Rocky Mountains, Colorado

Here we are at the Summit of the Rockies
Eric & Marie share the adventure...

Some of the beautiful wildflowers

Elks cavorting in the meadow

Marie heading back down from our morning hike...

When I heard John Denver's song 'Rocky Mountain High' decades ago, I never imagined for a minute that I would ever visit the area. Yet here I am. It's amazing how life turns out. Fortunately, our friends Marie & Eric drive a 4WD to tow their trailer, so that is how we enjoyed our day trips to the Rockies. The visits wouldn't be nearly so pleasant if we had to negotiate hairpin bends in our 32' motorhome, and there certainly wouldn't be enought room to pull off to the side of the road when we spotted elk! Although we had 4 sets of eyes peeled for moose, they were evasive, but instead we had several sightings of elk, and particularly enjoyed the antics of two male elks jostling with one another right beside the road.

Summer is prime tourist time in this area of Estes Park and the eastern entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park. For our day trip, we decided to set off at 6.30am to enjoy the peace and solitude of the drive before the hordes arrived. After passing a herd of grazing deer, we reached the summit of 12,090 ft before 9am. The weather was kind, and the wildflowers colourfully dotted the mountain sides. Marmots, squirrels, picas & chipmunks darted around the scenic paths as we made our way to elevated viewing areas. We couldn't miss taking a photo at the Continental Divide where we refreshed what we had learnt in history lessons - that precipitation from the East side eventually drains into the Mississippi River and finally reaches the Atlantic ocean, whereas water from the West side of the Rockies makes its way to the Colorado River & eventually to the Pacific Ocean. The Rockies stretch all the way from Alaska down to Mexico. Amazing. As we descended from the lofty heights, we saw what looked like snow lower down the mountain. Turns out that it was small hail blanketing the side of the road and the meadows - boy, we were glad that it was fine when we passed through hours earlier.

Today is our last full day in the area, so we decided that Eric would hit the donut shop early, and return to our RV with a selection of donuts by 7am, and we would have the coffee brewed. By 7.30am we were on our way back into the National Park where we took a 2 mile hike to Alberta Falls. We were blessed with a cloudless, blue sky and a pleasant mild temperature. After taking several photos and just enjoying the beauty of nature, we headed back to our RV Park for an early lunch and some domestics in preparation for our departure tomorrow morning. Eric & Marie have a long drive south ahead of them to southern Utah, and we will make tracks to the north east for Yellowstone NP - yes, our third visit.