A Visit To Rocky Mountain National Park

I drove up to Rocky Mountain Park yesterday afternoon for the first time in many years.  I was motivated, by the way, mainly by greed.  The Senior Pass, which allows anyone 62 or over free admission to any National Park for their lifetime - at a price of $10 - is going to increase to $80 on August 28th, and so I wanted to make sure I got it at the bargain price.  Granted, $80 is a bargain, too, and if that's what it takes to cut taxes for the rich, I am all for it (God bless them), but thought I would drive up and just pay the $10.  It took exactly an hour and forty-five minutes to get from my condo to the entrance gate, and once I was in, drove to Bear Lake, seen in the photograph on the left.  Bear Lake is one of the most popular spots in the park, and I realized I had never before walked around it.  Whenever I came up here with my ex-wife, or my sister Susan and brother-in-law George, we would take a look at it and then find a more challenging hike, since Bear Lake was a short, much too easy stroll.

After walking around Bear Lake (there were no bears there, by the way),  I drove downhill a short distance and began hiking the Glacier Gorge Trail.  In fact, the last time I was at Rocky Mountain National Park, my sister Susan and brother-in-law George and I hiked this trail.  I made it past Alberta Falls (seen in the photograph on the right) to the spot where we stopped the last time we hiked the trail.  It gets to be pretty tough going from there, and it was getting on toward 6:00 P.M.  Once the sun sets, I might very easily spot a bear - possibly a hungry one - and so I didn't want to be alone on the trail at dinnertime.  I headed back to my car and drove out of the park into the bumper-to-bumper traffic of Estes Park during tourist season.  Oh joy!  It was a very pleasant afternoon, however, and considering how close the park is, and the fact that it is now free for me, I definitely intend to return soon , bear or no bears.