The High Road
Trail Ridge Road opened yesterday so we drove to the top. Here I am at 12,000' feet, 50 degrees and blowing. It really looks different with all the snow on mountains as far as the eye can see. Lots of travellers were out on the snow fields playing. Others were trying to coax the little marmots out to get a picture. Bet the marmots were saying...'yippee the tourists are back!'
The road is about 20 miles through the park on wild race track curves and switchbacks. Not a road we want to take the motorhome on. Since we are still feeling the effects of high altitude (and we're a bit out of shape) we just drove and did not get out and do hiking or walks like we have in the past. I think I prefer the park a little later in the year when the wildflowers bloom.
The roadside drifts are 18 feet high in some places.
We did see a few small herds of elk along the way. In fact at our campground, Elk Meadow, we seem to have our own resident elk herd that play, I mean really play, in meadow by the small pond. They nip each other, bump into each other and then race away like a bunch of school kids.
This guy looks a little bedraggled because he's loosing his winter coat and I think his antlers look pretty new and fuzzy.
We've decided to follow our plan: if you like a place, stay. So we reserved through the holiday weekend. Right now it's pretty quiet, only about 10% full. I'm sure that will change over the weekend and we'll have new neighbors. Too bad they're not here now...there's a full moon rising over the mountains.