Hello Colorado!!! Day 14 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Wednesday morning we were scheduled to meet Lisa and drive up to Rocky Mountain N.P. Unfortunately, Lisa backed out with a horrible migraine. (I hope you're feeling better!) We headed out to the park via I-70 and U.S. 40 which took us to the Grand Lake entrance of the park. The ride along U.S. 40 itself was awesome! The road wound its way ever higher into the mountains. There were numerous switchbacks and climbs. We passed numerous ski areas and stopped for lunch in Winter Park, CO. We were still only about halfway to the park entrance! We finally made it to Granby and switched to U.S. 34 to get to the park entrance. 
Rocky Mountain National Park’s 415 square miles encompass and protect spectacular mountain environments. We drove along Trail Ridge Road – which crests over 12,000 feet including many overlooks to experience the subalpine and alpine worlds. 
Shortly after entering the park, we had our first wildlife sighting - a moose! It was easy enough to tell where the moose was, we just pulled over where everyone else was stopped.   The moose was a ways back from the road, calmly munching away on some tall grass. We spent several minutes observing and photographing before heading on our way. The views in the park are just awesome! As we drove further down the road, we had our second sighting - a couple of doe elk off to the side of a trailhead. A few more photos and we were once again on our way. 
The mountains seemed to surround us. At least 60 mountains exceed 12,000 feet, topping off at 14,259 feet on the football field-sized summit of Longs Peak. Names such as Cirrus, Chiefs Head, Isolation, Mummy, and Storm evoke the grandeur of this high landscape. As we headed ever higher, snow became more visible. Once we passed the highest point on the road at over 12,000 feet, we saw three bull elk grazing in the high pasture. The antlers on one of them were HUGE! The road started its slow descent back to a more "comfortable" altitude. We had two more animal sightings before we left the park - a couple of male bighorn sheep grazing in a field and a nest with two recently hatched screech owls.
The road out of the park was once again beautiful! It wound through several small towns, including Estes Park. U.S. 34 followed the Big Thompson River. We saw several fly fisherman trying their luck along the banks. The canyon walls got steeper and more rocky as the road wound its way to Loveland, CO. We were fortunate to have left the metro Denver area when we did - they experienced numerous severe storms with large hail that night. Loveland had a calm night - thankfully!
Thursday begins our journey homeward.