Our View Up to Higher Elevation

After our hike we got into our vehicles and drove the famous Trail Ridge Road. 

Elk can be found grazing all over the park.

We reached 11,000 feet and snow could be seen on the mountainside.

The higher you get in elevation the more rare it is to see flowers or trees growing. Trees are pretty much nonexistent while flowers have small window in which they grow.

There may not be any trees around, but things are green and lush the higher you get.

We even spotted a little lake in the middle of the mountains.

If I were a mountain goat I think I'd live here too. Check out the view these goats get to take in while they graze on the greens around them.

This little marmot (?) stopped traffic. I told Quinton to run it over, but he was too nice. ;)

Elk could be spotted all along the road. They were also a traffic stopper. Sometimes they'd cross the road right in front of you as you're driving.

Hiking Views

The weather on our hike could not have been more beautiful. 

Aspen trees were everywhere.

Flowers are always hit and miss in higher elevation.

These bees were busy and didn't have to time to pose for a photo.

Last summer there was a fire in Rocky Mountain National Park. It makes me wonder if these trees were in the fire.

Can you spot the snake out there?

This huge tree was completely uprooted and still in one piece.

You don't realize how big that tree really was until you stick two little boys right next to the roots. More views to come. Sorry if you're tired of them. You'll just have to skip over those posts.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park has to be one of our favorite places to visit. We love it so much that we often take our friends and family there when they visit us. It was no different when the Andersons came for a visit.

We thought it would be fun to take all of the children on a short hike.

Things started out well and the children were all excited.

There was a lot to see and even some climbing was involved.

Not only did we carry our DSLR cameras we had our iPhones too. You never know when you might need all of that camera gear. ;)

The little ones struggled a little along the way. They did a lot of walking with their short little legs. Jonah did have quite a view from his dad's shoulders.

Things were green and the mountains even had a little snow still on them.

This was the bottom of a tree that was uprooted. It was huge!

We took breaks often.

We ended up stopping a little early for lunch because some stomachs were rumbling.

There were many large rocks to climb. These two were inseparable.

We even fit a few family pics into our itinerary.

I love this family! We had so much fun.

Anna loved picking grass and hamming it up for the camera.

It was a long day for these little ones. They were troopers on our short long hike!

Once we got back into our vehicles we decided to drive up Trail Ridge Road to see what we could see.

The Alpine Center is a popular stop with some beautiful views. The elevation is more than double what it is in Denver. The air is a little thinner here.

The green mountain views are pretty amazing.

People were often found along the side of the road checking out the wild life.

We've been here several times, but this was the first time we saw mountain goats. That was so fun. We also saw some other wildlife so stay tuned. . .

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.