The Rocky Mountain National Park 9/30/20

We were up early this morning. Our entry time in the park was at 8:00 AM. Times were restricted due to Covid 19. We started our exploration by going straight to the Trail Ridge Road. This road is normally closed most of the year due to heavy snowfall in the winter. It was open today and we were going to the top. When I was flying jets, I flew a Lear 45 to 49,000'. A good idea...maybe not. But I was not uncomfortable. Today at 12,000' in the Rocky Mountains, I was uncomfortable...narrow roads, sheer cliffs, no guard rails, lack of oxygen. We checked that block and headed to the meadows. I might add, the views were spectacular. The facilities were in good shape. I guess because not many people use them up there. We were above the treelines and walked on the tundra.

After this little adventure we drove back to the lower elevations and explored the various meadows. We saw more elk than you can imagine. We had a nice picnic lunch in the park. We walked around Sprague Lake,took a ton of pictures of elk, trout, snow, mountains, and glaciers. I thought we were going to run out of film.

We returned to Estes Park in mid afternoon and walked around the city looking for more elk. I stopped in a beef jerky store and bought some elk jerky, buffalo jerky, and some deer jerky. I have not tried it out yet. Linda shopped in several of the stores until dinnertime. We both had a delicious dinner of Rocky Mountain trout,well prepared and delicious. The Wild Rose is the name of the restaurant. If your travels take you to Estes Park, eat there. (It was much better than the buffalo ribs).

We did not see any more elk tonight. It is time to turn our thoughts to home. Our grandchildren want to know if Granna and Granddaddy are ever coming home. Our girls ask the same question.

Tonight we pack...tomorrow we head to Alabama.