Rocky Mountain high, in all ways

July 17.  It was clear and cold, 40-some degrees. I felt quite at home except I did not have electric grips or gear. At least I now have a pair of chaps on this bike and I was wearing them, along with two shirts, a leather vest, a hoodie, my jacket, and my headband and helmet to keep my head and ears warm.

This little buck posed for me. 

The park is not too crowded at that time of the morning and we did spot elk but never the big bull I wanted to see. We meandered the entire day, and we hiked a couple of the trails.

Here we are, having hiked up to 12,183 feet. 

Yep, we climbed to the top, and even got back down ... no rolling allowed. 

Yep.  We climbed all of these steps ... all the way to the top.

That's not us, but those are the steps.

The scenery from the top was incredible and I'm glad we made these hikes.

The trails start high, but when hiking them put us over 12,000 feet in elevation. We did them, but I'm wondering why they don't have benches and oxygen bars for us people that live at sea level, and are old!!! The hikes were worth it, with spectacular views of the mountains and valleys that make this park famous. We saw elk,deer and whistle pigs (marmots), and even a little pika, which is kind of a smaller version of a marmot.

There were a lot of elk in this herd, but they kept moving away from us.

Mama, mama.  Wait for me.  I only have little short legs.

Laying right next to the road, this litle marmot was not interested in moving.  He was catching some warmth, I guess.

Yep, a little sun worshipper!

Surpisingly, I still had some air in my lungs to laugh.

Rock formations, snow, green tundra, flowers … we were at the top of the world and standing in the beauty of it all, maybe breathing heavily, but we were there and enjoying every second.

No matter where you turned, there was a photo opportunity.

The mountain tops abounded in flowers ... lavender, white, yellow.  They were all beautiful, but small due to the location, the wind, the nutrients in the ground. 

Mushroom rocks were at near the top of the other hike we'd taken this day.

I loved being on the top of the mountains, looking eye-to-eye at clouds in the distance.

Hallelujah!!!!  We got there and back!!!

The road is a combination of flat, twisties, spirals, great green pastures and breathtaking cliffs falling off on the side. You can only look for a second because remember, on a bike, you go where you look. I stayed toward the center of the lane so I could take those one-second memory bytes.

And yes, I was taking this from the motorcycle ... point and shoot my good Canon camera.  Worked quite well.

The roads we traveled today wound around the mountainsides and were such a pleasure to ride.

It was a lovely day and we got down to Estes Park. We wandered through town and out the other end, and found a historic church. We decided to turn around and then Hobbs took his own Rocky Mountain rodeo ride. He hit the turn around in a small parking lot a little hot, went up the side of a hill into the dirt, back down onto the pavement, up again although not highlining this time, back down, through some rocks … I knew he was going over. Somehow he manhandled that bike up, down, over, through, and finally after heartstopping seconds, came to a stop. OMG!!! I had just stopped and watched this wild ride, like a bucking horse and a cowboy glued to its back. It was more excitement than either of us needed as the heartpounding could have put both of us into cardiac arrest.

We finally got back to the church parking lot … what beautiful architecture. Churchs are a marvel in that respect.

Catholic churches are truly beautiful architecture.

My photo of the inside does not do justice.  It's a very simple church, but quite inviting.

The stained glass in this small church of rock was stunning.

Hobbs and the bikes made for the perfect photo of the statue on the hill.

Then we found a hotel, ate a dinner for champions … tuna sandwich, chocolate milk and Pringles for him; cheese, Pringles, apple and peanut butter for me. Yep. Tired, broke, and possibly having to hitch a ride home.

An absolutely beautiful, wonderful day, and a perfect end to the trip we've been on.