We took an overnight trip to Winter Park and decided to go the long way. Well, it was longer in distance and longer time because of our stops along the way, but the I-70 route probably would’ve taken us awhile but sitting in traffic. So the slow scenic route was a good choice…it was up and through Rocky Mountain National Park. We debated about taking Old Fall Road, but decided on the Trail Ridge Road because I really wanted to see the tundra wildflowers.
Good thing we took Trail Ridge Road, otherwise we wouldn’t have seen BIG HORNS!
A traffic jam alerted us to the potential upcoming sighting, but we assumed it was going to be elk. How wonderful to see a Big Horn here in the park. It was the first time, I believe. The poor thing started to panic when he realized that there was no way to cross the road with two lanes of traffic blocking his way and people standing all around taking his picture.
I got this shot of him from the car before he bounced off the back side of the rocks to the rest of his herd.
Elizabeth was so happy hiking the Alpine Tundra Trail.
Steph helped carry Elizabeth when Eliz wasn’t running up the path. At 12,000’+ that was some feat for the little girl.
I think Eliz liked this area so much because of all the rocks. We helped her climb up the big boulders and let her climb over all the little rocks by herself. The wind was ripping up here at this elevation, so we took a rest on the leeward side of the rocks.
But Eliz still wanted to climb, so she started walking her feet up the rock face.
Daddy helped her go even higher!
There are some cute videos of her climbing skills in the webalbum if you want to watch some.
Then as we continued our drive to the Alpine Visitor Center, we saw our elk. Two had 12-points. All males in this area, which I thought was interesting.
You’ll have to visit our webalbum for a funny video that Steph filmed for us. She was in the front passenger seat, closest to the elk. You won’t see too much elk in the footage but you will get a chuckle out of the audio. Granted, this huge elk was probably a foot and a half from Steph’s window as we demanded a good picture…and all she wanted was to get away!
(Months later, Elizabeth still laughs whenever we see anything with antlers or horns and she says, “Stephie is afraid of that!”! ha!)
Here’s Steph teaching Eliz all the right things to do while hiking in the national parks…not!
Sometimes I wonder if Elizabeth really understands and appreciates the beauty that surrounds her when we go out for a hike. Here she is hiking over rocks at probably 13,000’ with a 360 degree view of nothing but clouds and mountains. I love this feeling of being on ‘top of the world’. The openness, expansiveness, and the appreciation that I am truly so small in this world.
But she does indeed appreciate nature’s beauty. She points out flowers and rocks and butterflies to me. We sit and listen to the birds and talk about squirrels and wildlife. We have sat down and watched clouds float by or water flow over rocks. As life gets crazy, it is imperative that she remembers to slow herself down, look around, and appreciate what is around her. I have found that that is my saving grace whether I’m on a beach, or as now, in the mountains. I need these mountains and these moments to ground me when things get too busy. Elizabeth has learned to breathe deeply when she needs to relax before bed, and I hope she’ll also use nature to find peace as well.
Unfortunately the tundra wildflowers were past their peak, but I just adore these miniature beauties. They are delicate, yet so strong! Amazing plants.
At the Alpine Visitor Center, looking for more elk…
At the Alpine Visitor Center, sucking on a Huckleberry lollipop! Not sure if she noticed the view while we were here ;)
As we proceeded over to the west side of the park we were blessed with a moose sighting. It has been an awesome day for animals – big horn, elk, marmot, and now moose. All we missed on our trip was a pika and a bear!
The next day we took a hike on the Vasquez Creek Trail in Winter Park. It was like we entered a rainforest in the NW Pacific region of Oregon or Washington. Everything was wet, there were mushrooms and moss, ferns, and more. The feeling was so NW that I had to keep reminding me I was still in the high-desert state of Colorado!
It is a Forest Service trail, so as usual, we had a little bit of a hard time finding the trail head. Good thing a camping family walked us through the woods to the trail itself, though it wasn’t the trail head – which we had driven past not knowing.
Elizabeth loved the trail because it was littered with rocks and it ran along the creek the entire way.
So we played near the water doing her favorite activity – throwing rocks into the creek. While Andy played his usual games of throwing rocks into the creek or bushes trying to scare us! I’m used to it, but Steph was not…feels kinda good having someone else taking the brunt of Andy’s antics!
She loved the challenge of climbing over fallen trees.
We enjoyed our little getaway. These trips aren’t nearly long enough, but since we’ve been working many Sunday mornings this summer that has put a damper on our weekend travels. I’ll take what I can get, but we’ve agreed not to do festivals next summer so we can take our much-desired trips.
It rained that Saturday night while in Winter Park, so Steph was kind enough to stay in the hotel and watch Eliz while Andy and I got to run into the village for a beer. Thanks Steph for being a trooper and babysitting even on our nights away!
More pictures and videos on July WebAlbum
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