Rocky Mountain National Park

10/23/18

Today was the best!  We are in Rocky Mountain National Park, our second night staying here.  The campground is really beautiful, although no running water. We got here last night as the sun was setting, traveling from Denver where we stayed with Kaitlin for the night.  When we got here we drove around the loop a few times to find the best site, most of the campground was roped off for the colder season.  There is snow covering the ground on most sites which was shocking to see. We found a secluded spot and set up the bed and a fire, making sure to put all our food in the bear box provided.   

I didn’t have the best sleep, lots of weird dreams and I heard something scratching at the car last night.  I was worried it was a bear but I tried to look out the window and didn’t see anything moving. Well this morning I found a toilet paper roll under the bed all torn up like a little mouse had gotten to it.  AH!! I don’t know if it just came in and left last night or if it is hiding in the car. Dan said he heard the scratching too. All the food was in the bear box outside the car so there was a lot of space in the car for a critter to get around.

Dan made a fire in the morning and we had a slow start to the day, enjoying the view of the mountains and the light creeping up into the sky.

We finally left the campsite around 11 and went to the visitors center to get water and a map.  Dan was filling up the gallon at the water fountain and somehow it broke out of the cement wall.  He ended up catching it and holding it up with his legs while I told someone and we shoved a chair underneath to hold it up.  Everyone found it very bizarre and funny.

We talked to a ranger about some hikes and decided to do the Bierstadt Lake hike.  The way up was incredibly beautiful, an exposed trail with views of the snowy Rockies the whole time.  It got pretty hot as we made our way up and faced the sun.

The bark of the Aspens were beautiful and reminded me of my splatter scarves.  We ran into an older couple that had just come from the lake and said they saw a moose and it’s baby a little earlier at the water.  They were doing a 16 mile loop hike around the park which sounded insane.

Once we got to the top and started going towards the lake it turned into a pine tree forest and snow was covering the ground.  We didn’t see any moose at the lake but it was still lovely. We decided to not go back down the trail we had come up but to make a loop of our own and continue to Bear Lake, where we had been planning to drive to afterwards.  It was a much different hike on our way there, very snowy and cooler temperatures, walking on flatter ground through the woods.

Eventually a view opened up to Bear Lake as we were coming down a hill and we decided to climb onto some rocks and eat lunch overlooking the lake with the Rockies behind it.  Dan said it was one his favorite views we’ve had together.

We took some more Explore pictures and headed down to walk the loop around the alpine lake.

We hiked 3 more miles back to the car on a new path that was also snowy.  It crossed over lots of bridges and mini waterfalls. After getting back to the car 7 miles later our legs and feet felt so tired.

We drove up Trail Ridge Road to see how far up we could get, the full passage was closed for the season.  We got to the lookout at the top as the sun was starting to set and had this incredible view of so many mountains and deep valleys.  So amazing. As we started to drive down the mountain, a full moon was rising over the Rockies.

We made squash, maple bacon, brussel sprouts and corn for dinner with a spicy maple syrup.  So yummy. I feel so fulfilled, tired and happy. A really, really fun day.