Denise Goldberg's blog

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Colorado, soon...

I can count the days before we leave on one paw. That means it's time to start writing about our upcoming wander in Rocky Mountain National Park. Denise visited there once before, in 2001, but this is a first visit for me. Oh! Denise just told me that she thinks it will feel like visiting a new place for her too...

It's fun to see new places, isn't it?

My friend Gromit wrote to me about the restrictions on the road to Bear Lake. I wonder if we'll follow that under construction road or if we will find other places to wander. The delays sound pretty bad, and I know that Denise won't be happy with a long wait.

Here are two warnings from the Rocky Mountain National Park web page:

Shuttle Riders Please Be Advised: Bear Lake Route shuttles heading both to and from Moraine Park Visitor Center and Bear Lake are experiencing significant delays of more than 2 hours in transit times in addition to wait times at the shuttle stops. Demand can exceed the capacity of the buses which increases wait times even longer.

If you plan to board the shuttles, please be prepared with water and snacks and expect a lengthy trip.


Private vehicles will be allowed both directions prior to 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m. Visitors in private vehicles, who make the 9:00 a.m. cutoff time, will be allowed to travel eastbound throughout the day. All visitors, in private vehicles or shuttle buses, should expect at least two 20-minute delays both west and eastbound through the construction area.

We're going to stop at a visitor center first thing. Denise didn't buy any maps or books (yet) - she's been reading web sites to get information. A chat with the rangers will be a good start for us.

Did you know that the Teton range is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains? And that the Rocky Mountains stretch from British Columbia to New Mexico? That's a really long way, more than 3000 miles (4828 kilometers). I guess that means we're only going to be touching a very small piece of these mountains. A small piece is good though; it's supposed to be beautiful!

--- Rover
Rover at Grand Teton National Park