“This is not a traffic jam,” I had told our children two days before in stop-and-go traffic on I-25 in Denver, “we’re still moving.” Now, our pace was closer to that definition – creeping steadily toward the entry gates to Rocky Mountain National Park on the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day.
Driving toward a favorite park to mark the unofficial start of summer would have been typical for our family. This time, however, we were anticipating a few hours in the mountains on the way home rather than a long weekend camping.
An annual medical checkup in Denver, more specifically Aurora most years, brings us down to the city. This time, instead of buying tickets for a museum weeks ahead or planning specific activities each day, things were a bit more spontaneous. I wistfully voiced a desire to drive up to Estes Park as we drove west toward the Front Range as the sun set Thursday. So, instead of going to a favorite coffee shop and spending a last morning in the capital we headed northwest.
From Broomfield we stopped for breakfast in a suburb of Boulder where my wife had found. Like a lot of places in the metro area, patrons have a choice of three bins after their meal: recycling, compost and landfill/trash. Plastic utensils and paperboard containers sold in these establishments are often compostable. Albeit a bit spendy, the food and drink was excellent.
Snow-covered peaks grew larger as we drove on a route I had not taken in years. Every time we return via Denver, the concept of setting aside land from development still seems foreign to me. Actual parks are one thing, but a quarter section (give or take several acres) of “green space” where people cannot enter does not square with our rural Nebraska mentality.
The rest of the drive to Estes was uneventful. We secured an 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. timed entry ticket and one-day pass to RMNP online while passing through Lyons. The slot seemed reasonable, yet a little over an hour in line left less than 30 minutes to spare.
The park’s access procedure was no surprise nor the number of people funneling in on this particular Friday. However, the official government website did not emphasize that no visitor centers (or their restrooms) inside were closed until Saturday. After being allowed access for a pit stop by staff setting up at Moraine Park, things went smoother. I think I had been hoping to experience that “snapshot” of my favorite version of nature and square this venture with so many positive trips in the past. While I love hiking and camping in the Black Hills and drinking in the majesty elsewhere, RMNP was my “above the treeline” go to for more than a decade. From an overnighter on a Scout trip to crossing the Divide on Trail Ridge Road under a full moon in my 20s to camping with my family on the first night of our “Colorado Loop Trip”. The present felt worthy of my past time there as we stopped to enjoy the view just before where the road was still closed for the season. Peaks I had been to, some nearly 20 years ago, had yet to shed their winter blankets of snow. Before leaving a couple hours later, we strolled to see the raging waters at the alluvial fan and found three moose in one location and another in a pond.
We avoided Bear Lake Road, probably the most popular area. Once past the entry station, crowds were not overwhelming. The park itself still conveyed the same grandeur that had brought me back year after year. There is great value in having accessible parks and natural areas. The effort necessary to achieve by their stewards may mean putting up with more people seeking the same experience at popular national parks again in 2022. Knowing nature firsthand can come anywhere you choose. Pick a place – then leave footprints and etch a memory or two.