Lately, Mike has been itching to get up to the mountains to enjoy some snow activities. We moved to this beautiful winter wonderland and haven’t taken advantage of it yet! I finally obliged and we planned for a day to head to Rocky Mountain National Park – about an hour and a half to two-hour drive from our house.
We decided we would go on a short hike, so we filled up on camelbacks, grabbed some snacks, and packed the car up to head out on our way. With so much driving ahead of us, we wanted some entertainment for the road and figured that a Podcast would be perfect! Quite possibly the toughest decision of the day: a podcast we would both enjoy?! Seemed impossible. I am more of a light, random listener to podcasts that involve Bachelor/Bachelorette cast members, while Mike leans more toward Sci-Fi and serious ones. Somehow every podcast/audiobook he selects, I can NEVER stand the narrators voice!! He let me pick, and in an effort to make it a more enjoyable day, I thought something in the true crime family would be fun! Serial it was and needless to say: We. Are. Hooked.
We made the drive and pulled into the park, greeted by the most pleasant park ranger. Mike had selected a trail, so following the map we were on the hunt. Not far into the park comes the road closed sign. The area of the park that this trail was in was closed off for the season and completely snowed in. He was a little bummed that his plan was ruined but I assured him that we would find somewhere else to walk around. I certainly hadn’t anticipated the amount of snow that would be up there and had forgotten my snow boots. All I had were my tennis shoes, but I gladly agreed to wander around anyways.
We followed along the road that was open until we found a small parking lot with a snow play area full of families. We walked up the hill a way and enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us. A beautiful snow-covered ground, and a forest of trees around us. Picturesque clouds passed by with the breeze. It was peaceful and majestic.
The biggest bummer was that we didn’t have a sled with us. Everyone looked like they were having so much fun and Vegas Mike has never been sledding before!
After wandering around, we started to get chilly and decided we would continue driving through the park to see what else we might run into. Plenty of beautiful lookouts, and we even spotted some Elk!
After a long day, we decided it was time to head back toward home. Afterall, the Seahawks were playing in the wildcard game and we couldn’t miss the whole thing! Podcast back on, down the mountain we went. After much debate, we decided we had to stop for dinner as we hadn’t eaten much all day. We stopped in Lyons – a very cute and quaint little town and dined at the most delicious BBQ restaurant. Lucky for us, they had the Seahawks game on. 😊
A successful adventure is in the books, and we can’t wait for the next one!
Laugh Often – Rachel
Simply Stoops 