Tracey:
Today we drove from the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park to the west side - it’s only about 45 miles, but the road is narrow, steep and slow (slow if you value your life since the road crosses the Rockies at 12,300 feet and in many places there are no guard rails and sheer drops only inches away). Since it is also Rt. 34 and not just a National Park road, there are trucks and buses up there and some of them were driving a hell of a lot faster than we were. They were also repaving the road in sections and it was pretty wild to watch those guys maneuver huge pieces of equipment along those edges.
The road’s highest stretch is far above the tree line and surrounded by tundra. We parked and hiked a couple of miles out, with views that could have easily been in Afghanistan or Nepal. Some of the lichen on the rocks is over a thousand years old and the entire landscape is very fragile in that it takes forever for the various plants to regenerate once they are damaged, so it was frustrating to see people going off the trail and roaming wherever they pleased, ignoring the many signs that specifically said not to. We heard lots of pica chirping (they’re rodents that are related to rabbits but look more like prairie dogs) but they were either so well hidden or camouflaged that we didn’t see any. Along various trails and overlooks there were places to stop and read about the terrain, wildlife, etc. Some included photos of the surrounding mountains, naming them and pointing out the various glaciers; what was absolutely clear at a glance was how quickly the glaciers are disappearing. In places where they were a primary feature of the landscape they now look like a patch of dirty snow. Sobering…
We crossed the Continental Divide and then down into Grand Lake which is, sorry to say, not too grand. It’s the largest natural lake in Colorado, but it‘s fairly small in size and the town is only about 4 blocks long (the “downtown” area stretches along Grand Avenue which was built back in the 1800’s - they made it 100’ wide so that the town could hold rodeos and other functions in the street, including bear roasts - or so says the commemorative plaque). This time tomorrow we may be ready to roast our own bear since the restaurants don’t look too exciting. One thing I do like about the town is all of the great log buildings - everything from the library to the public restrooms, to the banks and boathouses at the marina are made of gorgeous logs and river stone.
