Maria's Road Trip to the Rockies, Part 4: Rocky Mountain National Park

The kids are having a blast with Nana and Papa in Kansas City while Dan and I relax in Estes Park, Colorado. If you're just joining me, you can find Parts 1-3 of my travel journal here. So far, Dan and I have visited the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and The "Haunted" Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. We're staying at Mary's Lake Lodge for two more nights.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

We've had a few days to adjust to the high altitude in Estes Park, Colorado. I still can't jog up the stairs in our condo without some extra huffing and puffing, but the sun is shining today and The Rockies are calling to me. "Come on! You know you're dying to walk all over us," they're saying, and they're right! Better eat some breakfast first: blueberry granola with milk, and a glass of orange juice.

Dan was smart enough to pick up a yellow brochure about popular hiking trails in Rocky Mountain National Park. Oooh, bonus feature!-the brochure doubles as an ad for a church in Estes Park. Flip it over, and here's what it says: Wouldn't you like to spend eternity in Heaven? Wouldn't it be nice to be SAVED right now, before you go on a hike in The Rockies and fall off a cliff? (See other side for a complete listing of hiking trails in Rocky Mountain National Park.) Just kidding! That's what it should say, though! I read through the Bible verses, none of which are related to mountains or hiking. Then I try to locate the trails mentioned in the brochure on my map of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Dan and I better stick with the hikes that the nice church people rated "easy" or "moderate"-preferably "easy." We don't do much mountain hiking in Kansas City. Neither of us is in great shape because we'd much rather watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer than go to the gym. But our kids, who are 7 and 4, keep us moving. We're not completely, hopelessly out of shape.

Our condo at Mary's Lake Lodge is literally fifteen minutes (maybe less) from Rocky Mountain National Park. We take Highway 36 to the Beaver Meadows park entrance. It costs $20 for a car to enter the park, but once you've paid the twenty bucks, your park pass is good for a whole week.

Scenic, winding Bear Lake Road leads us through a lovely Aspen and pine forest, all the way to the Bear Lake Trailhead at the end. Along the way, we see elk grazing in Moraine Park, a rushing mountain stream, a few cascades right next to the road, and several crazy people slowly pedaling their bicycles uphill (maybe they're not crazy; maybe they're training for the Olympics). We see lots of mountains, too, of course. The parking lot at the trailhead is about half-full when we arrive at 10 a.m.

We gather up our nutty granola bars, bottled water, and camera; put on our hats and sunglasses; zip up our jackets-it's in the mid-50's this morning; and mosey on over to the restrooms. First things first. I'd like to say something nice about the toilets here, but I just can't do it. They're slightly better than typical Johnny on the Spots, and if you don't breathe through your nose, you might not gag too bad when you close the door to do your business in the stinky pit. There are hand sanitizer pumps inside each latrine, thank God. When I'm done (no, I did NOT sit down on the toilet seat), I take as much sanitizer as I can fit in the palm of my right hand and wait until I'm outside in the fresh air to rub my hands together furiously. (Yeah, I know I'm a big baby, but when I was little, I saw a dead snake floating in a Johnny on the Spot at an outdoor festival somewhere.)

There are three park rangers and lots of other visitors here, which is reassuring. If Dan and I both fall and break our ankles, someone will find us. So let's go! Onward and upward to Alberta Falls!

The nice church people call this hike to Alberta Falls an "easy" hike. Yeah, it's not too bad, but where are the flat portions of the hike? Is it uphill the entire way? Well, the trees are really pretty, and I love the smell of the forest. We cross over a little stream on a wooden bridge. We see more chipmunks, and piles of snow in the shadiest parts of the forest. That's right-SNOW-the white, melting kind. The hiking trail is rocky and a little muddy, and we have no choice but to trudge through the snow in parts.

We're both wearing tennis shoes because we don't own hiking boots. Dan's in shorts; I'm in jeans. Dan thinks it's fun to walk through the snow; I think I'm going to slip and fall on my ass any second. Miraculously, we make it to Alberta Falls in one piece. Everyone is hanging out at Alberta Falls: a family with three young children, several people my parents' age, a few people closer to my grandparents' age. Good luck taking a picture that doesn't have some stranger's head (or other body part) in it!

The waterfall is gorgeous-definitely worth the uphill hike. (See figures 1 and 2.) We rest on a big rock for several minutes, enjoying the view, hoping the sweet little old ladies don't accidentally tumble over the edge (they're posing for a picture, and getting too close to the waterfall, if you ask me). Then we turn around and head back. It's downhill the whole way. Wheeeeeee!

We split a granola bar and decide we're ready for another hike. The Bear Lake hike is supposed to be even easier than the Alberta Falls hike, so that's where we head. (Both trails start at the same trailhead.)

The Bear Lake trail is shadier and snowier than the Alberta Falls trail. It takes us on a flat loop around dark, tranquil Bear Lake. (See figure 3.) Dan especially enjoys this trail because there's even more snow to slip and slide in. My New Balance sneakers really aren't made for the snow, but there's always a tree to grab onto when I start slipping. I somehow manage to stay upright and my shoes stay remarkably dry. (See figure 4.)

