Rocky Mountain National Park/Ute Trail Hike

The key to touring Rocky Mountain National Park is to get up early and drive it alone...at your own pace! It costs $20.00 per vehicle to enter the park and drive the Trail Ridge Road. But not if you enter the gates at 6:30 a.m.!!!  We slept great in the tipi..but the marmots had us up early, so we decided to hit the road as soon as we could roll up our sleeping bags. The morning view was colorful!

On the way to the park entrance we encountered a mother elk and her "baby". They were headed to meet up with the rest of their herd, who apparently feel right at home at the campground.

As far as the RMNP itself, It seems impossible to pick which pictures to post. There are so many.  But here are some of my favorites.  Headed in and up to the visitor's center, which is the highest point.

Note that ours is one of only a few cars in the visitor's center...driving early alleviated the traffic on the scary road and gave us a glimpse of some wildlife before they got scared off by the crowds! Also, take note of the pic overlooking the lake...that lake is along the Ute Trail..where we hiked. Here are those pics: