Our last day in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Today we drove the Trail Ridge Road. It was easily one of the most exquisite examples of beauty I have ever seen.
Shortly into the drive, I demanded that the boys put down their books (yes, I forced them to stop reading) and lectured them on the significance of what they were seeing. That most people will never see the majesty of the mountains, swim in the oceans, and explore the seemingly endless national parks, monuments, forests, and lake shores. I was having a real moment. I was emotional. And from the back seat I get, “yeah mom we know. Why did you have to yell it at us?” “I am not yelling,” I yelled, “I am just a very passionate person!”
We continued over the road and took a couple of short hikes in the Alpine, which apparently is extremely delicate. There were signs EVERYWHERE telling people to stay on the trails, explaining that one step onto the flora would crush and kill a hundred years worth of growth and the whole place would be reduced to absolute trash (I’m paraphrasing). The Munschs take all the rules and signs very seriously, be where we may, and were incredibly cautious. Others... not so much. One little girl snuffed out thousands of years worth of lichen growth as she ambled everywhere but the trail.
After stopping at the visitor center, near the highest point on the trail, it was evident that lunch needed to be made soon. This was my clue: I bought a blanket as part of a promotion, gave it to Lucas, and Marcus broke down, “Lucas and Samus ALWAYS get special blankets.” To be clear, they don’t. Samus got one in Yellowstone in 2015.
As we careened down the mountainside on the switchbacks, we spotted a delightful little picnic lake, called Lake Irene. Or Lake Eileen. Or Lake Jenny. It was a lake with a lady’s name for sure. Jason made pasta with turkey and sauce (we are very fancy picnickers) and we all snarfed it down. Next we took the ten minute hike to the Lady Lake.
I had already been to the lake while the boys were reading their books waiting for pasta. In fact, I declared it the prettiest lake i had ever seen (this was before eating so we were all still using definitive words to describe things). Anyway, the hike was short, but half was over three foot snow pack that had begun melting and was unstable at best. Needless to say, everybody went in up to their hip at least once.
To wrap up the day we headed back to Estes Park so the boys could grab food. Luckily, I checked the Facebook and noticed that a long time family friend had messaged and said that they lived in Estes. We went to visit their new home and heard all about their encounters with the local wildlife.
That night we slept like dead horses.
The next morning we would head out of the lush green, cool mountains, west to the desert of Dinosaur National monument.
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