After the low fuel stress of yesterday, we let ourselves sleep late this morning and have a slow morning. David drove into town to find a replacement nut so we could put the stabilizer foot back on. He found a replacement only to figure out he did not have a wrench or socket big enough to put it on. Since it was Mothers Day, and downtown Estes Park, which he had to drive through to get to the hardware store, was crazy busy, he decided it could wait till another day. So we decided to drive into the park. We stopped at the Beavers Meadow visitor center, collected our 34thPassport Stamp, watched the park movie, did a little shopping at the gift store, and talked with the ranger to see what trails were open. There is still a lot of snow in the higher altitudes, so many of the trails are still snow covered (like feet of snow) but the snow is melting fast so maybe next week some of the higher trails will be relatively snow free. The ranger pointed out some trails at lower altitudes that would be good to hike this week. Then we drove up the Trail Ridge Road to the point where it is still closed (it will be plowed all the way through by Memorial Day) before heading back down and then over to Bear Lake. Leslie was surprised that with all the snow along the roadside pull offs not a single person attempted to build a snowman with the perfectly wet but stable snow. When we stopped down the mountain for a picture opportunity, Leslie also took the opportunity to fashion a snowman. Although small, he had no arms, eyes or mouth. It was hard for her to leave him disabled like that. However, David reminded her that some body was just going to smash it down….ouch> Although there were a fair number of people in the park being Mothers Day, we are hoping it will be quieter toward the middle of next week. The views from the road were beautiful with snow coating the high peaks. Critter sighting: We saw herds of Elk and Deer from the park road.
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| Entrance Sign |
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| Longs Peak |
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| Longs Peak |
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| Leslie and her snowman |
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Behemoth with the mountains in the background
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| Elk in the Park |
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Deer in the park
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