Wandering 'Round the Rockies

Our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park & Grand Lake

Our first weekend away was to one of our bucket list Colorado items - Rocky Mountain National Park! Neither of us had been before so it was an obvious choice for us to head there first. You have to reserve an entry time at the park, so we headed out as early as we could Saturday morning so that we would be able to spend most of the day there. To our surprise, dogs were not allowed on any of the trails at the park - they are only allowed in the picnic areas and parking lots where the scenic overlooks are (apparently our little Lucy is prey for the wildlife). As much as we wanted to be able to hike around the park and explore, we decided to bring Lucy anyways because we knew she'd enjoy the car ride and stops along the way. We are glad we did it this way for our first time because it took us most of the day to drive through the entire park anyways. We hope to go back soon but without Lucy so that we can put our hiking boots on and explore!

We enjoyed the most beautiful weather while at the park - sunny with a high of 78 degrees. We packed a picnic lunch and ate in the trees at the beginning of a trailhead. This was one of our favorite moments of the day - it was so peaceful to sit and soak in the beauty around us.

As we were leaving the park, we took a not-so-average bathroom stop. No sooner than when I (Angel) got to the restroom, there was a park ranger telling me that there was a cow and a calf behind the restroom and that I needed to go back into my car immediately. I was confused - a cow in the Rocky Mountains? I told Tyler what had happened once back in the car and he laughed - apparently everyone knows that a cow means a Moose....excuse me what?! How does this make any sense? Why would we call an animal that has a perfectly good name the name of an animal that is completely different and also WHEN did we decide this (check out the slideshow to see the moose)? It was cool to see a moose in the *wild* and a fun ending to our time at the park. Let it be known that I do not support calling a moose a cow.

We entered the park through Estes Park and left through Grand Lake. Grand Lake was a spot we have been itching to get back to since we first visited a few summers ago with Tyler's family. It is amazing - a beautiful large lake surrounded by evergreens with the mountains painted behind. We had planned to kayak at the lake until we found out that dogs were not allowed in the kayaks (Lucy you are definitely staying behind next time). Instead we got ice cream and walked around their downtown strip (super cute shops and restaurants - highly recommend a visit!).

After our Grand Lake stop, we went through Winter Park (where Tyler's family goes skiing) and had a snack at "The Ditch on 40" - we definitely recommend their margarita! I finally got to experience "the pass" as we left Winter Park. Usually I am asleep in the car when we are going to/leaving the mountains for skiing - thanks Ross for the 4 a.m. wake up calls ;)

We can't wait to get back to RMNP and Grand Lake - both are family friendly and are must-sees for any Colorado trip!

Our only qualm so far is how we are ever going to be able to visit everywhere we want to go during this assignment :) Stay tuned for our next adventure!

- The Wandering Wrights

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