Week 54: Traveling to Rocky Mountain National Park!
By way of Great Sand Dunes National Park! (With so many elk sightings!)
Hello, hello and welcome back to another update on our grand advanture! This was a BIG week as we made our way to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
Point A: Cimarron Campground, New Mexico
It all started out where we left off last week in Cimarron Campground in Carson National Forest, New Mexico, at point A on the map:
Monday we stayed cozy in the van since it was rainy and cold — and we even had a hailstorm! There was so much hail it looked like snow. Here was my view out the window:
The next day things were back to normal, so we went for a little hike to get some pictures of the wildflowers that were blooming, including this prairie pasque flower. I was super excited since it was my first time seeing one.
They’re so delicate looking, but they survived the hailstorm just fine!
There were also huge colonies of wild irises blooming that looked like a blue haze from a distance:
Tuesday we hiked out to Shuree Pond for one last sunset — this amazing view was only a half mile from camp so we tried to get there every evening:
It was hard to say goodbye to Cimarron — we’ll be back someday for sure!
Point B: Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
Wednesday morning we got up bright and early and headed to Great Sand Dunes National Park, which have the tallest dunes in North America.
This time of year thunderstorms are common in the afternoon — and it was looking like we might be in for one right when we arrived at the park — just look at that sky!
We wanted to hike up to High Dune on First Ridge, but we only made it about a third of the way before we turned around because the wind got bad and made a sand storm — the stinging sand really hurt! I even got sand in my ears, ha!
We got rained on several times, always keeping an eye on the sky for lighting because you really don’t want to be out there with lightning. It was really hard hiking, being at around 8,000 feet elevation and climbing up the shifting sands with the wind taking it to another level!
I did get a few pictures from the dunefield of this otherworldly landscape, but it was super hard to capture the scale.
Here’s some more photos on our way back down:
Of course the sun came out after we made it out of the dunefield!
After we got back to the van I dumped out the sand from my shoes — it felt like there was a gallon in there, ha!
That evening the weather cleared up and we had to go for a little hike to an overlook to watch the sunset. It was so pretty and peaceful as the hermit thrushes sang good night:
The next morning dawned bright and clear — because of course it did. Just look at that blue sky!
Gonna have to come back here again when we can stay longer — and finally get to hike up to the top of those dunes!
Point C: Lakeview Campground, Colorado
Thursday we made the long drive to Lakeview Campground, just outside of Leadville, Colorado. It was storming when we pulled into camp, but then the sun made a welcome appearance, yay! Here was our view from camp:
Once again the next morning dawned bright and clear, so we stopped by the picnic area to take in the view — and what a view it was!
It was finally feeling like we were in the Rocky Mountains! (Jason points out the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo ranges in New Mexico are considered the southern Rockies, but they’re just not the “real” Rockies to me.)
Point D: Frisco and Estes Park, Colorado
Friday was what I call a long-a** day, with a 4 hour drive! Here’s what we did:
Drove to Frisco, Colorado and stopped at the Whole Foods to get packages at the Amazon counter and groceries, including some vegan goodies that we can’t find anywhere else plus some sourdough bread, yum! There was a sign in the store saying it was the highest elevation Whole Foods, cool!
Stopped at a Safeway to pick up even more groceries.
Next up we stopped at a NAPA Auto Parts store to pick up an ABS wheel speed sensor — more on that later.
Then we got Chipotle — first time in months!
Then it was on to Estes Park where we stopped at a UPS pickup location to get another package and did laundry — with the town elk!
When you see elk out in the wild you can tell they’re bigger than deer — but seeing them in town really drove home how big they really are!
Note: all of these photos were taken from a safe distance/zoomed in. Do not get to close to elk, y’all!
And there were BABIES! Here’s a super zoomed in photo so you can see the cuteness!
Point E: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
We’re currently staying at the Glacier Bay Campground at Rocky Mountain National Park — I’m beyond excited to be here! I’ve wanted to come here forever. We’re staying the full week here — the park has a one week limit during summer — and I can already tell it’s not going to be nearly enough time.
We lucked out and got a spot right at the end of a loop with a view, right next to a meadow. What a view!
We’ve been lucky enough to see elk several times casually strolling through the meadow — here’s a zoomed in photo of one of them on Sunday:
Here’s our camp view in the other direction:
Saturday we had a camp day and I got to play with some pens and ink that I got earlier in the week — so fun! Here’s an Instagram video if you’d like to check ‘em out! I have them in my daypack and can’t wait to take them hiking.
Since this post is getting so long I’ll leave you with a photo from when we were out and about in the park and do a more in-depth post next week. I think of this as the “classic” Rockies view:
Whoa! Just whoa! And yes, that’s SNOW! (And yes we may have had a snowball fight while we were out on a hike, ha!)
Future Plans
We’re here at Rocky thru Friday — cannot wait to hike around Bear Lake and beyond. Annnnd I’m happy to report that we were able to book reservations at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming for two whole weeks! WOO HOO!!! Thanks to everyone who sent good luck our way!
That’s a wrap for this week! As always, thanks so much for following along on our journey — it’s so awesome to have you along for the ride! — Lisa, Jason, and Walter-the-Van
I remember feeling a little frustrated at Great Sand Dunes because all the people and their tracks in the sand made it hard to get pictures of the dunes in a natural state. You got a picture of the dunes with dramatic clouds (and inevitably with some climbers).
Yay for getting so much time in Yellowstone!!! Hopefully you're able to stay in different areas. It's such a huge park!
Thanks so much for sharing! I can't wait for the next update (and all of the sneak peeks on IG)! Take care and have fun!