Rocky Mountain National Park
Jul. 19th, 2004 09:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mishalakI was called out of a shower early on Saturday morning. My mom was calling to let me know that they were almost here. I hurried up to get dressed for the big day out with my parents and Kat. It looked like a lovely day, in contrast to our fears that it might rain all day like it had for the previous two.
Picking up Kat in Golden we proceeded towards Estes Park. We had out flower books and talked about nature and geology. All fine things while driving through some of the best countryside on earth. We drove past the Stanley Hotel and up the road into Rocky Mountain National Park, the jewel of Colorado. We decided to take the Fall River Road, the slightly wilder of the two routes up into the park, as we had the vehicle for it. We stopped frequently for flowers and waterfalls.
At about 11am we stopped for lunch at this spot next to a half sunk boulder with purple penstemons all about. My dad set up his little portable grill and started to cook homemade kielbasa as all of us started in on salad and potato salad. Kat complemented my mom on the latter; my mom is a wonderful cook. The flies were rather pesky as the smell of the cooking food spread about and my dad complained about a lack of mustard, but honestly I didn't feel the lack. It was food beyond compare. Afterwards we had lemon squares and oatmeal cookies for dessert.
Up the road once again shortly leaving behind the trees as we climbed ever higher. It grew cool and a bit cloudy in the alpine reaches. We passed a group restoring a damaged section of the tundra near the road just before we stopped by a small snowfield. Pictures were taken of Kat and me next to a bank of snow that was still four or five feet deep. Down bellow elk peacefully grazed in a lush green bowl just above timberline.
Finally we arrived at the very crowded visitors center. We were all glad that we'd taken the road less traveled upon seeing the hordes of tourists. We'd be going back with them along Trail Ridge Road since Fall River Road is one way only. We spent some time in the gift shop, which has much improved over what they used to offer. Fewer cheaply made items being sold for far too much. Which isn't to say that the souvenirs were not somewhat pricey, but there were not mostly junk anymore. My dad bought and obsidian knife and I got a replica of the U.S. Geologic Survey marker on top of Longs Peak. I've often thought of these markers like magic talismans. They lock a name and size to every place.
By the time we got out again a cloud had enveloped the mountain. We walked through it and asked if Kat was doing okay in her shorts (she doesn't have any jeans right now). She said she was fine and I joked about tough Minnesotans. Back to the 4-wheel drive for a quick jaunt back to a hiking trail. We walked up into an alpine desert past and around wonderful rock formations. The last of these has a bonze marker on the top proclaiming it to be 12,304 above sea level and showing the directions to mountain peaks and other national parks. Often I find that human signs detract from places, but this one has a dignity that makes it feel like a very special place indeed. We walked back through the field of low growing buttercups, pink moss campion, and blue forget-me-nots as thunder rumbled in clouds across the valley.
We went just a short distance to two rock columns that my brother had climbed with my dad on a previous trip. We went out on one of them and I returned with a Starbucks cup someone else had left out there. My dad stopped to take a picture between the two natural pillars. He had put his camera cover down and the wind caught it just a little and it started rolling. It rolled so slowly that it seem that he could catch it and my dad started to follow trying to get it, but before he could it was well down the slope. I volunteered to go after it. My dad would have, but I thought that with him complaining of straining his back earlier that I should be the one to climb down.
I was rather glad I did. I found a really neat rock formation down there that I thought I might incorporate into a story sometime. Once back up and in the car I wrote about it as we went down on our return journey. I was home again by half past 5 o'clock.
Picking up Kat in Golden we proceeded towards Estes Park. We had out flower books and talked about nature and geology. All fine things while driving through some of the best countryside on earth. We drove past the Stanley Hotel and up the road into Rocky Mountain National Park, the jewel of Colorado. We decided to take the Fall River Road, the slightly wilder of the two routes up into the park, as we had the vehicle for it. We stopped frequently for flowers and waterfalls.
At about 11am we stopped for lunch at this spot next to a half sunk boulder with purple penstemons all about. My dad set up his little portable grill and started to cook homemade kielbasa as all of us started in on salad and potato salad. Kat complemented my mom on the latter; my mom is a wonderful cook. The flies were rather pesky as the smell of the cooking food spread about and my dad complained about a lack of mustard, but honestly I didn't feel the lack. It was food beyond compare. Afterwards we had lemon squares and oatmeal cookies for dessert.
Up the road once again shortly leaving behind the trees as we climbed ever higher. It grew cool and a bit cloudy in the alpine reaches. We passed a group restoring a damaged section of the tundra near the road just before we stopped by a small snowfield. Pictures were taken of Kat and me next to a bank of snow that was still four or five feet deep. Down bellow elk peacefully grazed in a lush green bowl just above timberline.
Finally we arrived at the very crowded visitors center. We were all glad that we'd taken the road less traveled upon seeing the hordes of tourists. We'd be going back with them along Trail Ridge Road since Fall River Road is one way only. We spent some time in the gift shop, which has much improved over what they used to offer. Fewer cheaply made items being sold for far too much. Which isn't to say that the souvenirs were not somewhat pricey, but there were not mostly junk anymore. My dad bought and obsidian knife and I got a replica of the U.S. Geologic Survey marker on top of Longs Peak. I've often thought of these markers like magic talismans. They lock a name and size to every place.
By the time we got out again a cloud had enveloped the mountain. We walked through it and asked if Kat was doing okay in her shorts (she doesn't have any jeans right now). She said she was fine and I joked about tough Minnesotans. Back to the 4-wheel drive for a quick jaunt back to a hiking trail. We walked up into an alpine desert past and around wonderful rock formations. The last of these has a bonze marker on the top proclaiming it to be 12,304 above sea level and showing the directions to mountain peaks and other national parks. Often I find that human signs detract from places, but this one has a dignity that makes it feel like a very special place indeed. We walked back through the field of low growing buttercups, pink moss campion, and blue forget-me-nots as thunder rumbled in clouds across the valley.
We went just a short distance to two rock columns that my brother had climbed with my dad on a previous trip. We went out on one of them and I returned with a Starbucks cup someone else had left out there. My dad stopped to take a picture between the two natural pillars. He had put his camera cover down and the wind caught it just a little and it started rolling. It rolled so slowly that it seem that he could catch it and my dad started to follow trying to get it, but before he could it was well down the slope. I volunteered to go after it. My dad would have, but I thought that with him complaining of straining his back earlier that I should be the one to climb down.
I was rather glad I did. I found a really neat rock formation down there that I thought I might incorporate into a story sometime. Once back up and in the car I wrote about it as we went down on our return journey. I was home again by half past 5 o'clock.
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Date: 2004-07-19 12:08 pm (UTC)Although it can be tiring to walk in it, especially if I've just arrived in Boulder from the lowlands.
B