Cross-country trip Part III: Rocky Mountain National Park

After cleaning up the back seat from my son's bout with car-sickness, we got back on the road and made it to the Fall River entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. The weather had seemed to clear up fairly well where we were, BUT... the ranger at the gate said that the through road was closed due to blowing snow. Now, if you've read any of my previous posts, or even the title of my blog hopefully you've realized that I have nothing but the highest respect for park rangers. One look at my husband's face though and I was ready to seek out the snow removal equipment and head up to the pass myself! It wouldn't have done much good: the problem wasn't large amounts of snow on the road so much as blowing snow... high winds... zero visibility... steep slopes and low guard rails; but I'd sooner face all those things than disappointment in my husband or children's eyes! We asked when they expected the road to open thinking that maybe we could stick around an extra day or so to complete this drive. The ranger said they were hoping it would open later in the day or the next day sometime. With that ambiguous answer, my husband bitterly said something about lazy park workers and other things that I didn't quite catch, but got a fairly good impression of. Then he sighed and asked how far we would be able to drive in from the gate. 11 miles was the answer. With another heavy sigh and my daughter repeatedly asking "what's wrong?", we headed into the park. The first couple of miles in everyone stayed pretty quiet, watching the scenery and hoping that daddy's mood would improve. Then my daughter saw some elk and wanted to stop and watch them for a few minutes. We stopped, watched and took some pictures and then drove on. At the end of 11 miles we came to an overlook with a restroom just before the road closed barrier. While we didn't accomplish our major goal, the view of the valley we had just drove through was impressive. Still, my husband was disappointed. When we got out of the car and looked around, the only snow immediately visible was to tiny patches hidden on the north sides of large rocks or trees. I heard him mutter "$*&! park ranger doesn't know what he's talking about! There's NO snow." To try out my newly learned psychology terms, I'd say he was definitely exhibiting denial and rationalization, with a bit of regression thrown in. (Thanks Mrs. Downing, I have now officially learned what you taught outside of the classroom!) We got back in the car and tried to decide what to do next. My husband's vote was to remove the barrier and continue on through the pass anyway... he was only half joking. We consulted the map and decided to head out of the park through the Beaver Meadows entrance and drive down Rte 7 to Rte 72 to Rte 119 through Blackhawk, CO, to Rte 6 and finally onto I-70. Maybe the locals know a better way to cross the Mountains north of I-70, but we couldn't find anything on our map that would work. The drive we took was an interesting one. Lots of tiny towns and large ranch estates. I was amazed by the town of Blackhawk! I definitely want to go back and explore further!

Well, I thought I was going to have time to get a little further in my tale, but the rest of my life is calling me right now. I must go take care of it.