Dave here - what a great day. The temperatures have been milder at night and much hotter during the day. Up early - Lisa had gruel while I finished the last of Kay Brigg's emergency granola rations. If we were true pioneers, we would have to resort to eating our shoes and belts now but we had tacos and nachos for dinner instead. After breakfast we decided to drive to the top of a mountain whose name we never did learn inspite of it being very popular. We were advised to try the adventurous route up the Old Fall River Road, a dirt and gravel road, lots of dust, switchbacks and sheer drop offs. This road crosses the alluvial fan, which resulted from the 1988 dam break and flood which took the lives of three campers as it swet through the valley from high in the mountains all the way through Estes Park. The dam broke sometime before dawn and a garbage truck driver heard the approaching maelstrom and managed to get a warning out which saved many lives although there was heavy property loss. Campers abandoned their vehicles and equipment and fled to the higher grounds and saved their lives. Thank God it was a one way road because two cars will never have been able to pass side to side. It was nine miles long and took just about an hour but it was well worth it due to the spectacular scenery. We arrived at the top of nameless mountain, Dave had lunch while Lisa went shopping at the visitors center. The new visitors center was under construction and had an enormous log crib covering the roof. The wind was strong and unceasing and I speculated that the crib was to hold the roof on. After about an hour on top, we began the descent along the more popular two-way Trail Ridge Road. We made frequent stops for photos and to study the terrain.
Ron, Lisa's brother-in-law, had earlier sent an email telling us about George and Beth Carle, parents of one of his friends from Camden, who now reside in Estes Park. They operate the Rocky Mountain Gateway, a gift shop/restaurant at the north entrance of the park - near the Fall River Visitor's Center. We went there and visited with Mr. Carle for a while. His wife was in town shopping. As we were leaving his gave us two very nice tote bags with the Rocky Mountain National Park logo on them. What a small world.
Since this may be our last change to see elk, our goal was for Lisa to get some good photographs. A ranger had advised us on the best place to go and his advice was right-on. After dinner we drove to Moraine Park where we immediately spotted a bull elk 50 feet of the road in some trees. He was spectacular. He bugled and posed for photos for about 20 minutes before he crossed the road and was out of sight. We drove further into the park and noticed a large number of cars parked alongside the road watching a herd of about 40 cow elk and 1 very large bull. We joined the crowd and took up our spots for the viewing. When we arrived 2 smaller bulls were walking away from the herd apparently having been driven off by the larger bull. He was attentive to his harem when a few of the females would graze away from the herd he would shepherd them back aggressively. We watched this ritual for about an hour when he decided to mate with one of the cows. As he was accomplishing this another bull, who had been waiting nearby, closed onto the herd. The larger bull drove off the contender several times but in doing so, the female herd split into two groups. The larger bull bellowed mightily several times. It was so strange that a high pitched whistle would come from such a large manly animal. The younger bull immediately took advantage of the split herd and quickly mated with one of the females in the smaller herd. Lisa got great photos and most of it on video, R rated. Storm clouds were closing in and we decided to leave the mountain in order to get our campsite in order.
We had rough weather twice today - very strong winds in which we had to anchor the tent to a large table once and get it securely mated to our car for the night the second time. The night is quite clear and calm right now. Jupiter is wonderfully visible even though the gibbous moon is quite bright, almost obliterating the stars.
That's all for now. Will send more photos tomorrow as it isn't letting me upload anymore today.
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