Grand Lake Camping June 2015

Camping and seeing new-to-us places in Colorado is some of our favorite summer-ing to do. We camped in Grand Lake, CO June 18-20th. Our first evening was spent walking around the town of Grand Lake. The lake was bustling with people out in kayaks, paddle boats, and motor boats. We were tempted to rent kayaks because the lake was so inviting. We chose to eat some ice cream and sit looking out over the lake instead. There was a bridge we could see that crossed over where Grand Lake connected with Shadow Mountain Lake and we went out driving to find where to cross the bridge. Some times it's more fun to drive around and not pull out that GPS to figure out where to go.

Finding the bridge was a success and we drove over to the other side of the lake. After crossing to the other side of the lake, we stumbled upon a parking area for a hiking trail head. It looked like the trail climbed up and had views looking out over both lakes. We had a relaxing short hike and enjoyed the views of the lake and watching people boating. 

That night the sky was clear and it was a new moon so there was an abundance of stars. We decided to take the top covering off our tent, anticipating it wouldn't rain, and thought it'd be glorious to fall asleep looking at the stars. We climbed into the tent ready for bed and as we laid down and looked up we had a different sight then we expected. Blurry skies! Neither of us thought about how when we took our contacts out for the night and looked up that we wouldn't be able to see anything. Hmm, so much for smart forward thinking. It was quite chilly already being in the low 50s and neither of us wanted to get out in the cold to put the cover on, in case we anticipated wrong and it did rain, so we went to sleep with the cover off. Thankfully, morning came and we woke up noticing it hadn't rained.

Friday morning we woke up excited to drive Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park **RMNP**. We drove it last summer and remembered how spectacular the views were and how it felt to be on the mountains above where even the trees grow. Trail Ridge Road is only open from Memorial Day til October because rest of the year it is covered in snow. 

I was hoping to see some marmots along our drive, and we saw a few of the little guys! The marmots in the Rocky Mountains live in the alpine tundra which is the mountainous region that doesn't haven't trees because of the high altitude. It is too cold and windy at these elevations to support tree growth. 

Some other mountain wildlife we saw while driving Trail Ridge Road were elk on the mountain ridges. Elk often like to graze above the treeline during the summer. 

This was familiar territory to us being in RMNP as we have visited other times. Friday was a day of relaxing and enjoying mountain views. A relaxing hike around Sprague lake. Enjoying the sound of a rushing river we found off a side trail into the woods. We found the side trail because a bride in her wedding dress was standing near it getting ready to be married in a small ceremony down by the river.

The lake picnic area was a perfect place for us to enjoy our lunch. Once we got into Estes Park, we saw a group of elk in town and there were a handful of calves.

Caleb's brother Nathan met up with us in Estes Park, and we drove Trail Ridge Road back over to our campground in Grand Lake, CO. This was Nathan's first time on Trail Ridge Road and he appreciated the grandeur of the mountains on the drive. Caleb & I had seen some moose the night before and that morning driving over so we kept our eyes open to spot one for Nathan to see as well. 

Our patience and looking paid off with Nathan. We saw a Mama Moose and her baby! Although these two were easy to spot right off the side of the road. Other cars were pulled over so we knew right where to look.

Saturday we drove Trail Ridge Road back over to the east side of RMNP again (no it doesn't get old!), and we hiked up past Bear Lake seeing Nymph Lake and Dream Lake on the way to see Emerald Lake at 10,110 feet elevation. 

Caleb & Nathan posed for a picture at Emerald Lake while enjoying the fresh mountain air.

We stopped to take a picture at Dream Lake because we thought it was even prettier than Emerald Lake. We love spending time with Nathan, Krista, Daniel, and Gabriella with all of us living in Colorado. So thankful for family who are great friends too and love outdoor adventuring as well!