Traveling Across America: Day 7

We left my friend’s house and we were on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. On the way, we took route 34 through some of the mountains. I thought it was cool because Gabe has never been to Colorado before so it was all new to him.

We got to Rocky Mountain National Park at the Estes Park side and headed towards Alpine Visitor Center. We hiked up the mountain a little ways and hit the summit at 12,005 feet. I felt the effects of altitude sickness. I was short of breath hiking up to the top. Gabe and I took some pictures with the sign and headed down the trail back to the visitor center. We spoke with one of the park employees and asked where we may be able to see some moose. She suggested go to Colorado River Trail Head. There are usually reports of moose on the west side of the park near Granby. She told us we can even hike to near where the Colorado River begins.

We went west and followed the seasonal Trail Ridge Road until we find the trail head. We hiked the trail then got off and walked along the Colorado River where it’s only 10 feet wide. We were hoping to come across a moose. We had no luck, but we saw hoof prints. After a while we turned back to explore the rest of the park. About halfway back, Gabe notices something off the trail through the trees. It’s a moose! We stood still and she walked up towards us, acknowledged us, and she kept grazing. We took some pictures of her. It was amazing! She wad only 20-25ft away from us. When they’re that close, you really get to realize just how big they are.

We left her alone and went back towards the east end of the park. I thought Gabe should see Bear Lake because it’s a very nice looking lake. We were also hoping to see some elk.  Well, we came to Moraine Park where there is an enormous meadow. We were told the elk usually like to hang out there in the rut. As we pulled in, we could see a bunch of people off to the shoulder. Just ahead in the meadow were a bunch of elk. The immediate herd consisted of a bull and 13 or So cows. We stopped a while and watched them. As we were watching, another herd with a bull and four or five cows were getting close. Everyone thought there was going to be an intense sparring match. That didn’t happen. But we did get to see the bigger bull steal all of the smaller bull’s cows.

Once we realized there was not going to be a sparring match, we went to Bear Lake quick to check it out. We were in a rush to find an open camp site so we could camp. Luckily there were a few campsites open and we were able to camp at the park. It was a good ending to another fantastic day on this adventure. If you’ve never been to the park or even Colorado, you really should see it. The mountains are enormous and  the pictures don’t do justice.