Hoofin’ it to RMNP

Once again we found ourselves driving to make time through a beautiful scenic area trying to get to a campsite. Although we had reservations at Rocky Mountain National Park, Amy was pretty sure we needed to be there by 7 PM. By the time we got done with Wal*Mart and grabbing some food at Arby’s it was after 4. The park is not terribly close to Denver and the road there . . . well let’s just say it’s not all highway.

So we’re tooling along in our “green” Chrysler Sebring - which Scott promptly dubbed Thor for its “power” - winding our way along Route 119 to 72 to 7 to the town of Estes Park. This is known as the “peak to peak” scenic byway. We spent an awful lot of time going down it seemed but each town we passed was at a higher elevation than the previous. Unlike last year, though, we did not encounter a bison herd in the road and we arrived at RMNP shortly before 7 to be reassured by the ranger at the gate that we would have been OK had we been late.

It is extremely dry here. That plus the 50+ degree temperature swings in a 24 hour period are the main weather differences between here and CT. The semi-arid climate makes the vegetation (mostly conifers) look a little washed out. There is very little grass here and much of what scrubby low stuff there is is brown.

Our campsite was spectacular. Amy thinks it’s the best site we’ve stayed at yet. Scott puts it right up there with their Missouri River bank site in SD last year.