We started on the east side of the park. We had lunch at the Trail Ridge Café. Since it was a beautiful day and we had been cooped up in the car for two days, we opted to eat lunch outside. And I am so glad we did because the porch was lined with hummingbird feeders that were swarming with Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds. The hummingbirds darting from one feeder to another hypnotized both Stephanie and Kate.
After lunch, we stopped in at the Falls Visitor Center to see what they suggested we see. The ranger recommended that we travel the Trail Ridge Road. Here’s a little information about the road. The road covers 48 miles between Estes Park on the park's east side and Grand Lake on the west side of the park. Eleven miles of this high highway travel above treeline, the elevation near 11,500 feet where the park's evergreen forests come to a halt. At one point we reached a sign letting us know that we were 2 miles above sea level. Jim and Stephanie experienced a little shortness of breath due to the high altitude but luckily none of us experienced the dreaded altitude sickness that several friends had warned us about. At the its high point on the road we were at 12,183 feet elevation. As we drove into the alpine tundra, we watched the thermometer on the dashboard dropped 10 degrees in about 15 minutes. The self-guided booklet tour that Stephanie bought said that in that windswept alpine world, conditions resemble those found in the Canadian or Alaskan Arctic. It's normally windy and 20 to 30 degrees colder than Estes Park or Grand Lake. The sun beats down with high- ultraviolet intensity. Kate experienced the affects of the strong UV rays. Even though we spent less than 30 minutes out of the car in the sun, Kate’s face was visibility sunburned that evening.
Our first stop was at Sheep Lakes, a place that is often frequented by big horn sheep. But there were no sheep to be seen today. We were disappointed because the big horn sheep are the icon symbol of RMNP. Kate and Andy had seen the big horn sheep in Glacier NP two summers ago but we were hoping that Jim and Steph would get to see these unique animals.
From the convenience of our car, we were able to park and walk to several amazing views. There aren’t really words to describe the panoramic views that we encountered around each turn. I’ll have to just let the pictures speak for themselves. But trust me when I say, that in now way do these pictures do justice to the real thing.
In each of the parks we visited this summer, we timed it just right for the viewing of wildflowers. Even in the alpine tundra there were over a dozen types of flowers in a square foot.
We did not do any hiking in RMNP, but that did not hinder our wildlife encounters. As mentioned, we got to see the Broad-Tailed Hummingbird. Its wings make a whistling noise when it flies through the air. We also got to see an American Pike, a rare rodent that lives at extremely high altitude. It can be fatal for a pika if its body temperature ever exceeds 75. We also got to see several large herds of elk. Even though we had seen elk in Yellowstone and Olympic, it was interesting to see the elk in large herds. We also saw several make elk with large antler racks. These male elk had already shed the velvet off their antlers making them look more like the picturesque elk in classic western art.
The ranger had told us that if we did not see the big horn sheep at Sheepshead Lake, then our next best bet would be at Millian Pass. We got to the turn out for Millian pass. We grabbed the binoculars to scan the rocky slopes, but again there were no sheep to be seen. We decided to follow Highway 34 out of the park instead of back tracking over the road we had already seen. You can imagine our excitement when we rounded the bend and there were several cars pull off to the side of the road. We started scanning the mountainside for a possible animal encounter. And there they were. Up on a high rocky ledge. Four big horn sheep. We watched as the climbed the rocky slope and head-butted each other.
Our waitress at lunch had told us the best place to perhaps get view of a moose would be on the west side of the park near Grand Lake. So after viewing the sheep we piled back in the car to make our way out of the park and towards Grand Lake. We passed several traffic jams of people pulled over to look at elk grazing in the meadows. But when we were less than 15 minutes from the park exit we approached our last animal jam of the day. We knew immediately that is one was different because people were quickly exiting their cars and running down the shoulder of the road. As we got closer we could see why. There next to the road beside a small creek was a mother moose and her twin babies (we call them meese!)
If you don’t know, moose are typically shy around humans and like to avoid the limelight. What a rare treat to get to see this mother and her babies so close. As we pulled out of the park and pointed the suburban east towards Concord we all agreed that it was the “icing on the cake” to an awesome adventure!
Tonight we are in Paducah, Kentucky. We are only 9 nine hours from home. And while we have all had a great time filled with moments we will never forget. We are all ready for our own beds. So until our next adventure (Florida in days), we are signing off and encouraging you to get out there on the road and have an adventure of your own!
Andy & Kate
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