RMNP–Elk finally!

When we went to Yellowstone we were told we would see bison, moose, and elk. We saw bison and moose, no elk.
When we went to Grand Tetons we were told we would see bison, moose, and elk. No elk.
Going to Rocky Mountain National Park was going to be my last chance to see elk. So off we went with great determination to see elk! I also wanted to go into Colorado in order to see the golden aspen and as such, had planned our arrival for late September with hopes the aspen would have turned.
We left the rig in Cheyenne and drove the 2 hours to Estes Park, Colorado which is the only town on the outskirts of the eastern side of RMNP. We made reservations to stay at the Silver Moon Inn which is located just one block from downtown and is overlooking a small stream (they called it a river, but that was an exaggeration).
The drive through the mountains to Estes Park was beautiful.
Our first stop was the Estes Park visitor center where we ate our packed lunch and picked up some maps. And then we were off to drive the southern drive down to Bear Lake where we would try a short hike. With an elevation over 10,000 feet, we were not too sure how I would do with the breathing.
On the way we stopped at a visitors center overlooking a meadow. Guess what I saw?  ELK!! The male elk was having quite a time as one of the females kept trying to leave the harem and run away. He was having none of that…so every time she would slip off, he would have to chase her down. He was mighty determined to keep her, but she seemed equally determined to get away.
After a few minutes of entertainment we continued on toward Bear lake.

As we hiked around the lake, I saw the aspens turning beautiful shades of gold.

After driving, hiking, and driving some more we were ready for a peaceful nights sleep. After watching the season premier of Grays Anatomy, of course! It was a lovely little hotel and we enjoyed our ‘vacation’ in Estes Park.

The next day we drove into the park along the Trail Ridge Road up to the Alpine Visitors Center and the highest point on the road (over 12,000 feet).

The aspen were definitely turning gold up there!

We were WAY up high and looking down. The road was nice except it did not have any guard rails. When I asked the ranger about that he said that they took them out as they seemed to give people a false sense of security and there were more accidents with them in than out. He said that most of the time when people go over the side it is on purpose…ugh.

We really liked this quote in the visitor’s center.

We were way above the tree line and into the alpine tundra area.

The golden colors of the aspen as we head back down to Estes Park and then back to Cheyenne. Another great ‘vacation’.

That is the last of the western mountains for us this year. It is into Nebraska and Kansas now so I’ll be putting away my mountain advisory book for awhile. Hope your days are smooth and flat too!