Our Memorial Day Weekend

Dave and I spent the long weekend camping in our R-Pod in Estes Park! The first day was spent dodging countless elk while driving around town, relearning how to set up the camper, and all around just soaking in the fact that we were back in our national park.

On Saturday Trail Ridge Road opened for the season! We spent the day leisurely making our way to Grand Lake, where we planned to have a picnic lunch. We watched the car’s temperature gauge drop into the 30’s near the Alpine Visitor Center, then rise back up into the 60’s the closer we got to town.

It was shocking driving through the west side of the park. We had seen some of the wildfire damage near Estes, but nothing could have prepared us for this. The landscape was absolutely devastated. Nothing was left in its path, not even signs of new growth.

Fortunately our usual spots were spared. The meadow was already growing back, and some of the trees still managed to survive despite their lower halves being burned.

On Sunday, things took an unexpected turn. That morning Trail Ridge Road was forced to close again due to weather at higher elevations – but little did we know that weather would drift over towards us. It was late afternoon, we were waiting to re-enter the park when we noticed a long line quickly exiting – all with snow piled up on the hoods of their cars. We thought they must have been caught in the storm higher up on the road, but as we got closer to the entrance, the rain turned to slush – then to snow!

We almost turned around, but decided to take the short drive over to Moraine Park. And I’m so glad we did because it was such a cool experience. The snowflakes were so large and fluffy. And it looked like the elk were just as surprised as we were. It only lasted about ten minutes, but it left behind a stunning landscape of low clouds and fog hanging over the mountains. What a way to end the weekend!