Covid-19 has really messed with our summer plans.
This summer, we were suppose to travel to Texas to spend sometime with Courtney's dad and stepmom. Well... Thanks corona for destroying those plans for us. So, since we aren't able to travel to Texas, Courtney came up with the idea of spending a couple nights in the mountains.
You don't have to ask me twice!! Let's go!!
We decided to take the long route to our motel, which included going through Estes Park, then heading into the park from that side of the mountains and take Trail Ridge Road all the way up and head towards our motel from there.
Since, we were going to be already passing through Estes, I wanted to of course do some shopping while we were there. I love Estes Park, especially their downtown area. It's beautiful there and more than likely you will see elk roaming around, but unfortunately, we didn't come across any this time around.
After going through a handful of shops, it was time to get into the park. We packed everything we needed for a picnic, so that was going to be our first stop once getting into the park is finding a perfect place for a picnic.
Right now, you need to sign up for a timed entry to get into the park. I loved it because with limiting the amount of people that were in the park, made it perfect for finding a place to have a picnic. We were able to find a place right next to the water. So, while we got things set up for lunch, the kids went straight to the water. The water was freezing, but that didn't bother them, one bit.
After eating lunch, we got back into the car and started heading up Fall River Road! It's a scary drive, driving right on the very edge of the mountain, but it's the most beautiful drive. I love that they have areas where you can pull over and go explore the area, especially the areas with the waterfalls.
There is a spot that we always like to stop at, where you are able to do a little bit of hiking along side the water. Once, we were out of the car, all 3 kids at the same time, say "deer!"
The kids thought it was pretty cool to be able to see a deer that close. And surprisingly, the deer stuck around by us and didn't seem frightened by us. She just kept eating and minding her own business.
Not only was my mission to spot a moose finally, but I really wanted to see all the wild flowers. I started following a group on Facebook for the Rocky Mountains and everyone was posting pictures of all the beautiful wild flowers, but they were also coming across lots of moose and their babies.
Every time we have come to the mountains, we have never seen wild flowers in bloom. The moment I spotted the flowers, I was so excited!! They are so beautiful and I couldn't get enough of taking pictures of them. We will for sure have to come up into the mountains every year around this time now!!
We made it all the way to the Alpine visitors center, which is at the top of the mountain. Once there, we decided to do the only trail we hadn't done yet at the top of the mountain. It was quite a hike because you are going straight up the mountain, and you feel it. We were all breathing heavy, the higher we got, but it was worth it all.
The views were unbelievable. I took so many pictures, but I got to say, the pictures don't do any justice to the beauty that the mountains have to offer.
Now... time to head towards our motel. Last time we stayed a couple nights in the mountains, we were able to stay at a lodge. This time around, we stayed at a motel about a 30 minute drive from the park. This time coming up to the mountains, we wanted to stay on the other side of the mountains. There has been a lot of moose sightings on this side, so we thought we would give it a try.
Along the way to our motel, we stopped at the continental divide and did a little bit more hiking. We didn't do the whole trail though, we didn't want to be getting to the motel too late.
OH MY GOSH!!! OH MY GOSH!!! OH MY GOSH!!!
We spotted a moose. And right along side the road.
We came across an area where a bunch of cars were stopped on the side of the road, and when we peered over, and there she was, a MOOSE!!!
"Pull over, Courtney!!"
I honestly came into this mini vacay thinking that I wasn't going to see any moose. I wanted to see one so badly, but I didn't want to get my hopes up, so when we saw the moose on the side of the road, I got so excited.
There she was! A moose!!
Alright... I saw my wild flowers and finally saw my first moose!! We can go home now... haha
With that, I was more excited for our first day of hiking in the mountains, and hoping to spot some more animals and wild flowers!
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