Rocky Mountain National Park Aug. 31 -- Sept. 4, 2000 [Rocky Mountain Gallery] [Back to Photo Page]

I have been extremely busy for the last couple of months (14 hours a day, 7 days a week) since I joined an optical start-up Onetta. I was on a business trip to Denver (8/25-8/30) to attend a conference, therefore Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) was naturally the destination of my side trip to award myself for the hard work I have done in the past few weeks.

Getting there ...

My family came to Denver to join me at the night on 8/30. But their flight got delayed more than one and a half hour due to some navagation system problem. So I had plenty of time to rent a minivan, take some pictures of late aftenoon thunder storms and rainbows before went to the terminal to wait for them. In fact, my colleagues were still at the airport when I got there because their flight was actually the same plane from San Jose. It's about one and a half hour driving from Denver to Estes Park where we were going to stay for 5 nights.

The First Day ...

• Sheep Lakes -- Horseshoe Park
  We entered the park via Fall River Entrance Station. Horseshoe Park was once a lake dammed by the terminal moraine of an Ice Age Glacier. Triangulate Ypsilon Mountain and other peaks of the Mummy ridge form a backdrop for the rich meadows of Horseshoe Park. These areas including the Sheep Lakes are abundant in wildlife and we saw herds of elks in the next few days when we passed by this region.

• Beaver Ponds
  

  It is difficult to see beavers in the day because they are almost wholly nocturnal. But their work can be easily seen from the boardwalk along the water's edge. Linus was disappointed not to see any beavers around, but he quickly forgot about beavers after he saw a blue jay jumping over the fence.

• Trail Ridge Road
  At elevations of 8,000 feet to more than 12,000 feet, Tail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved highway in the US. The road climbs swiftly, and also provides numerous stunning lookout points including Many Parks Curve, Rainbow Curve, Forest Canyon, Rock Cut, Lava Cliffs, etc. When we approached Forest Canyon Overlook, we were already above the timberline and we were in an arctic-like environment. A short walk to the viewpoint is bordered by blossoming tundra and the view of the U-shaped, steep-walled canyon with distant mountains is one of the best.
  Rock Cut is a good place to know some of the tundra plants. A 1/2 mile nature trail leads across the alpine environments. But at elevation more than 12,000 feet, we all began to have symptoms of high-altitude sickness: short of breath, fatigue, headache, and nausea. I was carrying Linus on the trail (the rest of them decided to stay in the car). After walking for less than 10 minutes, I felt so tired that I had to stop and turned back. We stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center for a lunch break, but our headaches did not get any better after the break.

• Grand Lake -- Adams Falls
  

  After resumed the journey from the Alpine Visitor Center, we did not stop by many other vista points because we were all still suffering from headache and car-sickness. We drove to the Grand Lake and parked nearby the West Portal area, and we all took a nap in the car. After about half an hour of rest, we all recovered from the high-altitude sickness. We then took a 0.3-mile trail to Adams Falls which is actually a cascade. It was a nice walk through a lodgepole forest. When we drove back, Linus began to have car-sickness and we had to stop at some turnout to let Linus get off the car to throw up. That's where I got the close shot of an elk! After a few miles when we re-entered the mountain area, the weather changed dramatically. The fog (or cloud) had covered our surroundings and sometimes the visibility was probably less than 10 feet that we couldn't even see where the road side cliff was. It was quite an adventurous drive even at 5 miles/hour.

The Second Day ...

• Sunrise at Rainbow Curve
  

  Clare got up early with me to go to the Rainbow Curve on the Trail Ridge Road to see sunrise. The sky was mixed with some low clouds which added more colors to the scene. I haven't seen and photographed sunrise for more than half a year. It's really a good feeling to catch the first light of the day.

