dougsmith51
- Jul 11, 2020
- 6 min read

Rocky Mountain High

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After three months in Arizona and New Mexico, we headed north to spend some time in Colorado. Our plan was to spend three weeks on the eastern side of Rockies, then head west into the mountains.

First up: a week-and-a-half in Colorado Springs.

Toward the beginning of our stay, we drove to the top of Pikes Peak on one of the highest roads in the U.S. (14,115 feet above sea level at the peak). Although Pikes Peak sits in Forest Service land, the highway to the top is privately owned and maintained.

There is construction going on at the summit, so we had to take a shuttle the last 4 miles of the 21 mile highway. Most everyone had a mask, although they were not staying 6 feet apart in the line waiting for the shuttle vans.

The weather varied during our trip up and included sun, rain, hail, and snow. Once we were at the summit the precipitation stopped and we could get an expansive view of Colorado Springs and its suburbs, and also dramatic rain clouds to the north.

We visited Garden of the Gods, a Colorado Springs city park featuring dramatic red rocks uplifted and tilted almost vertically by tectonic plate movement. Because the surrounding rock layers have eroded away, what remains looks like thin blades thrust into the ground.

View from the Visitor Center, with Pikes Peak in the background

We visited some other destinations near Garden of the Gods. The first was Red Rock Canyon Open Space, an area that had been quarried in the past, leaving a step-like surface in the remaining rock. The area is popular for day hikers and with rock climbers.

We also took a tour to explore the site's geologic features of the grounds of Glen Eyrie Castle, which is owned by the Navigators (a Christian group) and used for conferences. The Castle was originally built by William Jackson Palmer, a co-owner of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and the founder of Colorado Springs. Animals wander the grounds, including wild turkeys and a herd of bighorn ship.

Driving west from the Garden of the Gods area we visited Manitou Cliff Dwellings, a privately-owned attraction featuring a set of Native American cliff dwellings that had been relocated from southwestern Colorado in the early 1900s (saving them from the artifact thieves active in the area at the time) and then reconstructed into a cliff face.

Exploring in other directions, we went to Cañon City and the Royal Gorge, a deep canyon carved by the Arkansas River (the same river that eventually winds its way through Arkansas and into the Mississippi - it's the 6th longest river in the US). A private company has built a suspension bridge for walking across the gorge. It's 1,200 feet down to the river, which is probably only 30-40 wide at the bottom. Jeannette was a little iffy about the height, so Doug walked across by himself. You would also take a gondola or zip line across the gorge, which we declined. If you look closely at the picture, you can see there's a train line that also runs along the right bank of the river. More about that below.

Driving back to our campground, we took a detour along the "Skyline Drive," a white-knuckle, one way, three mile road along the crest of a ridge. Thank goodness we were using the Fittata and not the Ciaowagen for that drive! Notice the lack of guardrails.

We returned to Cañon City another day and hiked on the Tunnel Drive trail, which goes through the Royal Gorge much closer to the river. We saw the Royal Gorge tourist train driving through the gorge and returning, as well as some river rafters. We passed through several tunnels at the beginning of the hike. Also notable: the rock layers had been uplifted and tilted over time to almost vertical.

Leaving Colorado Springs, we spent the Independence Day weekend at a campground about 30 miles east of Denver. You may have read articles about the rising interest in RVs as "safe vacations" due to COVID, and RV sales are way up this year. However, the number of campgrounds has not increased, which can lead to booking difficulty during holidays. We called 10 different campgrounds before we found a space open (in the middle of nowhere) for July 4th.

We then continued up to Estes Park, Colorado, the gateway town to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). We stayed in a campground about 4 miles outside of town.

Many campgrounds are independently owned, but there are a few franchise chains out there. The most prominent is KOA (Kampgrounds of America). Another is Jellystone Park, which means nothing to most people under 50 who did not grow up with Yogi Bear cartoons. Our Estes Park campground was a Jellystone Park.

Rocky Mtn. National Park (RMNP) is a wonderland that offers mountains (naturally), lakes, waterfalls, tundra, snow fields, and alpine meadows. You can drive from the western to the eastern part of RNMP on roads that cross above treeline. Along the way, there are spectacular views of both mountains and valleys.

Our first trip up to the crest we took the one way Falls River Road, which was the original road built in the 1930s. It takes longer to drive than the newer Trail Ridge Road, but is very scenic. Currently, it's a one way road - 80+ years ago it was two way! The road is narrow and winds through a deep canyon. There are stops along the way where you can see waterfalls, cascades, and small lakes.

The Falls River road joins the Trail Ridge Road at the Alpine Visitor Center. From the visitor center, we were able to hike up above 12,000 feet.

Not too much farther along the road there's a Tundra Discovery Trail. Glaciers never reached this high during the Ice Age. Instead, small plants, wind, and moisture created a tundra landscape the smoothed out the mountain tops. The tundra here is similar to what you might find in Alaska or Siberia. The plants are very tiny and grow very slowly. One moss may take 100 years to grow to the size of a silver dollar. Wildflowers were abundant this time of year, including mountain sunflowers much smaller than their lower altitude cousins.

From the Trail Ridge Road, we were able to look down into other parts of the park, including mountains and alpine lakes. Occasionally, there would also be amazing rocks poking up out of the tundra.

We would be remiss if we did not mention the wind. One day, there would be little wind and you could hike in shirtsleeves. Another day, the wind would howl and you would need to bundle up like a anti-COVID superhero.

One day we hiked up a chain of lakes in a different part of RMNP. Starting off, Bear Lake, which is so popular you have to go to a park-and-ride lot and then take a shuttle (with reduced passenger loads due to COVID) to the trailhead. There's an easy nature trail around the circumference of the lake.

Hiking up toward those peaks you see in the distance, you next pass Nymph Lake, with beautiful water lilies.

Next up the trail is Dream Lake. You pass some small waterfalls and gorgeous mountain vistas along the way.

Finally, you arrive at Emerald Lake, which sits below dramatic peaks and snow fields. We sat on the rocks and enjoyed our lunch.

We hiked back down to Bear Lake, and then on another mile or so to Alberta Falls.

The growing season in RMNP is short, which means that the wildflowers in July are abundant but typically small, and are gone in only 6 weeks. Some plants, such as lichens that coat rocks, can be thousands of years old.

And there are wild animals. Up in the higher elevations we ran into both elk and bighorn sheep.

Not all park animals are huge.

Driving to the west side of the park, we visited the Kahuneeche Valley with its mountain meadows, and were able to stroll along theColorado River just a few miles from its source (making it more like a stream and less like a mighty river at this location).

On the morning we left Estes Park and RMNP, we hiked around Lily Lake, where we saw two river otters (unfortunately we were not able to get pictures) which are about half the size of sea otters. It was a nice coda to our visit.