Day 6 - Grand Lake, CO

Today was a very long day, but oh so worth it.  We got up early to head into Rocky Mountain National Park.  Our destination was Bear Lake, a very popular hiking spot on the eastern side near Estes Park.  We had read and heard that you have to arrive early or you are fighting traffic, parking, and crowds.  We began our ascent and soon found ourselves at the Farview Curve Viewpoint.  The sun was still rising so it was shining directly on the Never Summer Mountains to the west offering some great lighting.  On down the Trail Ridge Road we came to Poudre Lake and spot a herd of about 8 elk with huge antlers laying in the grass.  They were pretty far away, but still quite impressive.  We continued to climb to around 12,000 feet, the highest part of the road which is above the tree line and is considered to be alpina tundra.  Not much grows here and wind gusts can exceed 150 mph.  The stark mountains surrounding the area were quite radiant in the morning light.  As we descended into the eastern side and approached Bear Lake, we were treated to a nice sight:  a big elk buck meandering along the roadside.

The electronic sign indicated the parking at Bear Lake was full, but we felt lucky and pushed on.  Sure enough, we snagged a parking space (someone happened to pull out when we pulled in) and we were soon on the trail.  It's a short, flat hike around this beautiful subalpine lake which is surrounded by spruce, fir, lodgepole pine and aspen.  The wind was howling in from the west (up and over the mountain) so the lake was choppy on one side and calm on the other.  Along the way we met some friendly chipmunks and ground squirrels and way up on one of the hills, 2 elk.

We wanted to do one more hike and the friendly ranger suggested the kids would like Alberta Falls.  He also gave us a hint that we could hike to it from Bear Lake (mostly downhill) then go to the Glacier Gorge trailhead (downhill still) where we could pick up the shuttle bus back to Bear Lake.  Off we trekked into the woods.  It was a glorious morning with sunshine, a warm temperature, and gentle breeze which made the cottonwood leaves shimmer.  We were soon treated to an amazing waterfall with lots of places to sit and enjoy it.  The fall is 30-feet in height and runs down a gorge on Glacier Creek.  It was named after Alberta Sprague one of the original settlers in the Estes Park area. Her husband, Abner, became the first visitor to pay an entrance fee to the park in 1939.

It was time for lunch so we headed to Estes Park, with a brief stop at the main park visitor center.  Estes Park is the Branson of the Rockies.  It's full of quaint shops, touristy trinkets, and people everywhere.  It's quite a stark contrast to the laid back nature of Grand Lake.  After fighting traffic we found a great little pizza joint and refueled.  It was time to head back across the park and scale the mighty Rockies one last time.  The Many Parks and Rainbow Curve Overlooks were our first stops.  Both it offered spectaular views of the eastern side of the park.  

We continued west and soon arrived at the Forest Canyon Overlook.  From here, some of the most iconic views of the park's mountains can be seen.  The sun was very bright and my windbreaker was flapping in the breeze, but boy did we get to see some amazing peaks.

We soon reached the highest point on the road, 12,183 feet near the Tundra Communities Trailhead.  This is all alpine tundra which means little vegetation, craggy rocks, little oxygen, and high winds.  The sun's UV rays are also 25% stronger here.  Jason and I were going to hike up to the Mushroom Rocks, but honestly, the altitude combined with our being tired anyway made us re-think our plan.

The Lava Cliffs Overlook was our next stop.  The name is misleading as no lava actually flowed here, but volcanic cast off did land here thousands of years ago.  As the rock face eroded away, the layers of volcanic debris could then be seen.  This area also still has snowpack which some of our fellow visitors decided meant they could go around the fence, ignore the "stay off" sign, trample down the tundra, and go out on the snow.

Our next stop was the Gore Ridge Overlook.  On a clear day, you can see the Gore Mountains 60 miles southwest of here.  Today was a little hazy, but still had some great views.

Milner Pass was our final stop on our way back to the cabin.  This is where the Continental Divide crosses the road.  Water here has a chance to flow to the Pacific or the Atlantic, depending on which side it falls on the Divide.  Poudre Lake is here as well (where we saw the elk lounging this morning).

As we neared the park's western exit, we spotted the tell-tale sign of a wildlife sighting:  cars pulled over on the shoulder.  Sure enough, a moose was cooling herself in a creek just off the road.

We spent our final evening in Grand Lake and as we move on today, I'm happy to say this was the perfect spot to stay and enjoy the area.  We'll definitely return!

Day 5 - Grand Lake, CO

Today was a jam-packed one for sure!  We started by driving 10 miles into the park at about 7:30 this morning to try to catch some wildlife.  One of my goals on this trip was to spot and photograph a moose.  Right after we entered the National Park entry gates, off in the distance we spotted a mama moose chasing (running) after her calf.  What an exciting way to start the day!  They were too far off to photograph, but it was good to spot them.  A short time later, a deer scampered up the hillside right next to the road offering a chance for a great shot.  We then took the Coyote Valley trail for a beautiful morning hike and while we didn't see any wildlife up close (except a pretty-sounding bird), there was a herd of elk off in the distance.  The walk did offer some amazing reflection photo opportunities as the sun was rising behind us and striking the mountains to the west.  After our hike we continued up the road further to an area called the Beaver Ponds.  No beavers were sighted, but we did see a baby muskrat!

We returned to our cabin to get ready for our big adventure of the day:  waterwater rafting on the Upper Colorado River.  After fueling up on some local coffee, packing our swimsuits and water shoes, and grabbing some PB&J sandwiches, we headed off an hour west to Kremmling, CO where we had a 12:30 appointment with the river.  Caroline LOVES to whitewater raft.  I've been twice in my life:  in Montana with my dad and with Jason & Caroline in Virginia.  This was the first foray for the kids, however, and we chose a company that catered to families.  We knew the rapids wouldn't be too much, but still fun for everyone.  We arrived early and were afforded the opportunity to take the conversion van down to the river with the guides as opposed to the big old school bus.  Once we put in it took Franklin and Sylvia a bit to warm up to the idea, but after successfully navigating the first rapids, we had smiles all around.  All three kids even jumped into the "refreshingly cool" Colorado River off Punk Rock.  The float lasted about 2 hours and we got to see some great countryside, including 2 Amtrak passenger trains, a bald eagle, a juvenile eagle, and an osprey.  Our guide, Johnny, was excellent and we all left tired, but so thrilled to have done it! (photo credits to Jason Hansen for this section as he has the waterproof camera)

We arrived back in Grand Lake about dinner time and had our first "meh" meal of the trip, but we followed it up with some yummy homemade ice cream.  One of our friends who recently visited the Rockies had told us she had luck seeing wildlife at dusk, so we decided to try our luck again and drove back up into the park.  WE HIT PAYDIRT!!!  Prepare for wildlife photograph overload below.  I came to the Rockies hoping to see and photograph a moose; in total today, we saw 7:  1 mamma, 1 calf, and 5 bucks.  We also saw several elk alongside the road and then a herd of 40+ out in a field just off a hiking trail.  And to top it off, we were treated to an excellent sunset.  This was a fantastic day and we head up into the mountains tomorrow.  Do we dare see bear, mountain goat, and marmots?