For the last several days we made Estes Park our home base so we could enjoy the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park is a lovely tourist trap city just 3 miles outside the park. We had dinner at Smokin Dave’s BBQ & Taphouse. Now we can say we ‘got sauced at 7,522 feet!’ That’s their slogan!!! After dinner we drove to the tourist area where shops line both sides of the street for blocks and blocks. At night the temperature dropped to 47° and was a delightful 72° during the day. Off with the shorts and on with the long pants.
After breakfast we left to tour the park, called “the top of the world”. We took Old Fall River Road, which is a one-way narrow gravel road to the top. It was the original road and the scenery was gorgeous!
At the top (11,796’) it was 47°, the wind was blowing and it started to rain pretty hard.
We then took Trail Ridge Road which is 48 miles, paved and two way to Kawuneeche Visitor’s Center at the southwest corner of the park. This is the highest major highway in North America beyond the visitor’s center at 12,183’ above sea level. We noticed that it took a little extra effort to breath at this altitude. The scenery here was also beautiful.
We saw a herd of elk, moose, one deer, pretty wildflowers, and several different birds. We also crossed the continental divide, saw glacial lakes, snow, valleys, meadows, streams, dense forest and rugged peaks galore. It was amazing!
Nearly one-third of the park is above treeline – 11,400 feet of elevation in the park – the limit above which conditions are too harsh for trees to grow.
Nearly one-third of the park is above treeline – 11,400 feet of elevation in the park – the limit above which conditions are too harsh for trees to grow.
One day we drove to Glacier Gorge Trailhead, put on our hiking boots, and then hiked to Alberta falls. It was a beautiful walk through the woods, seeing rocks, the streams from the falls and enjoying the wonderful smells.
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