(Location: Rocky Mountain National Park)

(Editor’s note: I’m really tired. Not very surprising. So apologies if this is light on words and reliant on the photos…)

Woke up at 0730, and it had taken a while to actually fall asleep. Sun was streaming in between the curtains and the geese were honking. Reminded me of home. I presume that they weren’t the same geese. If they were, they must have had a smooth flight. Couldn’t get back to sleep, but rested until 0920 when I got up and made coffee. I had planned to do the usual repack of the cases tonight, but given we were having a slower start, decided to do it while drinking the coffee.

After showers and getting organised we checked out and went to the Village Inn for brunch, before driving to Rocky Mountain NP. Which brings me to the promised pictures of the car…or almost a truck… a Ford Expedition. Plenty of space for the luggage though!

The drive to the mountains was fine and scenic. Last night’s snow showers have topped them off and they looked temptingly beautiful from the start.

We drove firstly to the Beaver Meadows visitor centre, where we stopped briefly to buy a pin badge and look around, before driving to Bear Lake Trailhead. Instead of the planned 3.6 mile hike, we decided to do a few short walks. Acclimatising to the altitude was ok, but…wow…it is cold! Between 0 and 2C. Bear Lake is a very pretty short walk. The lake was partly frozen over.

Next on the list was Sprague Lake. This allowed a good view of the mountains and glaciers. Almost all of it was frozen over, albeit lightly.

Finally we stopped at the Moraine Park Discovery Centre to walk a nature trail, but it turned out the trail was closed, probably for off season repairs before winter sets in. Still, we got even more great views.

We then returned to Estes Park and checked in to the Haber Motel. The room is lovely and very big, so plenty of space to spread out. We have been warned not to approach anything with antlers as it is rutting season and they could be aggressive; and that bears typically wander through the parking lot at night in search of food at this time of year, so not to leave food in the car, in case they break in. After relaxing for a short while, we wandered down town and found Poppy’s, a pizza place. Andrew ordered a custom pizza, somewhat loaded with toppings!

Then it was back to the room, for beer, blogging and…I can’t wait…bed!