looks as if the storm has arrived. Most of the next 2-days are forecast to be similiar.
