Rocky Mountain National Park

As promised, here is my post about the drive home...especially Rocky Mountain National Park! We left my parents' house on Monday morning (July 27) and had a smooth drive, stopping for a stretch at Cathedral of the Plains (one of Kansas' historic landmarks). It is a beautiful building with gorgeous stained glass windows depicting the 12 stations of the cross. Also, it was a great chance to talk with the kids about some Catholic traditions and what a monastery is (the inside courtyard of the Cathedral is reserved for the monks, although we were able to peek in at the grounds, and could see their large garden outside the gate). The dark clouds started dumping on us just north of Denver but stopped by the time we got to Boulder, with a huge rainbow stretching across the sky. I even managed to take a picture of it from inside the car! We arrived at our campground just as the sun was disappearing behind the hills. We stayed at Olive Ridge, a campsite in the Roosevelt National Forest, just a mile from the Wild Basin entrance. It was a great campground, with spacious campsites full of white birch and pine trees, a kids' playground, raised and leveled tent squares, and built-up fire pits! The kids complained a bit about the pit toilets (we're so pampered with automatic flush ones in Kings' Canyon), and of course there were no showers. But who can complain about 2 days in such a gorgeous setting? And highs near 70 degrees...in July?

Tuesday we headed into the park through the Beaver Meadows entrance (the park is so large there are 5 entrances), stopping in the Visitor's Center to pick up a Jr. Ranger packet, then taking the shuttle to Bear Lake. From there we took the trail to three other small, mountain lakes. The kids did great on the 1.8 mile trail, stopping first at Nymph Lake (full of lily pads, flowers, and duck), then on to Dream Lake (clear, deep, and full of cutthroat trout), and finally to Emerald Lake (a chilly, green pool at the edge of a glacier)! We got some light sprinkles on the way back down, but they cleared as we returned to Bear Lake. Our last stop in the park for the day was the Moraine Park Museum, where the kids had a chance to check in with a ranger about their progress on the Jr. Ranger packet (there were 8 tasks and/or written activities to complete), and to look at the next day's schedule for Ranger programs (1 of the requirements to earn their Jr. Ranger badge). We had a great night at the campsite, a dinner of Kansas-made bratwurst and veggies from my mom's garden, a campfire, and clear skies with millions of stars!

We started Wednesday morning at the "Skins and Skulls" ranger program. The kids (and Randy and I) had fun feeling the skins of black bear, elk, cougar (or mountain lion), coyote, bobcat, marmot, and beaver. After the program the kids went inside the visitors' center to show their packets to a ranger on duty. Then she presented them as the newest Jr. Rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park.

They were so proud of themselves! And Randy and I were really proud too; they did a lot of work to complete their packets! And it was so great to see their big smiles as other rangers, parents and kids congratulated them throughout the day. They make a big deal out of the Jr. Ranger program at RMNP and I think that's great! Ask them to tell you about all they did next time you see them!

After the kids were presented their badges, we got back in the van to drive the Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous highway in the United States. It reaches 12,183 feet! The views were spectacular, with elk, marmots, and pika wandering over the tundra. We arrived at Alpine Visitors' Center (elev. 11,796 feet), and ate lunch inside our van since it started hailing as we pulled in the parking lot. Randy, wanting to test his lung capacity, decided to jog to the top of Fall Ridge (a short trail behind the Visitors' Center). He succeeded, in that he made it to the top and didn't get struck by lightning. He did not succeed, however, in jogging the entire way up. Hey, I'm not judging, I didn't even attempt it. Here's his short video at the top.

After lunch we headed into the visitors' center to look around and to hear a Ranger Program about lightning. After that we headed back down Trail Ridge Road (I guess we'll have to come back someday and visit the west side of the park) to visit Sheep Meadows. RMNP is home to some herds of bighorn sheep. Unfortunately, none of them were grazing in the meadows that day. As we pulled back into our campsite, the steady drizzle and clouded skies was making for a cold evening. After letting the kids play an hour in the sprinkles, Randy and I made the decision to drive into Estes Park (about 10 miles away) for dinner. Cooking and building a campfire in this rainy, 50 degree weather wasn't sounding fun at all. Our evening turned out fantastic, with a yummy pizza for dinner, a stop in a candy shop for the kids' dessert, a stop in a Starbucks for an adult dessert (aka white chocolate mochas) and a gorgeous walk along the river. Oh, and a black bear sighting...in the middle of downtown Estes Park! Our tent kept us nice and dry through the very wet weather all night. We packed up in the rain on Thursday morning to start our 2 day trip back home. And, as you know, we got home safely and uneventfully (well, without power in the front of the van, meaning no DVDs, no radio, no iPod, and no GPS, it was certainly an interesting drive home). Rocky Mountain National Park was definitely a stop worth making! And I hope we make it back sometime soon!