Today is our last day at Rocky Mountain National Park. It is also our last national park on this trip. Today we will be driving across the top of the Park from east to west. Then we will head east toward home.
Our first stop on the cross park tour is the Horseshoe Overlook. The name comes from the view of the many bends in the creek below that look like horseshoes. The horseshoes are not very visible in the picture, but you can see the bighorn sheep meadow we drove across yesterday.
Also, look at the mountains in the background. Several different views of the mountains will appear today.
You can also see the Alluvial Fan from the Horseshoe Overlook. This photo was taken with a mega-zoom and shows farther up the falls than yesterday’s photo.
The drive from Horseshoe Overlook to Many Parks Overlook displayed the magnificence of the mountains
Our second stop on the drive was the Many Parks Overlook. The name is confusing because it is a bad translation of a French word that means meadows or green spaces. From this overlook, you can see many meadows in the Rocky Mountains.
You can still see the Alluvial Fan in the distance.
This is when we really enjoyed the long zoom on the camera. The zoomed shot of the Alluvial Fan shows a much longer view of the water flow from top to bottom, though the bottom does not look nearly as big as it is.
At Rainbow Curve Overlook, we were above two miles of elevation. From here you can see three levels of the road we traveled winding up the mountain. You can also see the Big Horn Sheep meadow on the left.
At this elevation, the big mountains in the first pictures of the day look a little bit shorter.
But the snow still looks deep when you realize it is the middle of June. The temperature has dropped over thirty degrees since we started. It is now about 38 degrees fahrenheit. The wind is howling and the car is shaking in the wind.
It is difficult to describe the feeling of being here. The trees are almost gone. Snow is everywhere. It is such a unique environment.
The mountains look smaller, yet they still are massive.
The ground here is tundra. It is permanently frozen. It is barren, but still alive. There is a trail.
Let’s go for a hike on the Toll Memorial Trail. Marlene opts for the warmth of the car due to her hip pain. Perhaps the better choice. Someone managed to pave a trail to here. It was probably not on a day like today. The temperature is near freezing. The wind is blowing constantly. Gusts will knock you over if you are not braced for them. In spite of the conditions, there is an overwhelming awe and beauty to these surroundings,
At twelve thousand three hundred feet, this is not the highest point you can see. With rugged peaks all around, there is still flat ground. Contradictions abound in this arena.
Like how does this yellow bellied marmot survive at this elevation in these conditions? Yet there it is.
After the hike, and in the warm car, we continue our trek to the top of the road. Notice the wooden pole on the right side of the road. It is there as a road marker for snow plows. The pole goes up fifteen feet or more, out of the frame of the picture. Imagine snow so deep that a pole that high is needed. Then imagine plowing a road buried in that much snow.
Here is an amazing tundra meadow at about 12,000 feet. Look at the size of it.
Here we are at the top. This road is unbelievable. First that someone could build it and maintain it. Then for the views it provides. Finally, because we got to see all this today.
Now we head down hill, seeing even higher mountains in the distance. Picture this, Mount Everest at its peak is twice as high as those mountains we see before us.
Looking in another direction, we can see even more of the larger mountains. It is mind boggling how huge this area is, and how small we really are.
Finally, some semblance of civilization. A visitor center at a mere 11,800 feet. Nice to see a safe warm place to stop.
On the way back down, there is still more to see. The view goes for at least twenty miles. Don’t spend too much time looking at it or you might drive through one of the open spots and down the mountain the wrong way.
We got back down to where trees can grow. The snow looks even deeper here than it did on the way up.
We are at Cache La Poudre Creek in the Rocky Mountains. It is a long way to the Atlantic Ocean. That is where this water is headed though, because we are at another spot on the continental divide.
This photo was taken about 100 yards from the previous photo. It is weird to contemplate two drops of water landing on opposite sides of this sign traveling to such extremely diverse destinations.
We finally reached the “lowlands” on the other side. The mountains are very tall, the surroundings are green, and the world looks almost normal again.
Except for the recent fire. We have seen several landscapes that have been touched by fire. The earth is very stark and barren. Even though the green color returns, the dead trees are a reminder of how fragile life really is.
Here is another fast moving stream. Only this one is not like the others we have seen. On this trip we learned where the Colorado River starts. It is not far from this location. This is the North Fork of the Colorado River. It is not special. It does not look anything like the river we saw in all the other national parks. It looks ordinary.
Ordinary, until you drive ten miles down stream. This is the same Colorado River behind a dam. How it has changed.
Here is a third look at the Colorado River south of the dam. Back to ordinary again. Be careful, looks can be deceiving.
The beauty and majesty of the mountains does not end because you are not in the national park any longer.
There are still cool waterfalls and fun things to see.
From the Rocky Mountains, we drove to Denver Colorado to see the capitol. From the outside, the Colorado capitol looks like most of the capitol buildings we have seen.
It has an ornate master staircase with all the trimmings. There are numerous paintings of the history of Colorado on the walls.
From the staircase, you can see the rotunda dome.
The art work at the base of the dome shows many facets of Colorado.
There are more paintings of life in Colorado near the base of the dome
The Governor’s Office is prominent within the capitol. You can see all the levels of the building from the Governor’s Office.
The Senate Chamber is highlighted by several very detailed stained glass windows.
The House Chamber is also a very well decorated room. The viewing areas are closer to the members than in many capitols.
The Supreme Court is larger than is found in most capitols. The two story ceiling and the stained glass windows add to the impressiveness of the room.
Here is a better three floor view of the building. The walls include a gallery of portraits of all the Presidents of the United States.
This photo gives you a look at the detailed craftsmanship display throughout the entire building.
The Colorado Capitol is one of the fancier decorated Capitols that we have visited.
Today was a long and fun day. Tomorrow we begin some long driving days with a few more capitols to visit as we head for home.