Saturday, September 10, 2005 found my wife, Sharlene and I visiting her cousins Rick and Kathy, who happen to reside in the beautiful Colorado town of Firestone, about 20 or so miles northeast of the capital city of Denver.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the girls had a day of sightseeing and shopping, so Rick suggested that he and I hop into their awesome Ford F-250 truck, and take a little drive to Rocky Mountain National Park, where we could spot a few elk and some fantastic alpine scenery.  With me being the adventurous type, how could I resist an offer like that?

Left:  Dawn, in Firestone, Colorado.  Left:  The town of Estes Park has errected an interesting welcome sign, at the east end of town.  We're looking down into Estes Park and the valley of the Big Thompson River.

From Firestone, we headed west on U.S. Highway 36, and took a brief tour of the "People's Republic of Boulder," a.k.a. Boulder, Colorado, home of the University of Colorado, which is a very liberal, almost communist, college town.  It's the kind of place where a certain college professor received national publicity as he compared 9-1-1 victims to Nazi thugs, and where guys and girls alike sport Mohawk hawk haircuts, dyed in outrageous, non-natural colors, and have just about every part of their body pierced with something.  Anyway, from the "People's Republic," it's a short, scenic drive through the foothills and mountains, to the beautiful city of Estes Park, which borders Rocky Mountain National Park.

Left:  A sign commerates the Lawn Lake Flood, near Lawn Lake trailhead.  Right:  Looking up the Roaring River, at the new course, carved out of the mountain during the Lawn Lake flood.

Naturally, Estes Park is oriented toward the tourist industry, as it likes just outside the boundary of the park.  The weekend we visited, which was the weekend after Labor Day, there was a huge Scottish festival being held on a meadow, at the east end of town, near scenic Lake Estes.  We would have love to attended the event, as we were savoring the idea of having our kilts lifted by some fine Scottish ale, but the day called for other plans, to visit the spectacular, alpine scenery that Colorado is noted for.  At this point, U.S. Highway 36 becomes U.S. Highway 34, (figure that one out...) and at the Fall River Visitor Center, just a few miles west of Estes Park, Rocky Mountain Park is entered.  Just west of the visitor center there is a large meadow, where elk were spotted.  Rick, who is an avid elk hunter, explained to me that we'd probably see quite a few elk on this trip, especially as we climbed higher.  He also talked to me about his plans to go on his yearly elk hunt in October with some of his friends, a passion and a ritual for him.  Maybe I'll go with the guys in 2006...

Rick had decided that we would tour the Alpine Visitor Center, perched at the lofty altitude of 11,798 feet, which affords a spectacular view of some of the highest alpine scenery in North America, and I was good-to-go on that. However, due to the fact that Rick and I are both adventurous at heart, the scenic, although tame paved road wasn't an option for us; instead, we elected to take the Old Fall River Road, which is a well-maintained, yet spectacular dirt road.  Yes, it's dirt and I wouldn't recommend driving the road with a passenger car, but in good weather, you don't need a 4-wheeler to navigate the road as any vehicle, even the most sedate passenger car, can drive the road to the summit, at the Alpine Visitor Center.  This is not a four wheel drive trip, but it is a scenic adventure over a well-maintained dirt road, which features steep grades and countless views of spectacular, alpine scenery.

Left:  We take a breather and I snap a shot of Rick's awesome F-250, with the Horeshoe Park valley in the background.  Beautiful Chasim Falls.

Old Fall River Road begins at the Lawn Lake Trailhead, which is well marked by a typical white-on-brown National Park sign.  The road is two-lane and paved, all the way to the Endovalley Picnic area.  Before reaching the picnic area, you'll drive over small bridge, which crosses a small creek, in an area locally known as Alluvial Fan.  Just past the bridge, there's a good place to park, and I'd recommend that you stop, park you car and get out and take a look.  Look to your right, up the canyon, and you'll see the course of the creek, with many rocks of all sizes, some of which are as large as a small house. To your left, you'll notice that the stream has dug a path to the meadow. Hmmm, what's this picture about?  

