Rocky Mountain N/P (Part two)

While I walked back to take this picture Sandy saw a group of 5 deer.

Here are a couple of them.






We stopped at the Alpine Visitor because there is a one way road that comes from the east side of the park and exits here and I wanted to find out what condition it was in. (It also has a gift shop for Sandy to spend a little money).

Well, I guess this tells me what I need to know. I found out that it will not open this year because of all the snow still on the road.

The road comes out behind where the pickup and bulldozer are parked. The new snow will be falling before this snow melts.


There is a herd of bull Elk in the center and lower right of the picture. Double click on the picture to enlarge it. Here is where we need a 300mm zoom lens.  Sandy’s little Canon Sure Shot just doesn’t zoom in close enough all the time.

Here is a Yellow-Bellied Marmot basking in the sun.

One of the things about the Alpine Tundra is that the plants and flowers are small, but they do not lack anything in color or beauty. It took Sandy a long time to get to the top of the trail. She couldn’t pass up taking pictures of just about every flower.  That must come from her Dad’s love of flowers.  We couldn’t include all the pictures or we would have an “Alpine Flower Book” by the time we were done.




These bull Elk were up closer to get a better picture.


Note—the people in the picture are not quite as old as the rocks.


Below you can see the long switchback in the road going up to the Alpine Trailhead.





I wonder from what direction the wind usually blows in this area?

We had to follow this adventurous couple at about 5 mph for awhile to find a spot to get around them. And, yes, Manuel, she had pretty eyes.


There is still a lot of flowing water coming down the mountains. Road crews have been repairing wash-outs on the shoulders of the road.



We stopped just for lunch just outside the east park entrance near Estes Park. This is a good place to stop as the prices are reasonable and the food was great.



Sandy took this picture from the balcony where we ate. That’s the Fall River and a 1939 Buick.

Hummingbird feeders were all along the deck that were constantly visited by the hummingbirds.

Sandy had the Turkey Rueben while I had the Blue Moon Brat with a Blue Moon beer. Sandy couldn’t resist taking a picture of the delicious sandwich on the pretty plate.


As we headed to Loveland, CO, we went from this to….

To this in less than 3 minutes.

Then the next thing we knew we were in Nebraska.

Until next time,
Dave and Sandy