Rocky Mountain National Park - Part 2

After Chasm Falls we still had a long way to go.  It is a 9 mile dirt/gravel road and we were only about a mile into it.  I bring that up because we had already had such a good time it felt like we were going to explode if we kept up this pace all the way up.

About half way up we hit some switchbacks.  And these aren't your ordinary switchbacks.  There were ruts about 8-10 inches deep right in the middle.  I'm not sure how well the Volkwagen would have taken it but the CRV did just fine (That manly vehicle that it is - LOL).

In the middle of one of the switchbacks we met this little guy.  Luckily there wasn't anyone close behind us so we were able to snap some pix and get a good look at him.  It is a marmot.  The first time for all of us which is pretty cool.  He popped up onto the road and then hung out for a little bit.  Eventually a car came up behind us so we moved along and pointed him out to them so they could enjoy.

We were following a creek more or less up the mountain.  As we got higher you could see where some of the creek water was coming from.  There were still patches of snow up on top that were trickling down as they melted.
There are glaciers still in the park but I don't think these qualify.  You'll also notice the lack of foliage in the picture.  We eventually made it above treeline.  On some of the pull-offs you were able to take a look back down the valley.  It was an amazing view.

For the most part there were drop-offs to the side of the road.  They made for careful driving and great views.  We came across one place where there were open areas that were grassy.  This seemed to be a peaceful place and a place where there might be some critters.  We wandered into the field and found a creek with really cold water.  There were some nice flowers on the bank too.  We were at least at 9,000 feet by then so flora was few and far between.

One of my favorite things in the world is running water (my favorite place in the world is the Boundary Waters in Minnesota).  I could have sat by this creek forever.  I love the big whomping rock in this picture.

It was starting to get a bit chilly so we headed back to the car.  We were trying to be quiet just in case we....wait....shhhhh.  What is that over there?????
 Holy cats!!!  It is a deer.
The deer saw us and just kept walking around looking for things to eat.  We got as close as we could without spooking it.  You can see the mark on its side.  Some kind of scar I assume.  Makes it easily identifiable for the next time we come.  :)

It was getting much cooler near the top (20 degree difference minimum from valley to top) and there was a spritz in the air so we bypassed the Chapin Creek trail.  There is a creek option and a Mount Chapin base option.  Those are on the list for next time.  With the visitor center in site (remember no trees to block view at this elevation - 11,500 is the treeline) eagle eye Audrey peaked down the edge of the road and spotted some Elk.  We pulled off quickly and saw a big harem.

They didn't seem concerned at all with us.  We resisted the temptation to get even closer.  We counted at least 10 elk.

If you look closely at the pic above in the middle you can see the male with the antlers sticking up.   This is Audrey's picture.  His head was down most of the time and she was the one with the quick trigger when he popped up.

It really started to sprinkle near the very top besides being 48 degrees so we jumped out and ran up the short Alpine Ridge trail.  The longer one will have to wait.

The park doesn't miss a beat and they have a pretty big gift shop and cafe.  Nothing the kids like more than a gift shop LOL.
As you can see from this sign we were pretty high up.

The way down is the paved 2-way road Trail Ridge Road.  It is actually pretty cool on its own.  But it started to spritz more and was chilly.  So we were keen to just get back down the mountain.  We kept an eye out for bighorn sheep (what we really wanted to see) but were let down.  But it was a good day as evidenced by Dayne and Audrey falling asleep on the way down.

All the kids want to come back.  Next time we can visit Bear Lake which I guess is the highlight of the northeast section.  And we have only hit the tip of the iceberg.  So much more to explore.  Can't wait.