On July 15, 1982, without warning, Lawn Lake Dam collapsed, after years of neglect, resulting in a devastating wall of water that roared down the river, destroying everything in its path.  Eventually the water reached the town of Estes Park, where extensive flooding resulted with millions of dollars in property damage, and a total of four lives lost.  The flood is marked with a sign, which commerates the event.

Just past Endovalley Picnic grounds, the pavement ends, the dirt begins and the road enters a canyon, and starts to climb.  Climb?  Yes it does, something like 3,000 feet in around 9 miles.  A sign advises that the road is steep, narrow, and features numerous switchbacks, and no vehicles over 25 feet in length are advised.  So Dad, leave your motorhome back at camp, and hop into your S.U.V. to make this trip.

Left:  Looking north across the valley at Sundance Mountain, elevation 12, 466 feet.  Right:  An extreme telephoto shot captures the biggest bull elk that Rick or I have ever seen.

After heading uphill several miles, the trail to Chasim Falls is reached.  You'll want to park, get out of your vehicle and take the short, 100-yard hike down to Chasim Falls, as it's a worthwhile sidetrip.  Chasim Falls is a spectacular, 50-foot high waterfall, where the creek flows over vertical rocks, and plunges vertically below, over the granite lip of the rocks.  It's beautiful, even in early September when running water in the Rockies is usually at a premium, but the falls are worth the short, 100-yard hike down the well-marked trail.  If nothing else, Chasim Falls allows you to park your vehicle, stretch your legs and enjoy a little-known, but spectacular waterfall.

After visiting Chasim Falls, we continued to drive westbound, or "up" the dirt road, stopping to view and photograph a herd of elk, enjoying a lunch of grass and small plants, at a beautiful alpine meadow.  Rick, who is an avid elk hunter, took special interest in one huge buck, that had a rack of antlers as big as Texas.  Being a hunter, he lamented that buck called the park his home, but commented that the buck had probably lived in the park for many years and had seldom, if ever, ventured out of the protected territory, hence is huge rack.  I wholeheartedly agree with Rick's assessment.

Left:  The hiking trail to Milner Pass, with the Never Summer Mountains in the background.  Right:  The trail through the tundra to Milner Pass.  On our visit, the temperature was 35 degrees with wind gusts over 80 miles per hour.  Now, that's cold!

Alpine Visitor Center, at elevation 11,798 feet,  is located at the crest of the Rocky Mountains, where the dirt road meets U.S. highway 34, naturally, a paved highway.  The view from the visitor center can only be described as spectacular, as you can see many miles in all directions, and you are almost, literally, on top of the world.  An interesting bit of trivia is that from the visitor center, if you look to the northwest, you can see a glacier that is where a fork of the Colorado River starts, and if you look to the south, you can see the Never Summer Mountains, where the mighty Rio Grande, or known in Mexico as the Rio Bravo begins it's 1,500 mile flow to the Gulf of Mexico.  On a clear day, you would be able to make out the skyscrapers of Denver, about 60 miles to the east, as the crow flies.

Both photos:  The Never Summer Mountains, looking south from the Alpine Visitor center.  As you can see, at the elevation of 11,796 feet, we're above the timberline.

On top of the mountain, it was cold; I saw a thermometer that read 35 degrees, and very, very windy, with gusts approaching 70 miles per hour.  I have never experienced wind like that before; it's difficult to stand straight up and almost impossible to walk facing the wind.  Combine a temperature of 35 degrees and high wind gusts, and it equals to a cold day in September.

Photos:  These alpine tundra plants are tiny, only a few centimeters high, but many years old, due to the short growing season and the harsh conditions.

