Just Passing Through - Rocky Mountain National Park

After my "COVID year" visit to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), I gained a renewed appreciation for this treasure located about eight hours south of Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).  I'm not sure if comparing RMNP to GTNP or even Yellowstone is fair . . . because they really are quite different.  As I planned my return home, I decided I would use this park as a stopping point for my last car camping overnight of my trip.  It turned out to be an excellent choice!

I left my camp in the Tetons around 5:30am, with several stops along the way.  I already wrote about my chance encounter with the grizzly bear eating a recent kill about 20 miles south of the Moran entrance to the park.

I also enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in Dubois, WY and a grocery store stop in Lander, WY.  I had briefly thought about stopping in Rawlins but I lost so much time earlier in the morning, that I kept moving.

I must say the drive from the WY/CO state line to RMNP is growing on me, in spite of the roadwork going on to repair damage caused by the fires of 2020 and 2021.

I did stop to make time to check in at the visitor center of the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge so I could get my passport book stamped (because it was closed due to COVID during my stop back in June 2020).  I wish I had more time to venture deeper into this area, but unfortunately, I also wanted to be sure to get to the Kawuneeche Visitor Center near Grand Lake before they closed at 5:00pm.  My timing was perfect as I arrived at 4:45pm!

As a point of interest . . . RMNP is now on "timed entry permit" requiring reservations to enter the park May 26th through October 22nd; from 9:00am to 2:00pm, unless you have a campsite or activity reservation.  For more information about this system, CLICK HERE for the NPS website and the link to purchase your permit.

I was happy to get into the park early enough to check into my campsite and get familiar with the Timber Creek Campground before venturing further into the park.  The only campground on the west side of RMNP, I was very happy with its location.  Not so happy not having shower facilities inside the park however, so I did venture over to Estes Park and a local laundromat.   It cost me $7 . . . perhaps the best money spent on the entire trip as I hadn't showered since my last day/night in Yellowstone three days earlier.

This national park may be one of the best places to see moose!  When we were here in 2020, we saw them several times, and this evening I saw moose several times in a couple different areas. This big bull moose was hanging around along the road for at least 90 minutes as I saw him heading in both directions when I went out for my shower.  I also saw what I believe was a cow plus a pretty good size calf.

I also saw some elk and a cool looking coyote that was raiding nests along the Sheep Lake not far from the Falls Creek entrance to RMNP.  Unfortunately, I did not see any of the bighorn sheep this area is known for . . . so obviously I'll have come back another time!

By the time I was heading back to camp, it was dark, so driving on the switchbacks across the mountains required going slow.  Good thing too, as there was a large bull elk coming down the mountain in the middle of the road without a care in the world.

Fortunately before dark, I did get to enjoy the beautiful snow covered mountain landscape on my initial trip from camp to Estes Park.  I comment about this because the next morning, it was very foggy with relatively no visibility at all.

RMNP taken around 6pm local time

Beautiful scenery entering Colorado midday