Rocky Mountain National Park

For most of the summer of 2018 we were traveling at a rapid clip, staying only 3-4 days in most places, as we worked our way east to be in Pennsylvania in time for the Summerfest vegan conference held over the 4^th of July weekend. We planned our stays around National Parks and other places of interest to take advantage of our stops, and did our best to take in as much as we could in the time allotted. At the tail end of June we made our second visit to the Rocky Mountain National Park. We were here three years ago in July of 2015 for a short one-day visit, and agreed then we would return to see more of this gorgeous park.

This time around we set aside one full day to spend at the National Park, about 30-miles from the RV Park where we stayed in Loveland, Colorado. Driving into the park was going to take at least an hour, by the looks of the long line of cars waiting to get in, so we parked at the Visitors Center outside the main gate, and took off on foot. The day was sunny and warm, filled with blue skies, puffy white clouds, and gentle breezes. We took our time hiking up to a trail that led into the park, and across a beautiful meadow filled with brilliant wildflowers, colorful butterflies, chirping birds and busy bugs, interesting spiderwebs, and looming mountains with the last traces of winter snow still lingering. Surprisingly, we even came across cactus in bloom. Once again, I am reminded how lucky we are to have access to the wonder of our National Parks, and feel so fortunate that along the way this country made it a priority to preserve our natural environments.