This morning we got up and Garrett and I headed over to the playground so he could play while we waited for Tim and his mom to get ready. This is a really nice little playground for a motel and Garrett was really enjoying himself on all that they had to offer!!
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We have been monitoring whether we would be able to go on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. Before we arrived they had another winter storm and had closed the road. Keeping our fingers crossed that when we get to the welcome center they will have good news for us!! Our view this morning before we left the hotel and on our way to the park. Gosh aren't those mountains just beautiful!!
Rocky Mountain National Park!!
When I saw this sign my heart sank :( Trail Ridge Road Closed up ahead.
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Pulling into the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. Garrett was able to get his Junior Ranger Book and stamp our National Passport Book for the National Parks.
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Upon talking with the rangers they said it's still possible that the road could open so we are keeping our fingers crossed and heading out. Gosh look at that view. Isn't it just beautiful!!
We pulled over as we had found some snow. Garrett had a great time making snowballs and throwing them at us :)
Tim got a pretty decent shot of us in this picture standing in front. It was really muddy and there was a ton of water so trying to find a place to stand without getting your feet wet was interesting.
This little boy was afraid of the snow until Garrett gave him some of his. His father told us this was their first time ever seeing snow and how excited they were to see it. It really made my heart happy to see my little guy interacting with this other little boy and wanting to make sure that he was able to touch it and feel it just like Garrett. He even showed him how to throw a snowball at his dad which he loved. He has the biggest heart!!
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Tim telling us it was time to go. I'm sure we will find more snow the further up we go :)
We headed up the road and stopped at another scenic pullout. I'm not really sure what Garrett was trying to do with his fingers here, LOL.
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This little bird decided to come over and keep us company!! My goodness the view is just so beautiful!!
Then we had a chipmunk visit and another different bird.
I really think Linda was enjoying herself. She was taking lots of pictures!!
Is Garrett making you nervous in this picture.....don't worry there wasn't a drop off here, even though it looks like there was. I definitely would have never let him do this!!
Sassy loves riding anywhere we are!! I swear we could leave all the doors open and she still wouldn't get out of the car.
Back on the road again. Having fun making faces with each other!
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This area that we just left is where they were supposed to have the Trail Ridge Rd closed at. However, there weren't any gates closed, they were all open so hopefully that means they've opened the road and we can go up. Woohoo!! This park is so pretty!!
We are now heading into the tundra!
We were told that the sticks in the ground were to tell how much snowfall they had up here and to help the snowplows stay on course for plowing.
LOL, I don't think he was very happy with me making him get out to take his picture here ;)
We finally found some Elk. Look at all of them!!
Even in the Tundra, you still get flowers trying to grow.....
The scenery up here will literally and figuratively take your breath away......
Taking Sassy to the bathroom. It was cold up here and very windy!! Needless to say she did her business quickly.
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We got back on the road again. Thankfully there wasn't any snow or ice on the road as we were traveling.
One of the next stops where we could get out and hike and take a quick potty break.
Looks like we may be coming into some fog and another location to stop and look around.
According to this sign you can see Wyoming from this location. Pretty cool!!
It was cold, but it sure was beautiful!!
Coming up on the Continental Divide.
Another little friend came to see us....
Heading down the opposite side of the mountain. Still just as beautiful!!
Some deer we saw along the route.
Some Elk out in the field. This was when we stopped to look at the cabin that was built on the property. There was a whole ton of them not very far away from us.
I would never get this close to a wild animal, but this shows you how close some of these people were getting.
That's what zoom is for, LOL!! They sure are beautiful animals, who knew they had such a sense of humor :)
The cabin tour where Garrett got his Junior Ranger booklet signed for a ranger led tour.
The one thing we learned quickly is if you see a bunch of cars stopped you should probably stop too. So that is exactly what we did and we were given quite a show by some Moose. How awesome is that!! One animal we had never seen before and now we would finally see it. It was so darn exciting!!
See the little horns just starting to grow out. Man, I would love to see a full size male and his rack. That would be awesome too!!
Garrett was interested for about 5 seconds and then he became more interested in the sticks, LOL. Life with a boy :)
More cars stopped so you guessed it we stopped.....Tim just got the butt end of the Fox.
Then literally a mile up the road we saw another Moose. How lucky are we getting!!
We headed into the town of Grand Lake for a late lunch early dinner. We ate at Squeaky B's Restaurant and they allowed us to bring Sassy out on the patio to sit while we ate. That was awesome!! I highly recommend this place since they are so dog friendly. They even brought her a bowl of water.
After we were done eating we headed back the way we came in. Didn't take us long to find some Elk with some very large racks!! I didn't realize how fuzzy the racks were until you see them close up.
Then all of a sudden you hear the rustling of the branches and out walks this Moose behind these Elk. What?? I mean come on, how lucky can we get. I think Garrett may be the animal whisperer.
Our view on the way back was just as beautiful.
I'm not sure what the face was about, LOL.
On our way back through we actually saw people sledding.
The first time we came through the parking lot was packed and we couldn't stop. Now it's practically empty....
Just to give you an idea of what one of their plows looks like.
Avalanche area and someone made a snowman.....
Oh my goodness.....this man had to have been freezing!!
It's funny how quickly the landscaping can change.
More Elk as we were heading down. So much wildlife we saw today.
We got back to the motel around dusk time. We got our drinks, free popcorn and headed over to listen to Cowboy Bob sing some melodies to us. While we were listening Garrett was in the playground right next to us playing. What a perfect ending to a perfect day!!
