Wednesday 9/3

We had set aside Wednesday to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. We packed a picnic lunch (which was partially loaded into the lovely picnic basket Kyle had purchased for me from an antique store) and set out to the park. We entered on the Grand Lake side and drove up Trail Ridge Road, which is the highest elevation major highway in North America. We saw some beautiful scenery and a few small animals. Dale did some fishing at one of the small lakes, we did a little walking, and read a bunch of informational signs. The grandeur of the whole park was very impressive!



We drove the entire length of Trail Ridge Road, which took us out of the park and into Estes Park, CO. Dale pulled over at a little park and tried his hand at fly fishing in the river that runs through town. Kyle climbed a tree, and Mom and I relaxed and enjoyed the relaxing pace of the day.

We made one more stop for fishing at Mary's Lake, where Dale caught a trout. As we were getting on the road again, we passed by some deer that were just hanging out. They didn't seem to be phased by us in the least! To give you an idea how close we were, Kyle took this picture out the car window without zooming in.

Our scenic drive home took us by this really neat chapel with Long's Peak in the background. (Long's Peak is the mountain featured on the Colorado state quarter. Just a bit of trivia for you.)
I also noticed that we drove right by Covenant Heights, a Covenant camp I had heard of, but never had known where it was. We drove through Blackhawk and Central City, two mining towns turned casino towns. Dale, Mom, and I would be visiting Central City the next day for a bit of gambling. After our long day of driving and sight-seeing, we stopped at Subway for a sandwich and called it a night.