A HINT OF FALL IN THE ROCKIES

Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park and State Forest State Park

By Time2Geaux Unplugged

September 4^th, 2018

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

We secured a spot at Elk Meadow RV Park in Estes Park, Colorado and hooked and headed north into the Rocky’s. Estes Park sits right out side of Rocky Mountain National Park, the focus for this stop, or so we thought.

Rocky Mountain National Park Act was signed in 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson to protect and preserve this rugged section of the Rockies which was the first UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) did much of the early work that opened the park up the American vacationing motorist.

Estes Park grew up with RMNP after the establishment of the road from Loveland, following the Big Thompson River in 1903. After Freelan Oscar Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer was stricken with tuberculosis and came to the area to recover in the clean mountain air with much success, he decided to develop a hotel to cater to travelers with means rather that the rustic cabins and lodges catering to hunters and mountaineers he had utilized during his recovery. In 1909 he opened The Stanley Hotel, a 142 room Colonial Revival style hotel that was as fine as money could buy. He even developed a nine-passenger mountain version of his Steamer to ferry guest from the rail depot some twenty miles away. The hotel hosted Steven King for one night at the end of the season when he and his wife happened to be the only guest. The one-night stay influenced him to set his book ‘The Shining’ in a hotel inspired by The Stanley. The film adaptation was also filmed at The Stanley hotel. This could have been a much different story if the black bear that walked into the front lobby of The Stanley had come in while Steven King was staying… the week we were in Estes Park we saw on the National News a video of a black bear walking through the lobby. This is a nice town in the heart of a wild place.

We enjoyed a friendly small town feel of Estes Park lacking the chain stores and restaurants. We did find at least six salt water taffy shops... not sure but this may be the world market for taffy. The town was in full bloom and could have inspired Main Street USA at Disney World! Everyone was so friendly and helpful and the river walk, a mile-long pedestrian walkway that follows the Big Thompson River was a delight, the setting was inspiring and unexpected things for the visitors to interact with like a xylophone to play or brass benches to sit and enjoy your coffee from the Inkwell and Brew coffee shop.

We also got very acquainted with the local hospital where JoAnn, still having trouble with pain in her shoulder went for follow-up medical evaluation, physical therapy and an MRI. After discussions with the orthopedic surgeon whom had also injured his shoulder in a bicycle accident, he determined it would heal, it was going to just take more time.

We spent our 12 days in the area enjoying the wildlife, hikes in the park and drives across the park including Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuously paved road in America. One of our favorite hikes was in the Wild Basin because it followed a river and the climate was nice and wildlife was up close and personal. We had the opportunity to photograph many different animals both in and outside the park, including the elk that visited the local golf course or the black bear and her cubs napping in a tree one block off main street in downtown Estes Park. We also got to see a hint of fall colors as leaves were just starting to change in the high country.

Bear Lake to Dream Lake

Bear Lake is one of the most popular hikes in the park and even though you cannot expect to have the trail to yourself it is still a nice hike. The views of the surrounding peaks are always a sight to see regardless of how many times you see them!

Trail Ridge Road & Old Fall River Road

Trail Ridge Road was built by the CCC in 1930 and serves as the main connector across the mountains in the park, crossing the Continental Divide, with a peak elevation of 12,183 ft. It is one of the most popular drives in the park. It replaced the single width Old Fall River Road that had been build using prison labor in the 1920. We drove the road which is one-way and restricted to vehicles less than 25 foot. With da Rugarou at 22 feet long and a dully we were concerned by a ranger suggested we should be fine... we were with only a few switchbacks giving us any trouble. It was quite a drive and very tight in places but we made it! You can see a time-lapse video of our drive on our YouTube channel (see link at bottom).

The Alluvial Fan was created when an earthen dam broke in 1982 and 200MM gallons of water rushed down the valley taking boulders and trees with it creating this recent geological feature. This stop was quite different from anything else in the park we saw.

Wildlife

We had a lot of opportunities to photograph wildlife both in the park and in town. Elk were found on the road and even enjoying the greens at the golf course. Wild turkeys strolled by our campsite, along with deer almost anywhere including the parking lot at the hospital. The most unexpected was the black bear and her three cubs napping in a tree a block off the main street.

Moose Hunting in State Forest STate Park

After a lot of searching for a moose with horns, we headed over to State Forest State Park, just across the Never Summer Mountains which separate the two parks. We needed to cross the mountains anyway and this one night landing spot was only 27 miles away (as the crow flights) but we drove over 100 miles to get there…

We searched and once we learned about moose habitat and their habits we found two bull moose!

What we learned: Many retired people are following the seasons by volunteering as park host and seasonal jobs that rather than pay for your 24 hours a week of work you get a place to stay, we may look into this later in our travels. Medical attention in smaller communities can be really great, the care JoAnn got both in Taos and Estes Park was top notch. A more diverse group of people are traveling full time that we thought, not just retired couples like us but your families who are home schooling or people who have job that can be done remotely.

Next stop: After we make a day trip to Dinosaur National Monument we plan to head north, weather permitting to Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons. I look forward to seeing the trails we helped build in the Tetons with the Boy Scouts. We may stop over in Salt Lake City to visit the Young Living farms in Mona, UT.