Day 21: Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

We tried our hand at night photography last night in preparation for the many dark sky parks we will be visiting on the trip. Even with the light pollution from Denver, we got a few nice shots of the Milky Way. It was really cold out - about 5 degrees C. I bundled up to venture outside for the photos; meanwhile we ran a space heater in the trailer to keep all the sleepers toasty warm.

Our adventure today was hard but rewarding. We hiked a 10 km out-and-back trail from Bear Lake to an alpine lake full of trout called the Loch in Rocky Mountain National Park. The hike was difficult - entirely uphill for the first half - but with a beautiful pay off. We decided not to hike to the two lakes further on the trail since they were past the snow line which would have meant using cleats on a snowy trail. Besides, the lakes themselves were still frozen, so no fishing. The return trip down the mountain was lovely - all downhill.

All smiles starting out.

We arrived at our destination!

Made it down. Woot! Woot!

We saw many wild animals up close today: mule deer, elk, red fox, settler’s jay, America pika, black-billed magpie, chipmunk, and greenback cutthroat trout.

Elk - note the white rump.

American pika. Not bothered by our presence at all.

Mule deer.

Settler’s jay. He is our new favourite bird. So pretty.

More elk. Munch. Munch.

Our campsite’s resident chipmunk.

This afternoon was a quiet one, hanging out at the campsite. The boys completed their Junior Ranger activities and Ali was pledged in by the ranger on duty and received his badge. The big boys are still working on theirs. Some of the boys got DIY haircuts in anticipation of hotter weather as we leave tomorrow for the Black Hills.

Day 20: Cascade to Rocky Mountain National Park, CO via Denver

An early morning rooster crowed our wake up call after a second night at Lone Duck Campground at the base of Pike’s Peak. Our early start meant that we had time today to do something that everyone would like.

Our first stop upon arriving in Denver was a visit to Hammond’s Candy Company for a factory tour. This is the largest handmade candy company in the USA, specializing in candy canes and lollipops. While the tour was short, we saw all the important things. We saw the ingredients boiling in the copper cauldrons and being poured on the cooling tables. We saw the candy being pressed, cut and stretched. We saw candy being weighed, packaged and labeled. We were also treated to a free sour apple lollipop! Yum!

Yes, I am actually the colour of a lobster after our time outside yesterday. More sunscreen for me is needed at these mountain elevations.

Next on our journey was a stop for Daddy at New Belgium brewery, home of one of the original sour beers La Folie. We enjoyed flights of both regular and sour beers. My favourite was the Mango IPA, while Ian liked the sours. My least favourite was the Cherry Kreik which to me tasted like poop covered donkey hoof clippings smell - revolting. Ian said it tasted delicious to him. We agreed to disagree.

Our final stop was the Howling Cow Cafe located on a dairy farm that smelled a lot like cows - like a lot. While we didn’t get to pet any cute cows, we did get to try milk flights. To the boys who have watched the grown ups try flights of many alcoholic beverages over the past several weeks - they were excited to finally get to partake. The flights included fresh, ice cold whole milk, chocolate milk, root beer flavoured milk, and French toast flavoured milk. We had three votes for chocolate milk and one for French toast. Ian drank coffee instead of milk so he didn’t qualify to vote.

Tonight’s sleeping spot is Moraine Park Campground at Rocky Mountain National Park. We saw wild long horned sheep climbing rocks while driving between the towering canyon walls to get here, elk while going through the entrance gates, and turkeys on the drive to our campsite. I think we scored the best campsite in the park with a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains. Looking forward to some star gazing and a peaceful sleep tonight.