Jellystone Estes Park
When you see the first tunnel about nine miles from where you’re leaving from, you KNOW It’s going to be…………well…………. a white-knuckle drive and…….it was!Wowzer………. these Colorado mountains are no joke!!!!!!!
We were VERY happy to arrive at our campsite. The camp hosts were super and even helped in getting The Sandman backed into our site. Although we were pretty close to the main highway, no problem – it was level and we didn’t have to maneuver up the narrow lane uphill to the rest of the campground – Yayyy!!! It was a bit gnarly for a large rig like ours.
Several years back, Mike was on a road trip with our besties Jon and Becky Harry (Donna didn’t get to go because WORK wouldn’t let her have vacation at that particular time). They have talked to this day about THE BEST pie shop ever! So yes…..off we went to have some pie. Mike had Cherry and Donna had Peach…………..and boy oh boy – our plates were empty in no time – LOL!!! Waiting in line was not a problem – our mouths were watering the whole time!!
Rocky Mountain National Park is REALLY something! When Donna was young and their family was moving from West to East and vice versa, her dad brought them to the area several times. Her memories of driving through the park are vivid. Trail Ridge Road is designated as a national All-American Road. It covers 48 miles between Estes Park (east side) and Grand Lake (west side). Eleven miles of the highway travel above the tree line at an elevation near 11,500’!! The evergreen forests come to a halt. As it winds across the tundra’s vastness to its high point of 12,183’, it offers thrilling views and wildlife sightings.
Guardrails? Where are they? Nowhere on this very narrow road with hardly any room to pass…………….Yikes! Don’t dare take your hands off that steering wheel……………Wow!!
Estes Park – what a cute town – wandering in and out of shops was a quintessential mountain town experience. And when there is a river involved? Even better……and……what made it even more special for us was seeing a Momma Elk with her babies in the river!! And…. seeing another one walking down main street, munching from the flowerpots along the sidewalk – LOL!!
Mike’s favorite Author – Stephen King! Remember the movie “The Shining?” Part of it was filmed at the famous landmark Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. As soon as we walked in, we both commented that it reminded us of the famous Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. It was oozing with old world charm and modern amenities. We moseyed through the gift shop (big mistake) and came out with a bag full – “Redrum” ………A poster in the lobby advertised a special Bourbon downstairs in their tasting room. Oh boy – here we go!!
Wow!! The tasting room was the most gorgeous thing we’ve ever seen!!!!
Elk “rut” season was in full swing. As we traversed through the roads, our necks getting sore from looking side to side, and up and down. The meadow we suddenly came upon was what we’ve been waiting for – a HUGE herd of Elk and several males with very large racks!! We quickly found a place to park and spent hours watching the show. Big Daddy was on the hunt for “his” female but none of the females wanted anything to do with him – LOL!!! Big Daddy and another had a “friendly” exchange with their antlers while dancing around the females.
Although the altitude was still an issue for us (thin air makes it harder to breath), we managed to do a hike around Bear Lake. What a beautiful place! On the way, we saw a Momma Moose with her baby crossing the road. Not great pictures as they went pretty quick across the road into the woods.
It was a busy time both in the town and in the park as we were there over Labor Day weekend. But all in all, we had a fantastic time!!! Another bucket list item – checked off…