Hiking in the Rocky Mountain High

Actually the hikes aren’t that bad in Rocky Mountain National Park. Buses get you close to where you want to begin your hike. The rest is up to you. You can drive and park near those trails and camp grounds, but there are a limited number of parking spaces. So get up and go see this national wonder!  This park is awesome!

Words of wisdom though, if you are going to Colorado to specially hike in RMNP? Then stay in Estes Park or some where near it. Our hotel was on the south side of Denver. An hour and half drive to Estes Park. Estes Park, for those who don’t know, is the city at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park. Lodging seemed a little pricey, but you save in the cost of travel and time.

We only spent three days in the park. The first day was sunny and partly cloudy. The next two were over cast and raining. We went down four trails. Oh yeah, talk to the bus drivers! They can give you a better idea of maximizing your  hiking experience if this is your first time out in this park.

Bear Lake, a place my wife has always wanted to see. I thought this hike was relatively easy. From the station where the bus drops you off you at ten paces from the lake. The hike around is a little over a mile, but very scenic. We caught an access trail to Alberta Falls after we hiked Bear Lake.

Alberta Falls, the access trail from Bear Lake to Alberta Falls was moderate to strenuous. However, that’s my cup of tea….but not really Carmen’s. I think I could have spent all day on this hike. This hike made you work a little bit, but the scenic views and roaring water made the hike worth it. There were more waterfalls up the hill but we stopped at Alberta Falls. We were running out of daylight. Next time though! 😉

Sprague Lake, we experienced in the rain. Much like Bear Lake, it doesn’t take long to get to the trail or lake itself. Very scenic and a nice easy trail.

Bierstadt Lake Trail, I loved Bierstadt trail! Straight up, long and it felt like you were on the edge of the world! A funny story about this trail…after stopping to catch our breath for the third time, a couple in their 70’s passed us. That’s right! They PASSED us!! They were great though. They have been hiking together for 45 years. We kept pace with them and enjoyed the “getting to know you” conversation all the way to the lake.

This place was fun, but you really need a month of hiking throughout the park to get the feeling that you did anything. We are planning a return trip in the near future!

Bear Lake

Mountain tops overlooking Bear Lake.

Bear Lake

Bear Lake

Alberta Falls

A lone Elk

Sprague Lake

Sprague Lake

Bierstadt Lake

An Artistic Side of Denver

The second day in Colorado we spent in Denver. This city has a lot of character to it.  We drove around spotting tons of artistic building and blocks. I think we both have a secret passion for geometrical design and architecture. Denver has a good mix between new and old structures. Even though our images are more of the geometrical design and newer side of construction, this city still has a renaissance feel of the early 1900’s. On one of our passes in downtown Denver we spotted a little pizza joint call Sexy Pizza. We never did stop and eat there. Traffic was heavy and we were running out of time. But that just gives us a chance to try it next time. 😉

We even stopped in the Denver Botanical Gardens and had lunch. We HIGHLY recommend going to the Denver Botanical Garden. This was one of the better botanical gardens we’ve been too.

Here are some the images we took.

A mighty stroll threw the Garden of the Gods

Our first full day in Denver Colorado we decided to drive south. To check out a little park on the west side of Colorado Springs. This park isn’t a state park or a national park. It’s actually a city park donated from a family back in 1909. It’s name, the Garden of the Gods is based on a group of massive land formations sprouting up from the ground making an interesting garden of sorts. Paved and unpaved trails stretching all throughout these gigantic land formations for you to walk around for days. Driving and biking makes it  easy to navigate through this park. We hiked for a little while on the trails, then drive to the next one. Making this park great for day hikes. We didn’t see any camp grounds, but there are plenty of spectacular places for picnics. There is rock climbing in the park, but you have to be a licensed rock climber to get close to the rocks. Here’s a link for more information, http://www.gardenofgods.com/parkinfo/index_113.cfm. I can only hope that these images help describe the beauty and enormous fun that is the Garden of the Gods.

My beautiful having a snack.

Top of the world.

I’ve never seen a tree show it’s butt before. 😉

My best Farside imitation. 🙂

Overlooking the rock formations and valley of the main area of the  park.

This shot here was taken from the railing at the parks information center.

This was a great day. Even when we sat to eat back at the park information center a huge deer came up and started eating a bush right next to us. He was no more than ten feet away. For more information on the park, http://www.gardenofgods.com/home/index.cfm?flash=1

July Travel Deals

Here are just a few of the travel deals going on right now. Need a reason to travel?  These should do it 🙂

WOW! One-way rates to Phoenix or Denver are $84 on trips completed by November 17. A 10-day advance purchase required. Valid any available day. No blackouts. Valid on AirTran or Delta, nonstop. Inclusive rate: $98.40. Note: Frontier matches the $84 one-way rate to Tucson. Follow the same rules.

One-way rates to Salt Lake City are $99 on trips completed by November 17. Travel any available day. A 10-day advance purchase required. Valid on Frontier via Denver. Inclusive rate: $120.40.

NEW! Travel on nonstop Delta flights to Tuscon at round-trip rates of $218. Travel any available day. A 21-day advance purchase required. Stay a weekend to one month. Complete travel by November 17. Inclusive rate: $239.40. Other sale cities include $228 Colorado Springs; $278 San Diego and $288 Albuquerque. American, Continental and United match this offer.

Try using sites like Travelocity or Kayak to find these deals and then plan a vacation!!!