Alluvial Fan

There are two easily accessible areas at RMNP where you might see Big Horn Sheep -- Sheep Lakes and Alluvial Fan -- both in close proximity to one another.  Sheep sightings have been declining, as they normally do when summer arrives, and we didn't get to see any.  We did ride over to Alluvial Fan to see the cascading waterfall and for the kids to climb all of the boulders.

Alluvial fans are fan-shaped deposits of water-transported material such as sand, gravel, and in our case very large boulders.  This area of RMNP was created on July 15, 1982 when Lawn Lake broke through the dam that had held since the end of the last ice age  Over 29 million gallons of water swept trees and car sized boulders four miles down to the valley floor. 

The kids had a great time climbing up and down the boulders.  It must have worn them out, because as I am writing this about 8:00am, they are still fast asleep.

Fun City

What summer family vacation is complete without a trip to the amusement park?  Right around the corner from our house in Estes Park is Fun City -- complete with bumper cars, miniature golf, giant slides, and go karts.  The kids had a blast going from one activity to the other.  Unfortunately, Fun City does not have an all day pass -- it's pay individually per ride.  Let's just say the parent's pocketbook is a little lighter and that Fun City is close to being listed as a Fortune 500 company.

With our final three dollars, I challenged Turner and Sarah to a race down the giant slide.  The important part to note is that I won.  Here's the replay:

The kids had a blast and we had a lot of fun watching them.  The next time we go we'll have to take out a small loan or else win the lottery.

Trail Ridge Road

One of the many great views

Today we drove the length of Trail Ridge Road, from Estes Park to Grand Lake.  It's the only road that traverses the entire park.  At its highest point, it reaches an elevation of 12,183 feet making it the highest continuously paved road within the United States.  It's closed half the year because of snow as they don't plow it during the winter.

Driving the entire length of Trail Ridge Road is a must-do.  It's about 50 miles in length and you cross the continental divide at Milner Pass.  You're treated to spectacular vistas and a variety of animals in their natural habitat.  We were able to see elk, mule deer, marmots, and a moose.  Even with the relatively short length, the speed limit is 35mph most of the way so it takes about 90 minutes to get to Grand Lake.  With all of our stops at lookouts and the Alpine visitor center, it took us about 3 hours to drive the entire length.

Waiting for the elk herd to cross the road in front of us

The trip allows you to see all of the various ecosystems within the park, from grassland valleys, to pine forests, to the alpine tundra above the tree line.  We had beautiful weather for our drive and made it back to Estes in about 2 hours -- only slowed by a herd of Elk that decided to cross the road in front of us.  It's calving season for elk and we were witnessing baby elk out and about for the first time.  We didn't mind waiting one bit.

A bull elk

Twin Peaks

Mona in the alpine tundra, above the tree line.

Today was our big hike.  We decided to go the summit of Twin Sisters, 11,428 feet above sea level.  This was a hike of 7.5 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 2,400 feet.  This was the first time we started hiking in forest but ended up in alpine tundra above the tree line.  Somewhere between 10,000 and 11,000 feet, trees here won't grow, and it's a stark line where you see trees and where you don't.

For us east coasters who are not accustomed to the thinner air, we have to take a little slower pace in order to not get out of breath.  It's rated a strenuous hike, which it certainly is on the uphill climb, and at our slower pace, we were able to get up and back in about 5 hours.

Long's Peak as seen from the summit of Twin Sisters

The views were tremendous.  We could see Estes Park and Lake Estes, but the the best views were of Longs Peak, the highest mountain in RMNP at 14,259 feet.  The highlight for Mona was seeing a Big Horn Sheep in the wild for the first time.  We've been to various places out west where these sheep live, probably a dozen times or so, but Mona has never seen one.

I suspect we'll find a little more time to hike, but given how our legs feel at the moment, I bet it will be an easier trail.

Early Morning Hiking

When we travel out west from the east coast, it usually always takes a bit to adjust to the time difference  even though it's only two hours difference.  This trip is no different.  The upside to waking up at 5:30 AM is getting an early start on hiking and beating the crowds.

We're traveling with our niece and nephew and they've never really done any significant hiking but they really wanted to go with us.  We decided to do some easier hiking with them so they weren't overwhelmed and could keep their interest (they're 7 and 9).  We drove into RMNP and traveled towards Bear Lake to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead.  Our goal was to hike to Alberta Falls and then over to Bear Lake and back -- a total of about 3 miles.

 RMNP is home to a large amount of wildlife -- from elk and mule deer to moose, marmots, pikas, and all kinds of birds.  There's also a few black bears, but they number fewer than 30 in this area and are mostly in the back country where we would not be hiking today.  On the drive in we saw several mule deer including one buck with an impressive set of antlers.  We also saw a couple of turkeys strutting down the road and some marmots up the hillside.  Sarah and Turner

hadn't seen this much wildlife up close, and the mule deer are a lot larger than the white-tail deer they are accustomed to seeing back home.

We were in the park by 6:30 and were able to snag one of the few parking places at the trailhead.  Bear Lake Drive is under construction and from 9 to 4 everyday is closed to vehicle traffic -- they'll let you leave, but newcomers must take the park shuttle bus.  The hikes were great.  We did a fair amount of stopping as the kids aren't used to the altitude and would need to catch their breath.  All in all a successful first hike.

Success reaching Alberta Falls