We spent a quiet morning in the cabin reading and sitting on the deck enjoying a bit of sunshine. It warmed up for a while today. It actually hit 73 today. I took a nap early afternoon. Kinda becoming a habit for me again.
We went to another cabin to visit some old friends of Jims who used to live in Stillwater. We had a nice visit.
We had a pass to go on Bear Lake Rd so we entered Rocky Mountain National Park. We had to enter between 4 and 6. The timed entry thing helps stagger the crowds but sure makes one plan ahead as to what they want to do during the day. Passes aren’t available for the next two weeks although at 5:00 every afternoon they release some for the next day. Last night I got on-line at 5:05 to get a pass and the only thing left was at 4:00. I need to remember tomorrow night to get on at 5:00 to see if we can get something for Wednesday. We can get on Trail Ridge Road before 9:00 in the morning or after 6:00 in the evenings without a pass. I love driving on that road. It has some of the prettiest views in the state.
We drove up to Bear Lake. About half way up it starting sprinkling and then the rain came down hard. There was lots of lightening and thunder. We took a chance and drove all the way up to the lake even though the sign said the parking lot was full. There is a shuttle bus stop part way up that has a big parking lot we could have stopped at and taken the bus up. I’m glad we drove as there were plenty of parking spaces at the lake parking lot. People were coming out as it was raining.
We hiked around the lake in a gentle rain. Most of the crowd had cleared out so it was a nice, quiet hike around the lake. I love the smell in the mountains when it is raining.
We drove back down after our hike and drove out to Moraine Park. We saw three big elk bulls and a herd of momma elk with their babies. Saw several mule deer too. Drivers do stupid things when they spot wildlife though. It gets dangerous quick when people just stop in the middle of the road.
Came back to our cabin and fixed left overs for dinner. It is still foggy and wet outside and a bit chilly. I’m grateful the cabin has a heater. Warm sweatpants felt good after getting wet on our hike.
It is to rain again tomorrow so we may go to Boulder to go to the Rocky Mountain High store. The sunshine is to return later this week and it is to warm up some. We still haven’t seen a clean view of the far off mountains due to the haze over the mountains from the wildfires to the north and west of here.
My tummy has been good to me today. That makes two good days in a row. I trust it will continue playing nice.
I didn’t have any shortness of breath again today while we were hiking. That is good for me to have adjusted to the higher altitude this quickly. It usually takes me up to a week to adjust.
Grateful for a hike in the rain today, grateful for the wildlife we are seeing, and grateful for a warm cabin to relax in this evening.