Driving Tour of Rocky Mountain National Park

A clear indication of how excited I was to be hitting Rocky Mountain National Park this morning is that I woke up – wide awake – and was showered, dressed and ready to go by 8:15. I hardly do that well on a workday! So, after making some extra loud noise, Chap woke up, and we headed to breakfast around 9:00. One of the best things about vacation is eating a full, leisurely breakfast every morning!

We psyched ourselves up and decided to try the Old Fall River Road, which is one-way, unpaved and evidently a little scary with some pretty significant switch backs and drop offs on either side of the road (but supposedly even more beautiful than the more popular Trail Ridge Road). But, when we pulled up, the road was closed due to some “emergency” up the road. Hmmmm…did someone lose it and go over the edge? Medical emergency? Something else? At any rate, we told it would be a “government hour” before the road would be reopened. Taking the cue, we decided to take Trail Ridge Road instead.

Hmmmm…did someone lose it and go over the edge? Fall River Road was not meant to be.

We spent the next three hours climbing and winding our way through the trees and then the tundra. Weather was nice in the morning, but it was only in the mid-50’s at the higher elevations (and windy). Again, we were so glad to be in the Monte Carlo…that road is really fun with a little power under the hood! We ended up in Lake Granby for lunch, walked around a little, and made our way back. By that time, it was pretty cloudy, so we were actually driving through the clouds and a little rain.

We were both wearing Fort Hays State University sweatshirts, and we ran into a bunch of people with Missouri sweatshirts and caps, so there were always people to talk to. I always used to groan about my dad wearing his “Boy Scout Troop 5 – Peoria Illinois” t-shirts on vacation, but now I get it. I’m just like him…always happy to talk to a total stranger. And so is Chap.

After a much-needed nap, we had dinner at a homey little Italian restaurant this evening, Sweet Basilico. Don’t think Estes Park has much in the way of fine dining, but this was pretty good – two enthusiastic thumbs up! We had to make a quick run to the Safeway because both of us got pretty sunburned today (despite the partly cloudy day!) and to a liquor store because…well, it’s vacation. Tomorrow, we’re going to try a few short hikes (for as long as my foot can handle it!).