Introduction to Rocky Mountain NP

Introduction to Rocky Mountain NP

Tour guides:  Audrey Thompson and Ken Fields

                               

Party: 0 adults, 0 children, 0 pets, and 2 Australians

Ken proposes that we tag-along with them going east towards the Rocky Mountain NP.  They are going to Denver to visit family and we, of course, are heading for the National Park.  This will be two days of driving to cover the distance required, but we will enjoy each other’s company along the way and we will certainly learn a lot from these two!

Day one…From the Tetons, its Hwy 26 to Du Bois, then Hwy 287 across the Indian Reservation, Chief Washaki Trail, and the aptly named Wind River…and the wind did blow!  This is high desert with amazing colour in the rock strata and unexpected areas of ranching with obvious irrigation supporting herds of cattle and mobs of horses – and Pronghorns are also around. We find it a little strange to see snow drift fences in the valleys which to all intents and purposes are perfectly flat, but then realise that the wind we have been experiencing will blow the snow for miles across this arid land.

Our second day on the road is the I(interstate)-80, the Lincoln Highway, which crosses the country.  From the high desert to grassy plains, wind farms on the ridge lines, and still the snow drift fences.  We leave the I-80 and turn onto the I-25 which is the north/south route through Denver to New Mexico.  The Rocky Mountains now fill the skyline.

The real tour now gets underway…from our base in the Boyd Lake State Park in Loveland CO, we drive through the fringe town of Estes Park and then into the Rocky Mountain NP where, just past the Beaver Meadows Visitor Centre, we are held up by a minor traffic jam – a herd of elk are grazing on the nearby meadow.  On investigation we find there are actually 3 separate groups, each with a big stag in control – at the bugle call, the groups move independently and we watch fascinated for quite a while.

Traffic congestion and lack of parking areas are issues that are constant, so the free, ‘hop on-hop off’ National Park shuttle  service is a real boon for those in RV’s and large trucks like Ken’s, and for those who just don’t want the hassle of trying, quite often unsuccessfully, to find a parking place. 

Bear Lake is our next destination and here we have our first experience of using the shuttle service.  The Lake is several stops from the ‘Park and Ride’ area so we get a snapshot of other places as we ride by.  Nestled below several 12,000’ + peaks and surrounded by Ponderosa and Lodgepole Pines and Aspens, many of which are starting to wear their autumn colours, Bear Lake is quite the most picture-perfect setting for a stroll  – accompanied by a Stellar Jay, Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various tiny reptiles, and of course, our friends!

After a picnic lunch – “Will we sit in the sun or the shade?” – we return by the Falls River Road .  Tour Guides usually know the good places to eat and these two are no exception, escorting their party of 2 to an excellent Mexican eatery to end a great day.