This year was our 7th anniversary and I wanted to do something special. A dinner and a movie were not going to cut it :). Well we did go to Bourne Legacy and ate out twice that day :), but I also wanted us to go on a vacation. So a couple of months before that, I started looking for places to visit. There was Yellowstone National Park, Florida, drive from Oregon to SFO…….. We finally narrowed it down to flying to SFO and then driving around to Yosemite National park, Lake Tahoe and Monterrey. I even started looking for hotels and making a spreadsheet for the whole vacation. I don’t exactly remember when we flipped the idea, but we changed our whole plan and finally ended up going on a road trip covering six National Parks (NP). I will give a brief overview of our trip and some highlights from each park.
Itinerary:
Fly from Milwaukee, WI to Denver, CO -> Denver, CO to Rocky Mountain NP, CO -> Rocky Mountain NP to Arches NP, UT -> Arches NP to Capitol Reef NP, UT -> Capitol Reef NP to Bryce Canyon NP, UT-> Bryce Canyon NP – Zion NP, UT -> Zion NP to Death Vally NP, CA-> Death Valley NP to Las Vegas, NV ->Fly from Las Vegas to Milwaukee, WI.
Our Road Trip
And this is what we did it in :).
This thing survived: 8 days, 1800 miles (2500 km), 5 states, 6 national parks, highway, unpaved roads, off-road, 15% gradient roads, 45F to 120F and 2 fat people 🙂
Day 1: Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).
We took the 6 AM flight from Milwaukee to Denver, rented a car, picked up some water bottles and an ice chest, grabbed breakfast and drove straight to RMNP. The weather was beautiful and the drive was fun, full of hilly roads and spectacular terrain. It was very different from the plains of the Midwest. It was around 11AM by the time we reached the park. We drove directly to out first stop at Alluvial Fan. By the time we reached there, it became cloudy and a little chilly. Alluvial Fan is a short hike form the parking lot and well worth the trip. We hiked for a while, up the boulders and across the water till it started to drizzle. I would advise against walking across the water as the rocks are very slippery in some places, unless you are good at balancing yourself or don’t mind getting wet :).
Alluvial Fan
Our plan was to drive from Alluvial Fan to the Alpine Visitor Center via Fall River Road (unpaved and steep). We drove till the entrance of Fall River Road and noticed that even AWD cars were pulling back (I guess due to the rain that picked up speed by then), so we turned around and got back on Trail Ridge Road (TRR). We stopped at several places along the way including, Forest Canyon Overlook, Rainbow Curve, Many Parks Curve, Alpine Visitor Center and Milner Pass. It started to rain heavily so we waited and ran out to see the view when we got the chance. We even got hit by hail at Forest Canyon Overlook and I had a headache for an hour after that, because of brain freeze :). I guess our trip would have been beautiful on a sunny day, but the dark cloudy and rainy day gave the park a different dimension.
View of rain on another peak
We spent time at different places in the park and drove to Bear Lake at around 3:15PM. We saw Elks and Bighorn Sheep along the way. Due to construction, the road to Bear Lake was closed to private vehicles from 9AM-4PM, but was accessible by the park shuttle. We reached there by 3:45PM and decided it was a good time to take a break and have some snacks. By the, the weather also cleared up and the sun was out. We took the loop around Bear Lake, which was a nice and easy stroll. The reflection of the trees in the lake was absolutely beautiful.
Bear Lake
Bear Lake
It was around 5:30PM, that we decided to drive to our motel. We stayed in the loft at Glacier Lodge Resort in Estes Park, CO. It was a very small room on the second floor and was comfortable for a one night stay. After dinner, we spent the evening watching the Republic Convention :).
Day 2: RMNP
After a big breakfast at the Egg and I in Estes Park (highly recommend it), where I had the Parisian Eggs Benedict :), we set off to Lily Lake. It was a nice sunny day and the reflections in the lake were very beautiful. We hiked for a while on the Lily Ridge Trail, which was fun and perfect for a lazy morning walk. The whole place kept reminding me of Devil’s Lake State Park, at home in WI. After spending some time soaking in the views and fresh air, we set off on our long drive to Arches National Park, UT.
Lily Lake
Verdict: Even though the weather was temperamental, I was happy that we visited every place on our list. I was skeptical about Bear Lake, due the timings and rain, but am so glad that we got a chance to visit both lakes.
Through My Window 