JUNE 16 Rocky Mountain National Park Trail Ridge Road

June 16  Rocky Mountain National Park Trail Ridge

We got up at 6 am to start this drive--TRAIL RIDGE ROAD -- (the highest paved road in America) before others came out and in hopes of seeing wildlife early.

The temperature began to get chilly as we progressed upward.

It is a narrow, (no guardrails) road, 15-20 mph most of the way (and you better believe it!) up and over the Rocky Mountains.

 


It is almost impossible to describe being among mountains that extend seemingly forever, reaching to the clouds, some covered with snow, others with dense forests, tundras showing like bare fields in the sky, going on forever. Around every turn is a different, yet equally spectacular view. Like the Grand Canyon, it is too much to be captured in mere photos.

Birthplace of the COLORADO RIVER

COLORADO RIVER

CLOUDS DESCENDING ON NEARBY PEAK

  

REMAINS OF WINTER SNOWFALL

PEAKS AND VALLEYS

It is a most impressive trip.  Chick has become CLOSE BUDDIES with CLOUDS.  As we progressed upward, clouds engulfed the road such that we could see NOTHING more than 3 feet in front of us or around us…except the white line on the side of the road and the yellow line in the middle. Chick wisely straddled the yellow line as we were totally blind as to where we were. We had the lights on and hoped God was keeping other folks from also coming to meet us in the center of the road.  (He did!)

The temperature continued to drop as the clouds closed in.

The dropoff beside the road, covered by clouds, is several thousand feet ...we found out on the way back! 

Reaching the other side of the mountain we explored briefly the small town of Grand Lake, refueled and began the return trip.

This time the clouds were gone, the sun out brightly, the sky unbelievably blue and the view spectacular (and scary… as Chick says he did not know whether it was better to not know how you might die as you slipped off the road, or to actually SEE the thousand foot drops only inches from the side of the road!)

 

On the way home we saw a mother Moose and her baby, and three scruffy Bighorn Sheep ladies and one yearling.

MOTHER MOOSE AND CALF

Big Horn Ewes

After a brief stop for refreshment, we got home by late lunch time, so while Chick took a nap to recover, I worked on pictures.

At 5pm we headed down to Longmont, Co to visit my cousin John Kush, his son Chris, daughter in law Olga, and their daughter Violet for supper.  We had a great time, ate way too much, and drove slowly home in the dark.  It was a really good day.