He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin’ home to a place he’d never been before
Left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
Might say he found a key for every door
~ “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver
While I am slightly older than 27, the beginning lyrics to this song really speak to me (to us both, actually). In my last post, I touched on how much this area means to us. Those sentiments truly hit home today as we made our way into Rocky Mountain National Park again. We were giddy with excitement as we pulled out from the campground at 7:00 a.m.
First stop, however, was breakfast from Cinnamon’s Bakery. Gotta fuel up, right? We have stopped here each time in Estes because you simply cannot get a better cinnamon roll anywhere. They are made fresh every morning and the doors open at 7:30. They close when they sell out for the day, which is almost always before 10:00 a.m. Yes, they are THAT good. We picked up two rolls and two coffees and headed into the park to find a beautiful place to enjoy breakfast.
Because timed entry into RMNP only runs from 9am-2pm, there was not yet a line at the entrance station. It’s hard to describe how we felt at that moment but I can tell you that there were tears involved. My tears were very manly though. The gradual ascent into the heart of the park winds through some incredible scenery. It is so much greener than what we have been experiencing on this trip and that was a welcome sight. It is definitely my favorite entrance drive of any national park I’ve been to yet.
After the road climbs a few hundred feet, it levels off and follows a huge, sweeping arc around a central plain surrounded on three sides by mountains. It reminded me somewhat of the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone. Flat, cross-cut by severely squiggly river (Fall River), and filled with wildlife. Elk can be found pretty much everywhere in RMNP and it took us about 30 seconds to start seeing herds. If you’ve never seen elk, they are not small animals. In fact, they look like massive deer. Taste pretty good, too.
We weren’t even in the park 10 minutes, starting to round the corner at the far end of the valley, when we saw cars pulled over and people looking out over a lake. Yup, our first moose sighting! This lone animal was about knee-deep in a glass-still pond, eating whatever moose (meese?) eat out of water. What an amazing start to our RMNP visit!! When we traveled to Yellowstone and Grand Teton last year with the Wolfe’s, it took us all nine days (pretty much to the last minute) to finally see a moose (there were two, so meeses). This took much less time. In fact, when we were here in 2023 with Michael, Julia, and Andrew, we had 17 moose sightings over our 5 days in the park.
Continuing our journey, the road started switch-backing up the mountainside, gaining altitude above the valley floor quite rapidly. This is Trail Ridge Road, one of the most iconic drives in all of our national park system. When fully opened, the 39-mile road crosses a high altitude pass and descends the western side of the Rockies, reaching a high point of 12,183 feet above sea level. The views cannot be beat!
This year, however, late season snows coupled with ice and extreme drifting have kept the highest part of the road closed. There is a teeny tiny chance it may open before we leave town, but we’re not holding our breath for that. As we ascended, we marveled at the snow banks growing as we went higher and higher. We were able to drive to Rainbow Curve Overlook at an elevation of 10,700 feet before the road was closed to traffic. That made for a perfect spot to enjoy cinnamon rolls and coffee!
Full of sugar and caffeine, we turned Livvy downhill to begin our descent. The visibility near our high point was limited due to low-level clouds. We eventually broke out of it and again were treated to amazing views. We took a different route at the bottom, choosing to exit the park at the Beaver Meadows entrance. Again, everything was so beautiful.
We dropped by the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center to get our passport stamped. It is a very small center and it was extremely crowded. Because this park entrance is the gateway to the Bear Lake Loop (more on that on Tuesday), this center sees a lot of activity. Boy did we get out of there quickly! Instead, we made a nice 15 minute drive back to the Fall River Visitor Center, which was much quieter.
Having a bit of time to kill before we could check in at our new campsite, we fueled up, did a bit of grocery shopping at an adorable market we frequented in 2023, and even went in the liquor store (good beers to be had!). Just after 11:00, we confirmed that our site at Paradise on the River was ready for us, so we made the arduous 1-mile drive from the liquor store to there.
Paradise on the River is small by any measurement. There are 6 RV sites along the Big Thompson River, in addition to 8 small cabins. There are maybe 6 other RV spots and a couple more cabins. That’s it. We were fortunate enough to get a spot along the river and we could not be happier.
Each site has it’s own private deck overlooking the Big Thompson (Actually, it’s not big at all. More of a big creek, but they didn’t ask me when naming it). This time of the year the river (creek?) is running high and fast. That means we are being treated to the rhythmic sounds of rushing water. It is perfect!!
Although our time in RMNP was short today, we got all the feelings we wanted. And with at least 2 days to come in the park, more to look forward to. It feels amazing to be back here.
Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake
~ “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver
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