Elk Are Calling

Day 3 - October 1

After a yummy breakfast in the restaurant at The Terrace Inn, we packed up and headed out of Grand Lake. We had heard from another couple at breakfast that the Grand Lake Lodge was having a big sale on most of their seasonal items because they close for the season the next day. 

We decided to start there to check out the sales. Since we only looked at the Lodge from the outside, we welcomed the opportunity to check out the inside. It was very rustic, yet charming inside. We looked around and saw many interesting items for sale, but decided the sale items weren't really needed at this time. We took time to take in the view of the lake one more time. This time, we were able to locate our bed and breakfast in town. 

We reentered the Park and drove Trail Ridge Road again. Trail Ridge Road is the highest paved through road in the Western Hemisphere. The pavement had all been recently resurfaced, presumably to prepare for the centennial celebration year. It was very nice to drive. However, it still had its fair share of hairpin turns and tight switchbacks, creating some, "Clllliiiffff!" moments!

We drove up to Milner's Pass, except this time, instead of turning around and going back, we continued over the mountain towards the east side. We finally reached Alpine Visitor Center, which is the fourth highest point in Rocky Mountain National Park at 11,796 feet. 

We got out and quickly put on our jackets, mostly due to the wind chill. We went inside and looked around in the bookstore. Heading out the back, we went to the viewing area. The scene was very beautiful, looking down into a valley area. There were lots of different earthtone colors along with a snow-filled, carved out space. The snow was leftover from last year. We also saw a yellow-bellied marmot about 8-10 feet away, sitting on the rocky soil. It was very content, soaking in the sun's rays.

From this vantage point, we could see some very, tiny cars far off in the distance on a winding road. They were actually driving up the Old Fall River Road which was the first way over the mountain in the early days. It was really neat to watch them wind in and out of the tree line. Next, we went inside the large gift shop and snack bar. We did a little shopping and then stood in lines to use the restrooms. We watched people walk up a steep trail to the very top of this area, but we passed.

We continued driving Trail Ridge Road, viewing many of the sights along the way. Towards the end of the drive, we went to Sheeps Lake and saw elk (1 bull and 5-6 cows). A black-beak magpie walked right up to us and posed for a picture. We continued on to the Fall River Visitor Center and checked out the exhibits. It was in a commercial shopping center so we decided the restaurant on the other end would be a good place for lunch. 

After lunch, we drove back towards Sheeps Lake and saw the same elk (1 bull and 5-6 cows) still resting in the same spot as we had seen them before. They acted like they weren't even aware there were people out of their cars, taking their pictures. 

Next, we decided to drive the Old Fall River Road since we were there celebrating the first hundred years of the Park. We wanted to see what the old Model-T cars had to drive on if they wished to cross over the mountain. Old Fall River Road is a one way dirt road, winding in and out of the trees. It has lots of switchbacks, several of which are very tight and require backing up to make the turn. It also had many ruts and holes throughout, making it very scary as Dean tried to avoid them. We did enjoy the fall colors on this drive, in between the scary moments. 

We stopped at Chasm Falls. It was so calming and refreshing. Robin walked all the way down the path to be able to see all of the different angles of the falls. Dean watched and listened from the top of the falls. It started to sprinkle so we cut the viewing short. 

As we got closer to the top, we spied a bull and several cows along the roadside in the trees. Finally, the Alpine Visitor Center came into view. We were almost to the top. We had a few more scary switchbacks to go, but we finally made it.

We drove through the Alpine Visitor Center and then back down Trail Ridge Road, stopping at a few different locations to view the sights.

We went back to the meadow around Sheeps Lake. As we were driving, 3 elk cows crossed the road in front of us, 1 was quick enough to cross before we could take the picture.

 As we drove around the curve, we saw a huge herd of 21 elk cows in the meadow. A bull was walking away from the road. There were cars lining both sides of the road with everyone out of their cars snapping photos. There were no places to park so Dean dropped Robin and the camera off while he went to find a parking spot. The scene was very docile so people started getting back in their cars and leaving. Robin spied something moving in the bushes way down at the end of the field. She started to walk down there, still staying on the road, of course. There was an elk cow hiding in the bushes. Some of the other elk cows starting walking down towards that end of the field. Suddenly, a huge 12 point bull came rushing out of some of the bushes mid-field. He was trying to round his harem back up and move them back to where he could see them all. As he came closer to the hiding elk cow, he looked up and made eye contact with Robin who was taking photos and had just started to video him. He started to walk away and then turned and charged in Robin's direction. Dean had just gotten to Robin and pulled her to the other side of the road so maybe they could get a car between them and the bull. Fortunately, the bull stopped his charge and never got to the road. Others were just starting to move down the road to where Robin had been standing. They, too, ran for safety. Once the bull rounded his harem back to the middle of the field, he just hung around. Of course, there was lots and lots of bugling going on during this time. However, we didn't stick around much longer. 

We walked further down the road to the small, grassy meadow directly next to Sheeps Lake. There we saw the bull and his his 5-6 cows that we had watched throughout the day, now grazing near the water. They had walked across the road from where they had been relaxing all day.

We headed back towards town, but not before seeing 2 bulls hanging out by themselves right off the large meadow. We wondered if they had lost their harems to the big, charging bull with the harem of 21 elk cows. 

As we drove closer to town, we spied a mule ear deer. It was just posing for pictures.

We saw quite a few cars at the Beaver Meadow Visitor Center. Since it was after hours, we were pretty sure it had to be an animal sighting. There were several elk cows running, followed by a bugling bull chasing behind.

Cars started to leave and headed into an employee housing area just down the road.  There were elk everywhere. We watched one 12 point bull chased a younger bull out of the area. The younger bull just hid behind another house, out of the sight of the big bull. The 2 bulls bugled back and forth for quite some time. Around back, there was another whole herd. In front of another house was another herd. This herd had another 12 point bull doing a lot of bugling. As we watched him, 2 of his harem jumped the log fence behind them. After quite a few bugles, he decided it was his turn. However, it didn't take much jump to step over the fence.

We continued driving through Estes Park until we located our hotel, Discovery Lodge. We checked in and drove to our room. It was not from a cookie-cutter mold, but rather unique to the area. Since the hotel advertised no air conditioning, we had some concerns prior to our arrival. However, the temperature was no a problem at all.

Next, we went to Dave's BBQ, which we had seen driving into town. It was 8:00 at night and the wait time was over 75 minutes. We went to the bar area to wait and found out we could be served dinner there. Our meal was was very good. Dean did have quite the conversation with a woman who sat next to us. She and her husband had eaten at the Stanley Hotel, but had stopped in for a night cap. Obviously, she didn't need anything more from the repetitious conversation. Fortunately, we were almost finished with dinner, so we didn't stick around very long.

After dinner, we bent back to the lodge and called it a night. It had been a day of bugling, lots of animals, unexpected close encounter, beautiful scenery, waterfalls, and a scary drive on a one-way dirt road with lots of pot holes. All of our emotions had been used and we were ready for bed!