Rocky Mountain National Park

The town of Estes Park is a nice place to stop before entering the park. Estes Park is a quaint little mountain town consisting of mostly locally owned shops. Even people like me who hate shopping can enjoy these shops. I enjoy the rock and fossil shops and the antique and collectibles stores. My wife and daughter likes the clothing and home accessory shops.

My wife has a thing for alpacas. She has dropped a couple hints a few times over the last few years about buying a couple of them. Once she found out that one in it's prime of life can cost $20,000 - $30,000, she said shat she would settle for an alpaca rug. She found a good one reasonably priced at Estes Park.

I like history. I found a collectibles store and bought a Confederate note. My daughter loves glass, so she was pleased when she found a shop that sells art glass - hand blown on the premises.

My wife can't pass a candy shop without buying a pound of fudge. It seems like there is a candy shop on every corner in Estes Park, so if you like chocolate too much like I do, you might just want to drive by Estes without stopping. But I'm going to stop every time and get some fudge.

We always have breakfast or lunch in Estes Park, depending on the time of day. We have never had any wait time before being seated, regardless of the season. The quality of food, service, and price has generally been been good, each time.

Before you leave Estes Park, make sure that you have a full tank of gas. There are no gas stations in Rock Mountain National Park and running out of gas would be time consuming and costly, maybe even dangerous during cold weather.

Usually, animals are spotted even before entering the park. During the cold weather months, herds of elk roam in the parks and lawns within the city limits of Estes Park. We have watched mule deer fawns play on the mountainside outside our window while we were dining.

It is not unusual to see deer, elk, and bighorn sheep within seconds after entering the park. Pull-overs are located every few miles or less, so it is safe and easy to stop and watch the animals for awhile. I have to tell myself every so often that these are wild animals I'm watching, so don't continue moving towards them for a closer photo, until they either run away or chase me back to my car.

We have watched young coyotes playing. We have watched a fox cross the road, then stop and turn it's head to check us out. Magpies have followed our car peeking through our rear window for quite some distance - why I don't know. Marmots are fun to watch, crawling over the rocks of the tundra.

Black bears, moose, mountain lions and bobcats live in the park, but we have yet to see any.

If you have never seen elk and want to see a lot of them, then Rocky Mountain National Park should be on your list of places to visit. I would venture a guess that there is no better place in the world to spot elk. They are everywhere - especially in the cold weather months.

The environment moves from from wooded forests to mountain tundra and back again, depending on altitude.

Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved highway in the United States. During the snowiest part of the winter, access to Trail Ridge Road is limited. As the snow melts in the spring, more of the trail road opens until finally you can travel all the way across the Continental Divide until you get to Grand Lake, a distance of 48 miles from beginning to end. Eleven miles of Trail Ridge Road is above treeline with an elevation of close to 11,500 feet. The scenery is so spectacular that when I first saw it, it was hard to imagine anything being that beautiful - even though I just saw it with my own eyes

The second most popular destination in the park is Bear Lake. Bear Lake sets beneath the Continental Divide. Hiking around the lake is popular and there are several hiking trails that begin here.

Activities that many visitors enjoy in the park are fishing, camping, rock and mountain climbing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

We have visited the park in every season. My favorite time to visit is late spring when the snow still covers many areas, but flowers are blooming where the snow has melted. That is one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen. I also like winter. More wildlife is spotted during winter than any other season. Visit in winter and you will have the park almost to yourself.

Summer is nice too, but it is my least favorite time to visit because of the crowds. There are less animal sightings also.

Rocky Mountain National Park is well worth going out of your way to visit. We plan on going back at every opportunity.