Traveling Team Fischer

We’ve had many friends tell us we had to stop in Estes Park on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park, and we are so glad we took their advice.  Besides the fun shops we discovered, we also had time to enjoy lunch at the Stanley Hotel.  This historic hotel was Stephen King’s inspiration for The Shining, and was also the setting for scenes for Dumb and Dumber.  After exploring the hotel grounds, it was time to head up to the Park.

Early into our journey, we purchased an annual “America the Beautiful” National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass.  For $80 a year, we avoid the entrance fees for National/Federal parks, monuments, recreational areas.  The average fee to get into these areas has been $30 each.  The annual pass pays for itself in no time.  Why bring this up now?  Well, Rocky Mountain National Park was the first we’ve been to that uses a card swipe at the entrance gate, allowing us to skip the line of people waiting to get in.  It was pretty awesome, and we were hoping to see more of this in other parks.

The most active animals here were the elk.  They were everywhere, including chilling in our campground.  These guys were in their rut,  had no fear of people, and knew they ran the place.  Each day we could hear them calling to each other, which is a much better wake up call than any alarm clock.

Mule deer were also very active.  Rather than fear the cars and people trying to take their pictures, they seemed to be barely tolerating us.  I think i saw one roll his eyes at us when we stopped to get a better picture.

Some of the roads at higher elevations were already closed due to snow, but there was plenty to see below the snow line.  The lakes were crystal clear and had easy walking trails around them.  No photo could really do justice to the beauty of the park.

We tested our waterproof hiking boots in the Alluvial Fan.  The water was cold, but our toes stayed dry.