Adventure in Rocky Mountain National Park

A few weeks ago Jared's cousin, Rick, his wife Katie, and their little girl, Lydia came to town to visit. We had so much fun with them and hopefully didn't wear them out too much. We thought it would be fun to take them to none other than Rocky Mountain National Park since it's one of our favorite places. 

We rolled into Estes Park right at lunch time, so we decided to refuel with a little pizza. It was quite delicious.

Next to the pizza place was a quaint little bakery. Katie thought we all needed a little dessert. The children all agreed. The cookies were wonderful and huge.

After filling up our bellies we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). We took in the beautiful view along with all of the elk hanging around nearby.

We thought it would be fun to do a little hiking. We didn't know that the trail we chose wasn't really stroller friendly.

We decided to ditch the strollers.

Mountains.

Rocks.

A stream.

And more rocks. It's a win win.

We finally made it to our destination: The Pool. It wasn't quite what we expected, but it was a great resting area. I love how Rick is trying to photograph Katie and Lydia while our family is scattered everywhere. It's too funny.

Of course I attempted a photo with all of my children that didn't end up too well.

This is why the area is called The Pool. I think it's because of the stream that runs through the area.

Does this make you think of the movie A River Runs Through It?

We finally made it back to our vehicles and decided to drive to the peak of RMNP. 

It's a slow and scenic drive.

We stopped at a few places to take in the view.

Once you're above a certain altitude things don't grow as well anymore.

We hit up the Trail Ridge Cafe which sits at 11,796 feet above sea level. 

It's hard to find a tree growing at this altitude.

We found a small trail to hike again. The temperature at this point was 53 degrees at about 6pm. Our previous hike was in the 80s.

We drove along that road.

On our drive back down the mountain we spotted some more elk. They're used to people and it doesn't bother them when people stop and gawk at them. They don't run or attack. They just go about their business. Once we made it back down the mountain the temperature was 72 degrees at 7:30. Crazy right? 

It was long past dinner time, so we popped into Penelope's for some grub. They have world famous food.

This was Katie's patti melt that I snitched. It was fabulous.

My Lutheran Stud is a sweet talker. He managed to get a discount on our kids' meals. That's what happens when you buy in bulk.

I loved all the vintage on the walls of this place. It was a fun restaurant with fantastic food. Check it out if you're in Estes Park.