Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Sunny Wednesday!  We didn't go to the Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday, as it was very chilly in the morning and they predicted scattered showers. We weren't sure what to expect when we got there, as Estes Park was to have received 3 to 6 inches of snow on Monday.  Instead, we went to Fort Collins and Jim got his new hiking boots.  Fort Collins is a lovely little town.  Last night, we listened to the news and they were talking of Hwy. 34 from Loveland and west to Estes Park is closed until Memorial Day of 2018!  That was our straight shot to the park!  Now what?  We checked further and we needed to take I-25 south and then west, so it is going to add to our travel time to get there.  It is what it is.  We went to the Visitor Center as soon as we got into the park, and found out that the total road over the Continental Divide is closed, due to heavy snows, and it didn't sound like it would open again this winter.  Well, bummer!  What happened to our good timing?  The ranger told us that they had this unexpected early snowfall and she pointed out what we could do.  We drove the loop that was open and did a little geo-caching.  Most of the caches that we had loaded were on Hwy. 34 and the area closed in the park.  We did manage to find ten caches today.  We basically, wanted to check out the park, and found it just beautiful, and the snow added to the beauty.  Most of the snow that Estes Park received, was mostly melted away and wasn't an issue at all.  We are to get rain tomorrow and Friday, so we are going to go back over on Saturday and do a hike.  We have plenty of time to figure out which one!  It is to be 70 degrees Saturday, and it will be our last day here.  As long as we can't do the whole road to Grand Lake, we will be ready to leave. 

We saw many bunches of Elk alongside the road, as we drove the loop, so we checked it out.  Many male Elk were bugling and trying to keep their 'women' together, so it made for an entertaining photo op!  This particular one must have been really busy, as he was nearly hoarse from bugling.  We didn't see any Big Horn Sheep on today's trek to the park, but perhaps the next time.

This is one of many beautiful sights that we saw today.  The Aspen were fading near the higher elevations, but very prevalent in the lower regions.

This lunatic Magpie thought we would give it a handout of food, but we didn't.  They really frown on giving any wildlife anything to eat, as they will get dependent on it.  This area is called, 'Sheep Lake' and the glacier kettle ponds are here, and the Big Horn frequent this area.  We saw none today.

The Stanley Hotel that sits high on the mountain and overlooks Estes Park, is a stately old hotel.