RMNP--Day One

Rocky Mountain National Park

• Day 1--Arrive at Denver at 10:20 am. Rent car, drive to Estes Park.
• Day 2--Split day between time in park and time in town.
• Day 3--Same.
• Day 4--Leave Estes Park and head to Denver; rent car and stay at hotel near airport. 
• Day 5--leave at 5 am from Denver. 

Day 1

At some point on the plane, it occurred to me that I have never individually rented a car before. By the time I was old enough to rent a car, I had been with JK for years, and I typically handled flights and he handled car rental. It turned out to be a breeze--I showed up on the shuttle from the Denver airport, my name was on the board, they told me to grab any car I wanted, and so I did. I joked with my mom that it felt like I had just stolen a car, but I guess that's how rental agencies do it these days. 

I enjoy that drive from Denver to Estes Park. It's so flat on one side, and then abruptly skyrockets on the other. For awhile, you're just racing along the side of the mountains and then slowly, you're turning yourself into them. Their fingers and then their arms wrap around you and pull you in, and you're surrounded by stone, reaching above you. You lose cell service. You lose time. Your ears pop. And then Estes Park bursts out from around the bend, laid out in front of you, with mountains towering over it. 

We stopped in town first--parked the car, walked around the streets, and got some lunch. Dinner? Brunch? Who knows, it was all very confusing at that point about what time it was, between the time zone change and the actual daylight savings time change. Warmed up, and with full bellies, we went over to YMCA of Rockies, where I've been wanting to stay for about two years now.

It did not disappoint.

The check in lodge had roaring fireplaces, and check in was a breeze. Our cabin was close and on the main campus, so it was very easy to locate and a great location for what we were doing. It was a two bedroom, sleeps 5 cabin--a queen bed and a room with a twin and two bunkbeds. It would be great for our family to stay in. A decent sized living room with a couch and coffee table, kitchen table, and small but perfectly adequate kitchen was all we needed. No TVs, though, but that was a welcome relief. The huge porch wrapped around half the cabin, and right out the front door was Longs Peak. It was too cloudy the first day to see it, though, so that was a nice sunrise surprise later on.

We drove into the park, stopping at some pullouts for the views. 

I took Mom over to the Alluvial Fan, figuring it's always a fan (see what I did there?) favorite, and also a very gentle elevation change walk. It was indeed a hit, with Mom taking so many pictures of it all that she filled up her ipad. 

The sun had sunk behind the mountains, so we bundled back into the car and drove out through the Fall River exit. On the way out, we spotted a herd of elk by Sheep Lakes, so we parked and watched them for a bit.

Circling through town, we grabbed some light groceries and went back to the YMCA. We had hot chocolate, summer sausage, cheese, and pretzels for dinner, and promptly went to bed. 

Picture Post: Alluvial Fan and Bierstadt Lake

Here's a pictures post for you, with some descriptive captions. 

The Alluvial Fan

The above image is the rocky "rapids" of the Alluvial Fan. This picture was taken from just off the accessible path leading up to the waterfall, though waterfall is not entirely accurate. 

One of the actual waterfall parts of the Alluvial Fan. This was reached via a hike up the boulders on the west side of the falls. We could have gone higher, and others did, but we decided that it was already a successful excursion. 

An example of the climb up and down you might have to take. We actually avoided this route, choosing instead to stick to boulders and avoiding impacting any plant life. 

 

What remains one of my favorite pictures from the park. It was taken with my iPhone with a Moment lens, but the lens was a bit grubby from my fingers at this point. JK is helping EJ cross the waterway, having first checked all rocks himself with his trekking poles. Even a shallow amount of water can be dangerous, and you have to have great care and respect when dealing with it. Seeing them working together carefully, against the mountain backdrop, was a heart soaring moment. 

Bierstadt Lake

While I may have slightly skewed the image--my hands were jostling around quite a bit--you can see it's a pretty steep incline up.

I believe I mentioned parts of the trail were steep and rocky, right? Never fear, it was great fun. The "rock climbing" aspect kept the kids endless entertained.

This was our first peek at the clearing where the lake was, and I could have sat here all day. It's the picture definition of anticipation--you know it's right there, right up ahead, waiting for you.

While this is not my favorite picture of Bierstadt Lake that we took--silly wide angle lens on my phone made it look smaller than it is--it's the one I choose for this for the colors, for the mountains, and the sky.

There were parts of the hike that were flat and the floor was blanketed by pine needles.

On our way back down, looking over Glacier Creek Stables.