Amber and I decided to head to Colorado for the 4th of July holiday. She had a little extra time off work so it worked out to go on a little longer trip. I have been to Colorado a few times and it is beautiful and so fun! Rocky Mountain National Park did not disappoint. There are tons of hikes and amazing views everywhere. It was fun to be somewhere new and enjoy the beauty.
We left Provo Tuesday afternoon around 4. I dropped my car off to get the AC fixed while I was away. We drove to Rawlins Wyoming where we stayed the night. We got up the next morning and headed to Estes Park, Colorado where we were hoping to find camping. We did not have reserved camping. We planned the trip late and there was none available. That makes for a stressful trip. So we drove a few hours to Estes Park and then spent quite awhile driving around to campgrounds trying to find a place to sleep. We were striking out! We decided to just got to the Timber Creek campground in the National Park. This campground has 96 sites so we were hoping to snag one, the only downside is no showers. Luckily we got one of the last spots and we were able to relax a little because we had a place to sleep. The campground had gorgeous views so that was a bonus.
From Estes Park to the Timber Creek Campground you drive the Trail Ridge Road. It is the highest highway in Colorado and goes up to 12,183 ft. That is higher than Mt. Timpanogos here in Utah. So Crazy! the views on the drive were absolutely amazing. You get to enjoy views that normally you would have to hike a lot of miles to see.
It was hard to watch the road because there was so much to see.
Finally found a place to camp.
I brought my backpacker tent. It worked great. I also got a new sleeping mat which is the best thing ever. It is so comfortable. The thermorest Mondo King. It was not cheap but it should last forever and it is amazing.
Both our little tents set up.
The first evening we stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, checked out the city of Grand Lake and did a little hike. Grand Lake is just 10 miles from our campground. It is a little tourist town. We walked through all their shops and ate dinner. Then we headed to the Green Mountain Trailhead and hiked to Big Meadows. This was a easy little hike to a beautiful meadow.
We got to watch two huge Moose graze in the meadow. They are beautiful animals.
We thought we would head back to camp but when we drove by the Holzwarth Historic Site there was a herd of Elk grazing and so we decided to stop and get some pictures.
There were so many Elk. They seemed very unconcerned about all the tourists watching them.
My dad would have loved watching the Elk. He was always fascinated with animals. He would have enjoyed the Moose too.
The sun went down while we were watching the elk.
It was a great end to the day. I fell asleep super excited to explore the park more!
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