Rocky Mountain High!

Up, up, and away to Denver.....well almost!  We circled Denver airport waiting for a thunderstorm to move, but had to land in Colorado Springs to sit on the tarmac and refuel before heading back to Denver when it opened.  We picked up our rental car....Don't use Budget....and headed to Estes Park running a couple of hours late.  We stopped in Loveland to pick up groceries and spotted Big Horn Sheep on the mountain side on the final leg of our journey. Darn...nowhere to stop and grab a photo!

We arrived at Swiftcurrent Lodge about dark....but I had made arrangements by phone to check in since we were running late.......the cabin was great.....a bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen set on the banks of the Big Thompson River. A quick supper, showers, and we crashed!
Up the next morning we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park.....driving to Bear Lake and Sprague Lake for some hiking.....we saw a herd of mule deer grazing in a field on the way. Both lakes were pristine and provided a beautiful backdrop to the mountains. Back at the cabin we soaked in the hot tub, relaxed, and fixed supper....then sat near the river as the day came to an end in Colorado.
It was a bit chilly the next day, with the thermometer reading about 40 degrees!  Our plan today was to drive the Trail Ridge Road, it is the name for a stretch of U.S. Highway 34 and is the highest continuous paved road in the United States. Armed with our heavy jackets, a cooler with drinks and snacks, binoculars, and a couple of cameras.....we were off!  Snow capped mountains dotted the landscape, wildflowers filled the fields, and elk, moose, and deer grazed on the lush grass. We saw marmots, pikas, magpies, and lots of other critters. 
At one point we reached an elevation of over 12,000 feet.....it was very breezy and chilly! Sunday morning I had booked a photography/wildlife tour with Yellow Wood Guiding and we had a 5:15 am picked up.....so we were up at 4 am!!!  Jared arrived and we entered the park....it was like we had the whole park to ourselves!  We stopped to take some photos as the sun came up, we looked for animals, and he educated us on the park.  We headed for the tundra in hopes of finding some bull elk........we rounded a curve, and in a grassy area by a small lake we saw 7 bull elk grazing in a field of yellow flowers.....Wow!  Steam coming off the lake provided the perfect backdrop.  The Big Boy of the group had begun to lose his velvet on his rack....it draped and hung like Christmas tree garland on his horns.  In an effort to get a shot I stepped on a slope thinking the ground was firm...but it wasn't and my foot slipped, turned, and something popped!  Ouch!  Got the shot, but limped back to the car....not saying a word to Jared or Dale!  I wanted to continue the tour. We spent about 4 hours with Jared and he gave me lots of tips on using my camera.....it was a great tour....even if I did something to my knee!  Back at the cabin, we had lunch and tried to nap....but my leg was hurting and I could hardly put weight on it.  I told Dale I need to go to the emergency room....so off we went for x-rays!  Nothing broke, but they thought maybe I did something to my IT band!  Crutches, an ice bag, and pain killers were the order for the rest of the day and part of the next week!
The next day we left for Glenwood Springs and road construction was the name of the game....a detour that took us off the map.......with our GPS unable to find our location made things kinda tense!
But we made it.....and checked in to the Red Barn Suite at Four Mile B&B outside of Glenwood Springs.  The suite was adorable....very eclectic and furnished in a shabby chic design. We had a cute little kitchen, a gas wood stove, and an adorable claw foot bathtub.  All our breakfast were delicious, with plenty to eat, and other guest to meet and enjoy conversation with!  The owners were perfect host and gave us lots of hints on where to go and what to do.  Glenwood Springs Hot Springs was on our agenda....and a long day of soaking and relaxing at the hot springs was perfect.  A road trip to Aspen and the Maroon Bells, the most photographed mountains in North America filled another day....we also made stops in Carbondale and Redstone.  Our last day we drove up to the Ruedi reservoir high up in the mountains outside of Basalt driving along the Frying Pan River....a gold medal trout fishing river.  We saw and talked with fly fisherman and watched them catch and release brown and rainbow trout.  We joined other guest later in the day along the river banks to talk and relax.....when Dale spotted a black bear eating berries in the bushes...WOW!  I got a few photos, but it was late and daylight was fading...but it was neat just to watch the bear!
Up and packed the final day, we enjoyed another great breakfast, then headed back to Denver leaving early in case we ran into road construction again.  This time we had no problems, returned our rental car, checked in at the airport and waited for our flight home!
Our trip was wonderful, we enjoyed the beauty of Colorado, the cool mountain air, and all the folks we met along the way.  Thanks Colorado for a Rocky Mountain High!