Colorado - Rocky Mountain National Park
One of my favorite trips ever!! Mostly because of who joined me, but WOW, Rocky Mountain National Park is beautiful!!
All three of my kids were on this trip, as well as one partner. Angee, Matt and I made our way to the YMCA of the Rockies on Saturday. What a beautiful spot! Stephanie and Avry met us on Wednesday. It was really nice to have all the kids together for a bit, since they are all out of college and starting their respective careers. Its been awhile since that has happened!
On Saturday, since we weren’t quite acclimated yet, we went down to Mary Lake, then Lily Lake and walked around it – we took the ridge walk and checked out a few places that maybe Matt would want to rock climb. These were nice hikes! At Lily Lake, there was a wedding going on – it was a bit strange, because there were several attendants, all dressed up, the bride and the groom, the officiant, and a flower girl. NOONE else besides a photographer – no family, nothing. It was an incredible site, and we sat and watched and cheered when then kissed.
The next day, we travelled down in the same direction, and hiked to Calypso Cascades. This was a hike that our family did in 2004. At the time, Angee was only 9 years old and was feeling so bad due to altitude sickness, that she did NOT enjoy it. This time, she was much happier, and the hike was great. Altitude sickness is a thing! Please prepare yourself for hikes even if they are short – this park is at a high altitude no matter WHERE you are. Take it easy, let your body acclimate and drink a ton of water!
Monday’s hike was to Gem Lake, just north of Estes Park. It was surprising to us that the foliage could be so different in different parts of the park, that aren’t far from each other. This area was rockier and had less trees. It was beautiful. When we got to Gem “Lake”, Angee set up her hammock and Matt climbed around on the rocks for a bit before setting up his own hammock. While up there, Angee ran into some photographers from Iowa that knew the people that are running her Banff photography camp next week. They chatted for a bit and exchanged Instagram account handles. They have followed each other ever since. Meeting people on hikes is the best.
Tuesday, we decided on another longer hike, and Angee, Matt and I headed up to the Bear Lake trailhead and took a hike to Emerald Lake. We were advised to hike to the park, through the YMCA property – we did, and in 0.2 miles, we were at a Shuttle Stop in the National Park. It wasn’t direct, so if you are reading this and need to do the same thing, take the bus that picks you up at Tuxedo, and take it to the Park & Ride, then get the shuttle to Bear Lake from there. Anyway, the Bear Lake trailhead was REALLY busy, and was actually kind of annoying, but as soon as we got past Nymph Lake, there were less people and we continued on to Dream Lake. Along the way, there was an increasing amount of snow, and by Dream Lake, we were hiking on more snow than dirt. Since it was relatively warm out, it was a neat hike, in shorts, on several feet of snow. Dream Lake was mostly open, but there was a lot of ice on it. At Emerald Lake, the lake was all frozen. We had a bit of lunch up there, but it was a defensive activity – the birds and squirrels were very persistent! On the way back down the mountain – we ran into the Iowa photographers again!! I’m editing this post 8 months after our trip, and my son now tells me that this is one of the most beautiful spots he has EVER been! It’s worth the time!
On Wednesday, I went to pick up Stephanie and Avry from the airport in Denver. Avry had told me that the biggest mountains he had ever seen were around Portland Oregon, so it was SO fun seeing his reaction to the Rockies as we made our way to Estes Park. I don’t care how often you go here, its impressive and takes your breath away!
Thursday was a beautiful sunny day, but since two of us were not yet acclimated, we decided to forgo any hikes for the day. We all took a drive up the Ridge Road to the Visitor Center up there. We stopped at tons of places along the way for photos. We even saw a moose! After getting back to the YMCA, we took a 2-hour horseback ride into Moraine Park – very beautiful!
Friday Matt and Angee wanted to do another longer hike, so they set off from the same trailhead as Alberta Falls, to get to Mills Lake. A bit later, the rest of us set off from the cabin to that trailhead – but we took the shuttle. With traffic and some road construction, this ended up taking a LOOOONG time! On our hike to Alberta Falls, we ran into Matt and Angee on their way back down. By the time we got back to the cabin, we were all pretty tired!
Saturday was the day to go home for everyone except me. We packed up, but before leaving the YMCA, we headed out to do some archery! On the way to Denver, we also stopped in Boulder to walk around downtown and get some lunch. It was a nice day and a great trip!
My next adventure was about to begin. I got on a plane for Spokane Washington, rented a car, stopped at Walmart for camping supplies, and drove back to Wisconsin, staying in Glacier National Park for several days, and visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park along the way. So FUN! What a great summer!
