Got Oxygen?

We’ve had rain – actually lots of rain. It gave us a chance to do very little for a couple of days - you know, vacation mode! 

Today we woke up to a beautiful day – clear skies and sun.  So we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park (5-10 minutes away). First stop was the Alluvial Fan. 

It is a very short hike with a little elevation gain but beautiful scenery. In 1982, the Lawn Lake Dam gave way. 

Twenty-nine million gallons of water swept trees and car-sized boulders four miles down to the valley floor along with tons of lighter rocks, gravel and sand creating a 42-acre alluvial fan.

With no place in mind, we ended up driving Trail Ridge Road to the top. Some habits die-hard – we worked at Trail Ridge Store (at the top) right after we retired in 2005 and 2006. The Visitor Center and Trail Ridge Store are next to each other at an elevation of 11796 feet. We were high! Both are in the 'Land Above the Trees'. We decided to climb the trail, across the parking lot, to the summit. The first half looking back:

And the second half, also looking back:

Although I felt a little short of oxygen on the way up, there were amazing views at the 12,005 foot summit. It is a 'short' steep trail but worth the effort. It was quite windy and the temperature up there was in the low 40s this morning – cool and crisp! 

On our way home for lunch, we stopped at a small grocery store. This is the parking lot view.

Animal Count for the morning:

Chipmunks – many

Marmots – 1

Elk – 1 large herd