My route for the day.
I was on the road from Longmont shortly after sunrise hoping to have a nice breakfast in Estes Park. I made a couple passes through town, saw some elk having a breakfast of lawn, but the only thing open at that time of the day was McDonalds and I wanted to get into Rocky Mountain National Park before the masses. I had a couple of eggmuffagans and proceeded to purchase my annual park pass at the east gate. Yellow Spot III always seemed to draw attention and I got to talk to a lot of nice folks along the way. One couple in Estes Park told me they had been to the visitor’s center and were told that Trail Ridge Road would not open up until much later in the day if at all. Well, heck, I had planned to ride to the top, turn around, ride all the way around the north end of the park and back through the park from the west anyway, so I proceeded with plan A. I rode up to almost 10,000 feet before I had to turn around and ride back out of the park. I stopped several times for photos before heading up to Fort Collins, where the temps were in the mid 70’s, for a change of clothes and a trip along highway 14 and through Pourdre Canyon. The ride around the top of the park was more scenic than the park itself and I could see the predicted storm rolling in most of the day; first to the south, then to the north. I made numerous stops for photos, as was my plan; even backtracking for some neat shots. I had bought a new camera for the trip and as a gift to myself for my 17th sober birthday! The new Nikon is so sweet!!!
I had a snack in Walden after just about being blown off the road by crosswinds, but I didn’t get into the heart of the storm; not a drop!
An early view on the way to Estes Park.
Elk have to have breakfast too.
Mountains don't seem really tall when you're on them.
The forest is sparse compaired to those in the Northwest.
The higher you go, the less trees you'll see.
As high as I could go in the morning.
I climbed back down Trail Ridge for some shots...
...before I left the park to the east.
They don't call them Rocky for nothing.
Nice contrast of bare and snow covered rocks.
Amazing where trees will find root.
A pretty scene on the way to Fort Collins.
Up on Hwy 14 the scenery changes a few times.
The road was crooked through Pourdre Canyon.
The storm began to roll in from the north before noon.
Rock formations looking almost straight up!
Yellow Spot III waiting to ride corners.
Further west the landscape changed, yet again.
Awesome views broke between the trees north of the storm.
My first taste of snow on the trip: Hwy 14.
The storm forming to the south over Bames Meadow Reservoir.
A threatening sky.
Trail Ridge Road view.
I made it to the west gate of the park about 3:30 and by then Trail Ridge was open!!! Very Kewl!!! Shortly into the park I noticed a herd of tourists parked alongside the road, then saw the herd of elk they were gawking at. I’ve seen plenty of elk, so I patted one on the head as I rode by with my deer whistle singing. I had put on my electric jacket liner at the gate, but it started to get cold as I climbed into the otherworldly scenes above 10,000 feet. I could see the storm to the north as I stopped for some more photos, thinking how lucky I was to be skirting it all day. I made a very quick, very cold, stop to get a shot of the elevation on my GPS a hundred feet or so below the absolute summit, but I was close enough and cold enough that all I wanted to do was get down off the mountain. It looks more like the moon than planet earth up there anyway and I had half a feeling I knew what the guys who climb Mt Everest feel like, so I motored on to prettier pastures - literally.
That storm was close.
Yet, looking the opposite direction the sky was realatively clear.
I stopped just a little before the top for this shot.
After exiting the park I roared through some great curves on Hwy 7, 72, and 6, passing up a spot called “Oh My God Road”. I guess the guardrail-less view is good but after talking to those folks from Colorado in Iowa, realized I really didn’t want to fight an ugly, beat up, steep, gravel road, so I hit I-70 and made my way to Dillon for the night. Oh, on Hwy 72 I came across a city of casinos, called Black Hawk, nestled in a canyon. It was full of people and the highway was pretty full of cars coming and going. Looked like it might have been an interesting place to find a room, but I wanted to make a few more miles, both to outrun the impending storm and to get closer to my next day’s adventure. I also passed up a side trip to Winter Park: too many roads and so little time! I got into the motel about 9 pm. As I climbed down the stairs for the second time to unload the bike, it started raining!! Day’s Mileage: 440.