Rocky Mountain National Park

 

The highlight of today's ride from Laramie, WY to Longmont, CO was riding west to east through Rocky Mountain National Park, traveling over a narrow, twisting road with sheer drop-offs over the tops of mountains - while it was snowing!

But before we got to the park, we first rode west from Laramie on WY 230 through a wide, flat valley. Once again we wore our raingear, both to stay warm with temperatures in the low 50's and due to the threat of rain.

Within a few miles we entered Colorado, and the road name changed from WY 230 to CO 125 as we rode through national forests into North Park, the northernmost large, high altitude valley on the western side of the Front Range. 

As we left the valley we started climbing up Willow Creek Pass and crossed the Continental Divide - but not for the last time today. 

We dropped down into Middle Fork, another wide valley at about 8000' elevation,

and then turned east on US 40 and then on US 34 east, passing Lake Granby, a large reservoir created in 1950 and the third largest body of water in Colorado.

After a quick stop for gas and an energy bar, we continued on US 34 east into Rocky Mountain National Park. There is a timed entry requirement this year, and we were lucky to have entry between 9am and 11am. Entering the park at the western entrance means far less traffic and we didn't have to wait in long lines.

When we first started riding through the Kawuneeche Valley we spotted a couple of elk and then an eagle sitting high in a pine tree. 

Then we started climbing through the pine forests as the road twisted around the mountains. We stopped at an overlook while ascending Milner Pass at 10,759', and even though it was overcast and hazy, the snow-capped mountains are impressive.

We watched the temperature drop as we climbed, first in the low 40's and then as we rode past the treeline into the tundra, it started snowing and the temperature dropped to 34 degrees.

It was amazing and sort of terrifying at the same time as Mike navigated the twisting road which at times was wet - but thankfully not icy.

Iceberg Pass on Trail Ridge Road peaks at 12,183' and while the tundra at the top was swept bare of snow, we passed tall snowbanks in the forests on the way back down the mountain.

The ride down into the east side of the park was once again sweeping turns and hairpin twisties through pine forests until we rode down into the open valley.

We exited the park on US 36 on the east side into Estes Park, first settled by Whites in the 1860's but long home to Arapahoe. It's now a busy tourist destination into Rocky Mountain National Park. From Estes Park we rode on US 36 east through a red rocks canyon as we headed to Longmont, our stop for the night.

We rode 219 miles today through remote high altitude valleys, up and down over the Continental Divide, through snowy conditions on top of 12,000' passes, and finally into the busy Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Tomorrow we have a short ride to Lakewood, CO to visit our son and his girlfriend for the weekend before one last ride home.