Estes Park, Colorado, Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. On our visit last Fall, I wrote a lengthy about awe-inspiring scenery, the male elk that lined the roadsides and the food that I packed along for the stay in the cabin. Let’s see what Springtime in the Rockies holds for this trip.
Awe inspiring scenery: I mean really, how many photos can I take of 14,259 feet tall Long’s Peak. Obviously not enough, I’ve probably been to the park 30 times and each visit I stand there and take photo after photo. First ascended by John Wesley Powell in 1868, some think this mountain is Colorado’s Premier Peak. It is named after Major Stephen Long, who explored the area in the 1820s. Longs Peak is one of the most prominent mountains in Colorado, rising 7,000 feet above the town of Estes Park. And when you get close up and personal with that mountain, you literally can’t take your eyes, or camera off it’s grandeur.
Elk Lining the Roadsides: And I mean really, how many photos of Elk can I take. Well obviously not enough. Last Fall’s visit during rutting season resulted in us being smack dab in the middle of Spring calving. As the females were tucked away in the trees, bearing and raising the young, these proud males were front and center posing roadside for tourists. And no matter how many you see, you always stop to take a photo.
One of our favorite paths was marked with a somewhat attention getting sign that found us turning around to find another thing to do.
We diverted to the nearby Estes Park Downtown Riverwalk. A tunnel under Highway 36 goes along the Big Thompson leading past clever shops and quaint restaurants. The entrance to the tunnel is decorated with brightly colored tiles hand painted by elementary students.
Most of the tiles depict mountains, elk, trout or birds, but I knew if I looked long enough I’d find a foodie in the group.
Food, music or political statement? Whatever message this student was drawing, “give peas a chance” seems to work.
Along one of our hikes, we pass this privately owned cabin inside Rocky Mountain National Park.
Just another scenery shot, this was taken right after a rain shower.
And I can never take enough photos of the dogs. This is little Chili relaxing in the afternoon sun on the patio of the cabin.
Our view of Marmot Ridge from our deck. Yes, we forgot wine glasses and no, we never saw a marmot on the ridge.
Food that I Packed For The Stay In The Cabin: I mean how many photos can I take of food that I hauled up to the cabin. Well, obviously not enough. We enjoyed chicken fingers with buttermilk dressing for lunch, lemon chive pasta with Hollandaise and asparagus for dinner, berries and English muffins for breakfast, BLT and berries for another breakfast, and country ham sandwiches for a lunch.
Plenty of hikes and walks took care of most of those calories. This is one of our favorites, through an Aspen grove to Fern Lake.
Interested in more about Estes Park? Don’t miss this post for What To Do Around Estes Park
Rocky Mountain National Park…It’s What’s for a Summer Get-Away.
