Rocky Mountain wow!

©2012 Lydia Hinshaw

One small part of the endless scenery on Trail Ridge Road

The big "Z" is the road ahead of us

 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, CO -- I had often heard about the scenic drive through this park, but I'd never had the chance to be here when the road was open.

 Trail Ridge Road's openings and closures depend on snow conditions, and snow can fall at any time.  In fact, we had a few flurries in the campground Sunday evening.

 But the road was clear for Tuesday's recover-from-the-hike junket.  It was cold, but the scenery was gorgeous and as usual, not easily captured with a camera.

 We drove as far as the Alpine Visitor Center, just past the highest point on the road (12,183 feet.) We stopped frequently for photos and just plain scenery-gazing.

 With the cold wind, the thin air and the short hikes, we tired quickly and drove back to Estes Park for lunch.  We were surprised to see by our odometer that we'd driven only about 70 miles round trip.