We drove over Trail Ridge Road in the park today. It is the countries highest continuous paved road. It is 48 miles from Grand Lake to Estes Park. The road rises 4000 feet and has 11 miles above tree line. It goes over the Continental divide at Milner pass. The highest point on the road is over 12,000 feet. There are views of rugged peaks and steep 1-2,000 foot drop offs into the valleys below. The views are spectacular.
This is one of the views from Trail Ridge Road. There is a big herd of elk in the meadow. Old men of the mountain are these yellow sunflowers in the tundra. They always face toward the sun. They are only one of many alpine flowers in bloom right now.
Longs Peak is the highest peak in the park. It is 14, 259 feet high. We went to Denver so I could get a cat scan of my sinus’s in the continuing saga of my respiratory problems, then stocked up on food and headed back up over the continental divide at Berthoud Pass. The Continental Divide Trail goes along the crest of the Rocky mountains from Canada to Mexico and goes over this pass. There used to be a nice, very steep ski area at Berthoud years ago, but it is gone now.
This grave is on the pass too. Chauncey Thomas-sage of the Rockies. At the bottom is says ‘A mountain man sleeps here alone.’ This is the forecast for Grand Lake tonight through tomorrow night. Snow?? It is mid July. It can snow any month of the year here in the Rockies.
We had rain and then this huge rainbow this evening.
John caught the rainbow in his hat, and I tried to climb it.
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