The drive home began on Saturday at 4am. I wanted to explore a bit on the way home, so I took a different route, staying off the interstates and instead following Hwy 40 through Utah and Colorado. The first three and a half hours I had driven before back when Shannon and I visited Flaming Gorge and Dinosaur National Monument in 2015. It's not the most exciting drive once you leave Heber, but it was dark most of the way to Vernal. Once I passed by Dinosaur, it was new sights through western Colorado. It is a beautiful desert landscape. The rock cliffs change shape and color every few miles. In some areas the road is so straight that you can literally see there are no cars sharing the road with you for the next five or more miles. The van's top speed is higher than I thought, but I still haven't found out just how fast it can go.
I eventually made my way over to Steamboat Springs, over Rabbit Ears Pass and eventually down to Granby. It was a nice drive. Steamboat is known for its riding. I didn't have time to stop as my goal for the day was Rocky Mountain National Park, but I will be back to Steamboat for sure.
I hopped off Hwy 40 onto Hwy 34 to enter the south side of Rocky Mountain National Park. I have been wanting to visit this park for quite a while now. This seemed like a great opportunity to get a least a little look at it. I started off with a hike before reaching the official park entrance. You can drive around Grand Lake to hit a hiking trailhead that immediately enters the park. I did a short hike there to Adams Falls. It was a beautiful afternoon and the water was flowing well through the falls. The trail was a bit busy and it felt a bit weird to be hiking by myself, but I really enjoyed.
The drive through Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Rd is unbelievable. You begin driving in the valley between massive mountains, gradually gaining elevation. The valley has many open meadows, often with streams running through them. Conifer forests cover the mountainsides simlar to what you see in parts of Yellowstone. Elk were everywhere in the meadows. I stopped to view one field that had 70-80 elk grazing in it. Clouds had moved in, changing the sunny skies to a bit of gloom, but I never expected what happened next. It began to sleet. Heavily. It was 70 degrees five minutes ago and now it was sleeting so much that it began to pile up and make the road slushy.
I worked my way further up the valley, slowly until the sleet stopped. The road then began a more serious climb, curving around some lazy switchbacks. Every now and then you could see the valley down below. Once you pass Poudre Lake, the trees begin to thin as you approach treeline. Snow capped peaks appeared to be so close now. They were all on the left side until a hard right switchback at Medicine Bow Curve took us up even higher. At this point, peaks are visible in all directions. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I have seen plenty of peaks, but never been up so high looking down on so many that were covered with snow. Trail Ridge Rd was literally cut through the snow, with banks 10-15 feet deep lining both sides of the road. My southern brain can't even fathom that amount of snow still being on the ground in the middle of June.
The road tops out at 12,183 feet. The view is amazing. You are literally surrounded by massive mountain peaks and tundra, ground that is frozen year-round. I took a hike through the tundra near Iceburg Pass. Despite the harsh weather and landscape, creatures were all around. I saw many elk around the pass and yellow-bellied marmots all along the hiking trail. Small, obviously tough plants also grow among the rocks.
The road doesn't stay on the top of the mountain very long before you cross through a hole in the rocks called Rock Cut and begin to descend. The tundra gives way to boulders, then back to conifer forest as you descend east toward Estes Park. There are not as many switchbacks on this side, but the few that are there bring some spectacular views.
Near the bottom of the descent, you have three options. Two go into Estes Park, while the third goes further south into the park, dead-ending at Bear Lake. I first checked out one of the options into Estes Park. Elk were all over the place. Big herds were in almost every meadow. There was one section where a sign warned of mountain goats, but I didn't see any. One of my goals today was to see a mountain goat, but it didn't happen.
Once I reached the gate, I turned around and drove back up to the split, this time heading out toward Bear Lake. I explored a few short paths along the road, then decided to look for a campsite. There were none to be found for the night. Everything was full. It was Saturday after all. So I gave Shannon a call to update her on my progress and plans. It was looking like a rest stop kind of night.
I decided to head out of the park as it was getting dark. I was hoping to be able to see some of the scenery outside the park as I drove toward Denver. I stopped for some rock hopping and pictures of Marys Lake, then set off south on Hwy 7 as the sun began to disappear. There was a massive thunderstorm cloud off to the east that turned all kinds of red, orange and purple as the sun set. Lightning flashed often within the cloud. It was an awesome, yet sort of frightening sight. You have to love the open skies out west when you can see an entire thunderstorm and watch it work.
Darkness descended upon me before I got through the winding road over to Allenspark. I continued on Hwy 7 a bit longer, then dropped down a twisting canyon in the dark to reach Boulder. It was then on to Denver. I stopped to pick up some food at Denny's and was back on the road. I was tired, but I wanted to get beyond Denver before I stopped. I finally found a rest area near the Kansas line where I nabbed a few hours of sleep in the passenger's seat. I was smart enough to get extra food at Denny's so I had breakfast already waiting for me when I hit the road again Sunday morning just after daylight. It was a boring drive home by myself, but Shannon was able to keep me company on the phone after she got out of church. I felt like I had gone such a long way on Saturday, but it was still a long haul until I reached the house. It was almost 10pm when I rolled in. The trip didn't go as planned, but it was still a great trip and I am grateful to have been able to go on it. This was just a taste of Rocky Mountain National Park and Colorado. I know I will be back soon as there is still so much beauty to be explored out there.
