Rocky Mountain National Park

It has been a while since my last blog because we don't have any cell service in our campground. I could pay for Internet service at the campground but I pay enough for my Verizon Air Card and don't want to spend more for Internet service.

We left Monument, CO Saturday June 16th and arrived in Loveland, CO at the Riverview RV Park & Campground. It is a great campground and is located only 20 miles from the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO. I guess the only problem would be the lack of cell service. That really isn't bad though because we rather spend our time driving and hiking in the Rocky Mountains than being on the phone or Internet.

After we got settled in the campground we drove up to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Estes Park to get information so we could plan our attack on the National Park. The ride up the canyon to Estes Park was outstanding and a glimpse of coming attractions to the sights in the park.

Just think, we haven't entered the park yet. This was the ride up to Estes, Park.

Estes Park, CO is a very busy little town which is filled with tourists. The whole area is filled with condos and hotels. The first settler in the area was Joel Estes, a Kentuckian with wanderlust. In 1860, Estes moved into a hunting cabin where he stayed with his family. Winters proved too harsh for cattle, so six years later Estes sold out for a yoke of oxen. The Estes cabin was converted into guest accommodations in 1867, and from then on the number of visitors to the area grew steadily.

Sunday June 17th we had visitors. Pam, Kent, and Elisabeth drove up to visit us.

Here is Liz and dad by the Big Thompson river that runs through our campground.

We all walked around the campground checking the place out. After our walk we did take a scenic ride up to a church camp where they camped years ago. When we returned to our camper is was supper time so we cooked steaks on the grill. We always enjoy our visit with Pam, Kent, and Elisabeth.

Monday June 18th we headed back to Estes Park to follow the Trail Ridge Road through the Rocky Mountain National Park. The Trail Ridge road is the main road up through the mountains, over the Continental Divide, to the valley on the other side of the park.

The only thing I can say is it was an awesome, very scenic drive on a very nice highway. Along the way there were many opportunities for hiking the trails with spectacular views, which we did.

We passed these Mountain Goats on the edge of the road. There is a lot of wildlife crossing the roads so it is important to be cautious driving through the park.

Long's Peak the 14,255 foot mountain across this valley has served as a navigational aid for thousands of years. Prehistoric hunters oriented their travels by it. Ute people saw Long's Peak as a sacred place and a guiding landmark. After Major Stephen J. Long led a U.S. Army topographic expedition to this region in 1820 the peak was named for him.

Sights along our drive up Trail Ridge Road.

You can see the road on the right in the distance.

There were a lot of overlooks like this one which made it easy to view the magnificent scenery. I just wish we had a better camera so we could show you just how great it was.

Along with the many rustic trails to hike there were also nice blacktop trails for the handicap to access this great scenery.

This blacktop trail went up to these mushroom-shaped rocks.

These rocks were born of fire and water. The Dark colored schist was originally sand, silt, and clay at the bottom of a sea. Magma from deep in the earth invaded the schist and gradually cooled into the lighter colored granite. Mushroom shapes formed when the granite stems eroded more quickly than the schist caps.

We reached the top at the Alpine visitor center. The large logs on top of the building catch the snow and help hold the shingles on the roof during the high winds they get.

There is still snow at this altitude, close to 12,000 feet.

We watched the birds play, or find food, in the snow.

That is all for this blog. I will continue our trip through the Rocky Mountain National Park on the next blog. I have spent enough time in the Loveland Library where I was able to get service on my air card.

Tomorrow we will be leaving this area and starting our trip slowly back east. We are planning to get back to Connecticut on July 10th. When we get back we will get our car repaired from the damage caused by that nasty hail storm.

Hopefully I will be able to blog from our Winnebago at our next stops. It is a pain going to a library although it is a great quiet place to be on the computer.

I will blog again soon so keep posted.