• Bear Lake -- Nymph Lake -- Dream Lake
  Bear Lake is one of the most popular areas in the park. We took the trail to Nymph Lake (0.5 miles) and Dream Lake (another 0.6 miles). It was a pretty easy walk with a few hundred feet of elevation gain. Linus was very cooperative and he walked on his own for the entire round-trip trail with more than 2 miles. These lakes nestle quietly at the foothill of mountains with magnificent views of high peaks. There were so many chipmunks in the area that Iris was so excited whenever she was approached by them.

Nymph Lake	Dream Lake

Bear Lake

The weather changed again after we returned back to Bear Lake area in the afternoon. Thunderstorms formed quickly and we had to head back to our cabin and called it a day.

The Third Day ...

• Sunrise at Bear Lake
  It was too windy this morning to get a good reflection from the lake. But it still had good quality of light. Some peaks were covered by silk-like clouds and they were so mysterious and untouchable.

• Alluvial Fan
  

• Old Fall River Road
  Old Fall River Road was the first automobile road across the Continental Divide in this part of the Rockies. The entire route was open for transmountain travel in 1920. From Horseshoe Park junction, the old gravel road leads one way up through a steep, narrow canyon. While this road does not offer the spectcular and panoramic views featured on Trail Ridge Road, it offers closer contact with forests, mountains, and meadows. Chasm Falls is right beside the road and is worth the short walk down to the view point. For the last few miles, the road travels high above the timberline and it was so windy that nobody wanted to get off the car.

• Sunset at Horseshoe Park
  

  Finally, it's the first day that there was no afternoon thunderstorm for more than a week since I was in Denver area. After dinner in Estes Park (I had an elk steak which I did not like very much), we went back to Horseshoe Park for sunset.

The Fourth Day ...

• Sunrise at Forest Canyon
  I was alone today for sunrsie. When I got off at Forest Canyon, I put on everthing (sweaters and coats) in the car and thought fortunately Clare did not come with me. With temperature below 40 (4 degree C) and gusty wind, there was no place to hide at the Forest Canyon viewpoint. I couldn't stand still under the wind, and I couldn't take my hands out of pocket for more than a minute. But there was no doubt that I have seen the best moment in RMNP and got what I want..

• Spraque Lake -- Alberta Falls
  Spraque Lake is a man-made lake by Abner Spraque, the earliest settler in Moraine Park, in the late 1800's. Scenery is the reward here, since the mountains along the Continental Divide are reflected in the waters of the lake. An easy 0.5 mail trail around the lake is a nice walk to enjoy the view.

It was the labor day weekend, and it got more crowded in the popular places. The parking lot in the Glacier Gorge Junction (trail head to the Alberta Falls) was full, and we had to drove back to the shuttle bus parking near the Glacier Basin to wait for bus. It was about only 0.5 miles trail to Alberta Falls. In fact, we spent more time in waiting for bus than hiking. We even walked up to Bear Lake (it was a delightful walk through dense forests though) after returned from Alberta Falls to catch a bus because there were always no seats available at the Glacier Gorge stop on bus. Linus was so exhausted that he fell asleep right on bus in less than 3 minutes.

• Moraine Park
  

The Last Day ...

• Sunrise
  I chose a viewpoint which was very closed to the Park Headquarter for sunrise. It was a nice and clear day to begin with. The photos below were taken less than 5 minutes apart, but they gave me very different moods.

• Denver
  We drove back to Denver and stayed in Downtown area for lunch. Although I was in Denver for 5 days before we went to RMNP, the only place I really knew was the Westin Hotel on the 16th Street.

Going Home ...

We had a very slow pace trip this time compared with other national parks we had traveled before. It was much more relaxed (physically and mentally) for both grown-ups and kids. Both Linus and Iris were very cooperative and enjoyed the trip (although they may not remember anything). Rocky Mountain National Park is a place worth to visit again. But I'll choose the season with white snow capped the mountain top and wildflowers blooming next time.

[Back to Photo Page] [Go to Rocky Mountain Gallery]