Stepping into the Visitor Center will get you out of the cold, as the 65-degree warmth immediately helps you to recover from the effects of the bitter cold outside.  The visitor center features a interpretive center, depicting history, plant life, wild life, modern man's impact on the mountains, a small museum, a large gift shop and a restaurant.  The gift shop features just about anything that the tourist could wish for, with heavy emphasis on the Rocky Mountains, the local environment, and Southwestern Native American culture.  Of particular interest to me was the book section, specifically the section on cook books, where I could not resist purchasing a book on Colorado cooking and local cuisine.  The visitor center also features a glass-enclosed veranda, that is "semi-heated," but you're out of the wind and the weather, and it affords a commanding view to the east. Between the breathtaking view, and all of the interesting things to experience inside the Visitor Center, it's a place where you could spend nearly the whole afternoon.

Left:  Rick takes a photo of spectacular Gore Lakes Canyon and Arrowhead Lake.  Right:  Gore Lakes Canyon and Arrowhead Lake in the distance.

After I warmed up and looked around for a bit, I decided to brave the howling wind for a photo or two of the Never Summer Mountains, just to the south,  Never Summer is an appropriate name for these mountains, as they rise to well over 12,000 feet; well above the timberline, and sport many, permanent glaciers.  They're rocky, forbidding but starkly beautiful.  From the Visitor Center, I hiked over to the edge of the parking lot to the trailhead of the trail leading to Milner Pass, just to take in the rugged beauty.  Since the Visitor Center is well above the timberline, the vegetation consists of small, stunted alpine plants, most of which are only an inch or two tall, but are many years old.  I suppose that plants must do what they have to do to survive, as the growing season afforded to these plants can me measured in a few weeks, in contrast to plants which call lower elevations home, whose growing season lasts more than half of the year.  It's a rugged, stark, yet beautiful, alpine wonderland.

We left the Visitor Center and traveled east on U.S. Highway 34, in an area known as the Gore Range, which incidentally was not named after the famous loser of the 2000 U.S. Presidental election.  We stopped at the highest point on the road, marked with a sign, a small parking lot, and a surprisingly clean restroom.  The elevation at this point is 12, 183 feet, which is the highest elevation that I've ever driven to.  The wind was something else, as I could barely open the door of Rick's truck, as it was against the wind, and I had a hard time crawling out to take photos and savor the scenery.  However, closing the door of the truck was easy, too easy, as you had to be careful as the wind was pushing it shut and you had to do some fancy handwork to keep from having a hand or finger slammed into the door, as the wind was pushing against it.  Ouch!

Left:  Walking down the trail to the observation point at Rock Cut.  She takes my photo, I take hers, in true "street photography" fashion, practiced in the Rockies.   Lovers brace themselves against the wind at Rock Cut rest stop.

After braving the wind and taking a few photos, it was east on U.S.. 34, through Rock Cut, with a stop at Forest Canyon to take a few photos.  Then the stop at Rainbow Curve.  Yes, Rainbow Curve, the place that gives you a view that I can't even describe, it's so beautiful.  You're perched above the valley and you can look to the north and see Roaring River and the effects of the Lawn Lake Flood of July, 15, 1982, the alluvial fan, and all of the effects that the flood had on the valley.  You can also look to the east and follow the path of the Big Thompson River, as it flows into Estes Park, and you can even see a little bit of the town of Estes Park.  Truly a spectacular view!

Left:  The alluvial fan, which was formed after the Lawn Lake Flood, as seen from Rainbow Curve.  Right:  How could I not resist having my photo taken with this guy at the microbrewery in Estes Park?

After savoring the breath-taking view, Rick and I continued east on U.S. 34, until joining U.S. 36 at Deer Ridge Junction, and continuing east back to the town of Estes Park.  After a long, hard day in the mountains, it was time for a little R & R, and what better way than to savor the flavor of the Rockies with a beer, brewed on-site at a microbrewery?  Ahhh, savor the Rockies!

The Colorado Rockies are truly beautiful, I can't find any other words to describe their scenic, rocky splendor, but I hope the photos will convey their beauty to you.  When you're in Colorado and you're in the mood for some spectacular alpine scenery, a drive up Old Fall River Road is highly recommended.