Estes Park to Colorado Springs

After some fun at the Rocky Mountain National Park it was time to head to Colorado Springs. We were going to stay there until Friday with my friends Paul and Deb. I wanted to head to Colorado Springs via a mountain route, Mike was concerned that the PT Cruiser would guzzle too much gas and have problems on the steep roads. We agreed on a 160 mile route around Denver. Taking RT 36 to Lyons, then through Boulder, then 93 through Golden to 6 to 470 to I-25.



That's a lot of stuff

Hitting the road

The route looked good on the map but in actuality, most of these roads were jammed packed on this Sunday afternoon, especially 7 and 36. With the temperatures again in the upper 90’s sitting in traffic was very unpleasant. The fan on the 954RR was running constantly, the engine's temp readout displaying 216 degrees while sitting at every red light.




Riding 93



Near Golden, Colorado



I think this was 470



On I-25 with Castle Rock behind us

Finally on 470 we started moving as this was the highway that went around Denver. I-25 south was a bit busy also but not too bad. The 170 mile trip took over 4 hours. We skipped lunch so by the time we got to Colorado Springs we were ready for an early dinner. It was 7PM already.

We arrived at my friends house around 8PM. I stayed here one night in September of 2006 when my friend Sandy and I were riding back from Utah. back then this neighborhood was on the edge of town with nothing much around it. Now there were more houses in the distance, the sprawl was in full force here in Colorado Springs.



160 miles later we were in Colorado Springs

Rocky Mountain N. P. - Alberta Falls

The day started with fresh brewed lattes at the Estes Perk coffee located at our campground, the National Park Resort Campground. The coffee wasn’t all that great though, but it was a nice way to start the day. The overnight temps held in the low 50’s and it was still chilly as we tore down the campground. At the campground there was a small parking area at the bottom of the hill where we were told we could leave my bike for most of the day.



Starting out the day with latte at Estes Perk located at the National Park Resort Campground



Humming birds at the coffee shop



Our camp site at the National Park Resort Campground in Estes Park



National Park Resort Campground

Just like yesterday, today we were planning on doing some more hiking at the Rocky Mountain National Park. To get in to the park with our annual pass we had to enter the park either both in one car, or both on one motorcycle or each on our own bike. So my bike got parked for the day as we headed to the park in the rental car.

But we didn’t even drive as much as we though we would. The park was packed today and the trail head lots were already filled by 9:30AM. We parked the car at the Moraine visitor center and took the free shuttle to the Bear Lake trail head.



Free shuttle bus at Rocky Mountain National Park

We were going to do a slightly longer hike this morning, starting at Bear Lake hiking to Alberta Falls. The trail is just shy of a mile. I read on one of the websites that Rocky Mountain National Park is for hikers and no doubt, this trail is a popular trail and it was packed.



Hiking to Alberta Falls







A nice curve on Bear Lake Road, our trail went right past the road







Alberta Falls at 9,400 feet in elevation





We started out this hike with long pants and long sleeves but within an hour it had warmed up enough to take off one layer and to converts our pants in to shorts by detaching the pant legs. By the time we arrived at Alberta Falls located at 9,400 feet it was really warm. The Alberta Falls area was swarming with people, we continued hiking to Glacier Gorge Jct to catch the free shuttle bus back to the car. The hike was really fun, not too strenuous at all with very nice scenery.



Continuing on the trail to Glacier Gorge Jct to catch the free shuttle bus

After the shuttle bus dropped us off at the Moraine Visitor center we realized we still had some time so we hiked a short loop there, but the clouds were starting to build already and by the time we got back to the visitor center it was already drizzling. We left the park and arrived in Estes Park to get my bike. We needed to be in Colorado Springs between 7-8 PM tonight.

Rocky Mountain N. P. - Bear Lake

We arrived at the park late and didn’t have time for a long hike, so a short hike is all we could do. So we picked the Bear Lake trail, one of the shortest trails with the pretties views. The lakeshore trail at Bear Lake is the most-walked trail in Rocky Mountain National Park mostly because it's it's a short walk from Bear Lake Road and because it's an easy 0.5 mile trail that loops around a beautiful lake.



Bear Lake



Mama duck and baby ducks at Bear Lake



Bear Lake sits at 9,475 feet in elevation



Views of Bear Lake from the trail



Doing the short 0.5 mile hike around Bear Lake









Half way through the trail we decided to have dinner



We saw this guy on the side of Bear Lake Road

Rocky Mountain Weekend

At 9AM Mike left for Lakewood, just south of Denver. He was on his way to drop off the Tiger at the Foothills Triumph BMW. He called ahead and they said it was OK to drop it off early. And two blocks away from the dealer was Enterprise car rental. There was no other way to do this, Mike needed to rent a car while his bike was at the dealer. Even though we could ride two up on the 954RR, there was no way to bring all of our stuff.

A few hours later he came back to Fort Collins driving a blue PT Cruiser. He loaded all his stuff in to the car along with my tail bag and my GIVI top case. It didn’t look like so much stuff when on the bikes, but the back of the PT Cruiser was now full of stuff and the back seats were folded down.



Mike shooting pictures from the car on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park



38E and the Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins



38E

After a quick lunch we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park but when we got there we found out all the campsites were already full and they would not let us in with our annual pass if one of us was in a car and the other one was on a bike. The pass was only good if we were both on one bike or separate bikes, or if we were both in one car.



34 heading toward Estes Park



Tight curves on 34







The PT Cruiser is no match for the 954RR



Bye bye PT Cruiser



Approching Estes Park

At the gate they gave us a map of campsites in Estes Park and we got lucky at the fist one, there was a cancellation at the National Park campground just as Mike walked in to the office. The camp site was $30 per night but it was an electric site and the bathrooms and showers were really nice. It was also just outsite of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Everything was great except I could not ride my bike up to the our campsite. The road through the campground was a gravel road that had a bunch of switchbacks up the side of the mountain. Mike rode my bike up to our campsite, we set the tent up, parked the bike, got in to the PT Cruiser and headed back to the Rock Mountain National Park in the car together so we could use our annual pass to get in.



Twisty gravel road through National Park campground



Our campsite

After doing a short hike we drove up to the highest part of the road in the park to watch the sunset and check out the elk. We got back to the campsite at around 9PM and started a fire, but by 10PM we were ready for bed. Even though we were above 8,000 feet in elevation, it didn’t feel very cold tonight. The overnight temps were in the low 50’s.



34, also called the Trail Ridge Road, through Rocky Mountain National Park





I think this is the highest part of the Trail Ridge Road, it crests at 12,183 feet



This is where we turned around, the road was heading down from here





The sun set was amazing, these pictures don't do it justice





Elk hanging out on the road at the park, they are not scared of cars