Out West [Take 2!] - Day 3 {Rocky Mountain National Park}

The time change going west always makes it easier for us girls to get up for Alex's early plans. 😊 The little girls were in our bed by 5:44am local time asking for cartoons. Of course, Alex had already been up for over an hour, enjoying the sunrise and a cup of coffee. There were tons of elk meandering around the campgrounds.
We left the campground at 7:30 and drove into Rocky Mountain National Park, taking a shuttle to the trailheads. After hiking the short loop around Bear Lake, we began the climb to Dream Lake, passing by Nymph Lake on the way. We would have liked to make it all the way to Emerald Lake, but there was too much snow coverage beyond Dream Lake for us to tackle it in tennis shoes. Brielle had a little elevation sickness on the way up too and needed a lift on Dad's shoulders. When we stopped at Nymph Lake for a snack, Beilyn said, "Uh-hem, guys?!" I turned to see her nose bleeding down the front of her jacket. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to get it under control and since she gets nosebleeds often, it didn't even phase her.

They are always looking for opportunities to climb, especially Brielle.

Bear Lake

She plopped a piece of snow in her mouth before I could stop her, but she assured me it wasn't a dirty part. 😆 She would go out of her way to hike over the snow any chance she got.

Her most frequent request of the day, "Hey mom, take my picture!"

Face off between two tiny creatures.

Snack break at Nymph Lake

BellaMei napped on the way up. Bria napped on the way back down.

Just walking along and she sunk in to waist-deep. 😄

Dream Lake

Beilyn can get her daddy to do just about anything. You see her request to slide down with him and he doesn't even question her. 🥰

Once we made it back to the RV, we drove up the mountain reaching over 12,000 ft on Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuously-paved road in the country.

"I don't need nobody help me." "Oh, rocky thing!"

The views were spectacular!

Traveling during Covid-19 has felt pretty much the same- outside of wearing masks. We feel safe since we are still eating/sleeping/showering in our "own home."  We have also taken advantage of outdoor restaurants.  Here in Colorado, most everyone is wearing a mask, even many on the trails today. The main advantage of traveling during a pandemic- low crowds. 🙂 We've seen lots of signs like this...

This trip has already been well worth the drive out here!