Rocky Mountain National Park

  

    As you all know we had some pretty destructive floods in September. It effected many areas of Colorado such as RMNP and the town of Estes Park which you go through to get to the park. Estes Park relies heavily on tourism, so it was quite a finanical blow to the town. So the park and the town bounce back nicely after the floods. Tourism picks back up and then the federal government shut down. That meant the park shut down and Estes was left with no tourists...again!

Governor Hickenlooper proposed that the state of Colorado take over the cost of running the park while the federal govt is shut down and it was accepted! So the park reopened, people got their jobs back and tourists headed to the area to spend their money.

I felt I should do my part, so I decided to head up to the park and then into town to do some shopping. Now normally I would never go to Estes Park on a Saturday because it does get crowded but today I decided to join the crowd and enjoy the beautiful day!

Highway 119 had reopened the other day, so I drove up to Peak to Peak highway and headed to Estes.....

This is what I saw on my drive to Estes Park!

I have not hiked Longs Peak but maybe someday.....at least I know where the turn off to get there is....

This is what you see as you enter RMNP.....pretty spectacular!

I had not even gotten into the park when I spotted a herd of elk....

There was a bull elk and his harem just enjoying the day.....

This young bull elk annoyed the big guy but he was soon chased away....

Other than the herd of elk it was pretty quiet, so I enjoyed the beautiful scenery....

I drove to Bear Lake to do a hike but there was a bit of icy snow and I forgot my yak trax. So I just did the easy trail around Bear Lake.

 Looks like winter!

I'd like to check out these trails when I have my yak trax. For those of you not familiar with yak trax. They are like studded snow tires for your feet. They just slip over your hiking shoes and help grip when walking on icy, snowy surfaces.

This sign is pretty clear......

I finally left the park and did some shopping in town. I was very happy to see there were quite a few people enjoying the day with me! Hopefully people will continue to visit both the park and Estes Park.......

I headed home but just had to stop along the road near the old church. You can see some of the devastation caused by the floods. Piles and piles of trees and other debris.....crazy!

Well, it was a very fun day! I will have get back up there very soon.....

Thanks for reading!