Would ya look at those guys sliding down the snowy hill on their butts? I wonder if they're from a state that doesn't get much snow. Dan would probably join them if I let him, but it's getting close to lunchtime, and as pretty as the lake is and as exciting as it is traipsing over the snow drifts in my ridiculous sneakers, I'm ready to try something different.

The parking lot is nearly full when we get back to our car. We have to go out the same way we came in. But before we leave Rocky Mountain National Park, we stop at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, which is also on Bear Lake Road, for one more quick hike. It's my idea. Unfortunately, we've both forgotten the name of the waterfall we already hiked to, so we start hiking to Alberta Falls again. We follow Glacier Creek all the way to that wooden bridge we crossed earlier this morning. Then Dan realizes where we are (I'm clueless-I'm on my way up the damn hill again when Dan stops me), and we turn around.

We drive to downtown Estes Park, park next to a river, and get out to take the "Riverwalk." There are lots of restaurants along the Riverwalk, among all the souvenir, T-shirt, and Rocky Mountain knick-knack shops. (See figure 5.)

The Wapiti Restaurant & Pub smells good from the sidewalk, and the menu looks all right, so we stop here for lunch. We're seated in the sunroom. I order a veggie burger with cheese, and onion rings. Dan has a burger and fries. He could've ordered an elk burger, but he's content with boring old cow meat. The food is good; we both finish everything on our plates.

A couple of kids are running all over the restaurant while their parents and grandma sit and talk. Dan and I take turns muttering and glaring at the parents and grandma, but it's no use. Heaven knows my kids always behave themselves in restaurants. Always. (Snicker, snicker, snort, snort.)

After we've both used the teensy-weensy restrooms at The Wapiti Restaurant, we do some more Riverwalking. We mostly window-shop. These aren't the kinds of stores that excite me. Seriously, there are at least 25 T-shirt shops. I buy a chipmunk stuffed animal for my daughter (in a T-shirt shop), and we get a box of fresh taffy (assorted flavors) in The Taffy Shop.

We visit an art gallery and admire all the paintings of mountain wildlife. At some point, we enter a sweets shop (I'm sorry I can't remember the name), where Dan gets a giant snickerdoodle cookie and I get a small bowl of homemade blueberry-cheesecake ice cream. My ice cream is rather disappointing-I can't really taste the blueberry or the cheesecake, so what's the point?

One of our last stops is the toy store. With or without my kids, I always enjoy looking in toy stores. It's a cute little shop, but I don't see anything that I must buy.

It feels good to sit down in the car. We drive back to Star Video to return Slumdog Millionaire and rent something else. Tropic Thunder. It's supposed to be funny, right? We'll find out later tonight.

The taffy is for our kids, but they'll never notice if we eat a few pieces before we get home...Mmmmm! That's good stuff! The cinnamon taffy is the best. The chocolate taffy is really good, too. And the box still looks full! Ha!

Back at the condo, we rest and do some more reading. Dan is zooming through Angels and Demons. I'm really getting into Luthiel's Song now. I was a little nervous about reading the book at first, since I know the author (Robert Fanney, who publishes on AC occasionally. Check him out!). I didn't want to have to lie to him about liking the novel, but now I can honestly say, Good book, Robert!

By 5:00, I'm craving Chinese food, big time. We do a search on the GPS and find only one Chinese restaurant in Estes Park. Well, one is better than zero, so we head out, and follow the GPS's directions to a...Carribean restaurant? What the heck? Right address, wrong restaurant. I guess the Chinese place went out of business.

But this is perfect! Because now Dan has to let me try that Thai place we've passed several times-Thai Kitchen & Bar. Every time we pass it, I say, "We should eat there," and Dan rolls his eyes and says, "Uh, no." "It might be really good," I insist. "Look at it!" he says.

Dan's too hungry to argue with me now. We turn off the stupid GPS and drive to Thai Kitchen & Bar. An old man cuts us off as we're pulling into the parking lot. "Learn to drive, dumbass!" Dan hollers. He's such a sweetie.

Thai Kitchen & Bar in Estes Park is small and doesn't look like much from the outside, but it sure smells good inside. As we're looking over our menus, Dan tells me I have to try the mango lassi, some kind of yogurt-mango shake. He had one at an Indian restaurant once and thinks I'd love it. So I order the cashew tofu dish with mild spices, and a mango lassi. Dan orders one of the pad thai dishes, "medium" on the spices. We get spring rolls as an appetizer. Yum!

The mango lassi isn't quite as sweet or orange as I was expecting, but it's very creamy and satisfying. My cashew tofu and rice is delicious: carrots, green peppers, onions, pan-fried tofu and roasted cashews, with a tasty sauce that's just a little spicy. I want to eat the whole thing, but I restrain myself because Dan can only eat about half of his pad thai.

We take our leftovers back to the condo and settle in to watch Tropic Thunder. Dan watches it, anyway. I can't stay awake because I'm exhausted and this movie is SO STUPID! I didn't have high hopes, by any means, but Tropic Thunder sucks way more than I thought it would. Dan thinks it's "kinda good." Sure. Whatever you say, Dan...Goodnight!

Tomorrow, in Part 5 (click here to read Part 5 now), we'll return to Rocky Mountain National Park for more hiking and sightseeing. We might even see some baby ducks. I hope you all come along!