Rocky Mountain NP: Bierstadt Lake

In late August 2018, a long-time friend of Jerry’s, Pete, and his wife Cathy came to visit us in Estes Park from the DC area. Pete and Jerry had visited the Estes area 40+ years earlier, so it was a bit of a nostalgic visit for them both. We were so grateful to have so many dear friends and family visit during our time in Estes Park…hopefully sharing our experiences there ensures those visits will continue during our 2019 stay as well! 🙂

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Rocky Mountain NP: Sky Pond

Yes, folks, another post about Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), one of the most spectacular parks in our very spectacular National Park System. This time I have a story about a hike that started out mild and ended up wild! As usual, this hike took place a couple of weeks ago, on August 9th. We thought some of the summer crowds might be dissipated due to school starting in some areas of the country, so we headed off to the most popular trailhead in the park, Bear Lake, where you can access no less than 10 magnificent hikes. Warning: This is a long post with tons of pics. 🙂

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Rocky Mountain NP: Nymph, Dream, & Emerald Lakes

Today, since it was Monday, we decided to brave Bear Lake and hike to the trifecta of popular Rocky Mountain lakes, Nymph, Dream, and Emerald. I say ‘brave’ because the “season” has definitely begun here in Estes Park. Locals say that the lines going into the park in summer can be miles long. This morning, fortunately, that was not the case. Bear Lake is the most popular area to saunter around Bear Lake or begin many other hikes, and the parking area there is generally closed to traffic by 8:30 or 9 on a summer day. You can still go there, but you must park at the Park and Ride, and catch a shuttle to the Bear Lake trailhead. Well, we found exactly that situation before 9 AM on a Monday. Hmmm. So that is what we did.

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