A visit to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) is never complete without a trip up the Trail Ridge Road (TRR). That said, in winter, the road is often closed because of the accumulated snow – alas! Today, Susan and I made the TRR pilgrimage. We gathered our stuff, a couple of canned soft drinks, two bags of chips, and a sandwich for the visit.
We entered the park at the Beaver Meadows entrance. Entry to the park the last couple of years has been timed. You have to obtain an online pass in advance to present at the entrance. The queue of cars was about 20 deep, but it moved efficiently.
The entrance looked like this:
We drove into the park and eventually arrived at the entrance to TRR having gained several thousand feet of elevation. We took pictures of the mountains and the meadows below, and we ate our sandwich, chips, and drinks.
We had a practical demonstration of Boyle’s Law, which you will recall from high school physics, says that the product of Pressure and Volume of a confined gas is a constant. So, when you gain altitude, gasses expand as atmospheric pressure decreases. This can have certain unpleasant effects on the digestive system, and it can turn an innocent, unopened bag of Cheetos into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
Susan sat on the edge of the overlook and took pictures. I took pictures of her and of some ground squirrels that were probably carriers of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I didn’t interview them; so, I can’t be certain.
We drove past packs of ice along TRR that were three or four feet high; in past years we have driven through packed ice and snow six or more feet high on either side of the road. We got to the Alpine Visitor’s Center which is undergoing some renovation, and made a pit stop to deal with the intestinal consequences of Boyle’s Law. Later, on our return to Estes Park, we stopped at an overlook that featured the Gore Range and Never Summer Mountains. These peaks are named after cloud formations – Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus, and Nimbus. I think that these peaks are the Purple Mountains Majesty group that the song celebrates.
As we were about to leave this overlook, Susan noticed a couple of Elk on the other side of the road. They were just chilling
It was a worthwhile pilgrimage.
What beautiful scenery!