A fine night in the Rockies

© 2011 Lydia Hinshaw

Roadside elk at close range

Not a bad view for a $7 campsite

 SHERIDAN, WY --  Prince Charming and I rolled the dice on the weather and won Thursday night.  We had a chance to camp in Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park, CO.
 With the Prince's Geezer (Golden Age) Pass, the campsite cost $7.  It came with a great view but no electricity, no showers, no wi-fi, not even any running water within a quarter mile.    
 And it was at 7,500 feet, and this is early May.  Neighboring campers told us their drinking water, which they'd carried in, had been frozen Thursday morning.  Wednesday morning, there had been a light snow.
 Our decent luck this trip held out.  Nothing froze overnight.  We awoke to a lovely sunrise, and a herd of elk wandering through the campground.  There were hundreds of them, strolling elegantly across roads at their leisure.
 In Colorado, pedestrians always have the right of way.