Day Four: Rocky Mountain National Park
Today I woke up bright and early and was able to catch a bus out to Estes Park, Colorado where I began my journey into Rocky Mountain National Park! The rain moved out, the skies were the most brilliant blue and the air was crisp, but cool. I had been waiting for this moment all week.
The first stop of the day was at The Stanley Hotel. For those of you who may not be horror fans, this was the hotel that inspired the book “The Shining” by Stephen King. After a few moments standing outside, you can get a sense that this is not an ordinary hotel.
The lobby feels warm and inviting, but there is sort of a mysterious feeling to it. It definitely feels haunted, even though there is no recorded history of it. They have definitely leaned into its reputation. They host tours of the grounds and even have a nightly seance where you can talk to loved ones from the great beyond.
There was even a hedge maze outside.
I took some mandatory photos and quickly continued on my way to the highlight of my day, Rocky Mountain National Park.
I wil say, the park was absolutely beautiful and I think it wasn’t quite what I expected. I had always had visions of what this place would be, I imagined high peaks and alpine valleys - the truth is, the park sits in the high plains, which means you are already at a high elevation when you get there. The mountains sit on the horizon and even though they are 14,000 feet tall, they are only 8,000 feet tall from base to summit.
I don’t want to take away from the beauty of it, but it was just something surprising that I didn’t expect.
The cold weather had already moved into the park weeks prior, a cold snap triggered an early fall and most of the leaves from the aspen trees had already fallen.
There was quite a bit of wildlife - the elk were near the end of their annual rut season, so there were a few herds wandering about getting ready for their winter migration to lower altitudes. A lot of the other animals, like chipmunks, squirrels and pikas were getting ready for hibernation - cheeks stuffed with food for their winter stores.
There was a serenity to it. The transition from fall to winter had already begun and it allowed me to reflect on how my own life has been going through a transition.
All in all, it was a wonderful day.
