December At Rocky Mountain National Park

Saturday afternoon I decided to drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time in quite a while. It is only one and a half hours away from Denver, and I have a senior lifetime pass, which means I have no excuse for not going more often. However, just like when you live near the ocean, after time you become complacent, knowing it will always be there, and so wind up never going. In any case, I am always impressed with the scenery along the way, which is non-stop gorgeous from just north of Boulder all the way through the park.

Since I started out in the late afternoon, I decided to skip doing a hike and simply drove up Trail Ridge Road, enjoying the rugged mountain scenery, until I reached the gate beyond which the road is closed for the winter. During the summer, Trail Ridge Road goes above treeline, across the Continental Divide, and then down the other side of the park to Grand Lake, Colorado. Of course, during the summer, there are millions of people, and their cars, all over the place, taking away a bit of the wilderness experience. It is much more mellow in December, let me tell you.

There is a parking lot where the road ends for the winter, and I decided to park there and walk back to the viewing platform, where I took all three of the photographs posted here. I am always tempted to take photographs of the scenery while I am driving, but considering all the switchbacks and impatient drivers behind me, it is a pretty difficult - not to mention dangerous - undertaking. And by the way, during the Trump Administration, the cost of entering the national parks has gone up quite a bit. It now costs $25 per car to enter the park, and yearly passes are $70. The senior lifetime pass currently costs $80, but thanks to a local newscast announcing the proposed price hike, I was able to get that pass a few years ago for half that amount. Just another of the many benefits of being a cheapskate.