To the ROCKIES!!!!

Hearing about the I-70 washout and the detour took us by surprise.  We considered skipping the Rockies but decided to continue.  The detour took us nearly 3 hours and over the 9,500 feet Rabbit Ear pass.  It's amazing to think the only available detour route would take that long and bring us that high.  When we reached the peak we pulled off and let RV transmission take a break.  Little did we know, that was not the biggest climb of the day.  After completing the detour, and back on I-70 we passed the town of Silverthorn, CO.  We started a climb that brought us to the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel.  The tunnel sits at an elevation of 11,013 feet at the East Portal and 11,158 feet at the West Portal. 

The tunnel traverses through the Continental Divide.  When originally opened in the 1970s, the tunnel was not only the highest vehicular tunnel in the U.S, but at that time it was also the highest in the world.  Needless to say, the RV earned a gold star for the day.  Once over the Rockies, we passed Denver, went through Boulder, and on to Estes Park, and the Rocky Mountain National Park. 

When we finally arrived in Estes Park we quickly found our campground, Hermit Park open space, Bobcat Campground.  Now, if you go to Google maps, and look for Bobcat Campground it appears to be just off the main road.  Not so in reality.  Hermit Park open space is off the main road, but it has many campgrounds and Bobcat was set 3 miles into the woods up a twisty, winding, switchback dirt road.  It was not a bad campground, but the 3 mile, 10 mph drive, was rough on the camper.  We had a nice stay but we set out the next morning to find a campground that was closer to the National Park.  With a great deal of luck, we were able to get a site at Moraine Park Campground inside the National Park.  From there we were able to access the bus system and head to Bear Lake and Glacier Gorge.  We did two short hikes and visited with some animals.  Rachel worked on her Junior Ranger book and dipped her toes in Bear Lake, while the rest of us took pictures and enjoyed the pristine environment.

A note about the Rocky Mountains in 2021:  For some reason, this is the only park that made us reserve a time to enter the park, and restricted us to specific parts of the park.  They also shut down 40% or more of the camping capacity, so if you plan a trip make sure to check the restrictions.

When we finally started to explore the park we found amazing views of the mountains, crystal clear lakes, and wildlife.  It was a great deal of work to get to this park, but in the end, it was probably worth the extra effort.   -- Aaron