2008 4th of July trip to Rocky Mountain National Park

Day 2: After spending the night with one of our friends, four of us make a run to the grocery store for some camping supplies. We then head up to Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Moraine Park campground in the park. Denver is surprisingly close to the park--only about an hour and a half away. The only traffic we really encounter is in Estes Park, and we stop at the Visitor Center to find out which way we need to go. For some reason, a lot of people were stopping at the sign for Estes Park to take pictures. Perhaps that reason is the gorgeous view, or maybe they think that Estes Park is actually in Rocky Mountain National Park (its not).

We head into the park (a $20/week entrance fee) and up to the campground. After setting up camp, we relax for a while, then decide to take a hike. There are shuttle buses that take you to different trails, so we get on a shuttle bus, and head to the Bear Lake/Alberta Falls area. The Bear Lake trail is just a loop around the lake, so we hike about a half mile or so up to Alberta Falls. There is a gorgeous waterfall, and we take pictures and hike back down. Despite the sunlight, its about time to sit around the campfire to roast hot dogs and make s'mores.