A Sky The Size of Forever In The Rocky Mountains

When it comes to big-time national parks, it doesn’t get much more iconic than Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. I mean, really, these mountains are featured on Coors Light cans. That’s big. This park really is just larger-than-life and overwhelming in the best way, with some of the mightiest mountains in the country. So it’s no wonder why Rocky Mountain is not only one of the most visited parks in America, with more than 4 million annual visitors, but also a symbol of the national park service in and of itself. And in addition to the mountains themselves, this amazing Colorado park also features many other incredible sites, from some of the most pristine lakes and rivers to hotels both haunted and dreamy. After all, this is the kind of place that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. And any park influential enough to inspire Stephen King and Coors Light is sure to be memorable, to say the least. 

We'll recount our visit, plus welcome our very first guest ever to the show! Our friend Elena Kherson joins us to talk about her Matt's first visit to the Rockies.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
When it comes to big time national parks, it really
doesn't get much more iconic than Rocky Mountain National Park
in Colorado. I mean, really, these mountains are literally featured
on Corps light cans, so that's legit. Yeah. This park
really is just larger than life and overwhelming in the
best way, with some of the mightiest mountains in the country.
So it's no wonder why Rocky Mountain is not only

(00:21):
one of the most visited national parks in America with
more than four million annual visitors, but also a symbol
of the National Park Service in and of itself. That's
true when people think of American mountains, these are the
types of mountains that come to mind. They're craggy, perpetually snowy, jagged,
and filled with epic wildlife. They're basically the Himalayas of

(00:41):
North America. In addition to the mountains themselves, this amazing
Colorado park also features many other incredible sites, from some
of the most pristine lakes and rivers to hotels both
haunted and dreaming. After all, this is the kind of
place that inspired Steping King to write The Shining and
any park influence enough to inspire Stephen King and course

(01:02):
light is sure to be memorable, to say the least. Hi,
I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is park Landia production
of I Heart Radio. We sold our loft in Chicago,
moved into an r V, and now we're talking in
the country full time with our dog Finn. Exploring America's
national parks in today's episode is a big one. It's
about Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado, northwest of Denver.

(01:27):
It's hard to know where to begin with this park
because Rocky Mountain is just so monumental, so we brought
on a bit of help for this episode, as our
friend Elena Kirson will be our very first guest ever.
We'll bring around later though in the episode to talk
about her time with Matt in the park when they
first visited together. But in the meantime, let's start with
a little bit of background on this quintessential park. Yeah.

(01:49):
I'm so excited. It's really gonna be a fun episode,
not only because of the shining references, which we're sure
to flood you with, but because we'll have our first guest,
who is a dear friend of ours, and it'll be
so much fun to have her on and talk about
this amazing park. We need, we really needed to do
Rocky Mountain justice. So we're bringing in the Bay Guns.

(02:11):
I love it. So let's first talk about the geography
and the history of this region. UM Rocking the Mountain
National Park UM actually protects a portion of the mile
Rocky Mountain Range, which actually runs all the way from
New Mexico to British Columbia. Now that's big. It's big,
So they couldn't make that whole thing in National Park.

(02:33):
That would be a lot, But the portion of Rocky
Mountain is still huge and pivotal. So this range is
often nicknamed things like the backbone of North America, which
makes sense since it's so integral to the entire continent
and massive mountains like these do kind of resemble a
gigantic spine, I guess. Even though that image is a

(02:56):
little grisly, it really does work, especially since the Mountain
Range serves as an important water source for such a
large portion of the continent. Yeah. I feel like a
lot of people probably look at the Rockies they just
see earth and rocks and such, which makes sense. But
water is really everything here, and it's all because of
the snow, which is present in some capacity year round

(03:16):
thanks to the high elevations. It's either completely entrenched in
it or just towards the very top snow amount is
constantly flowing down off the slopes and into alpine lakes
and rivers, eventually sprunning out to all three oceans that
North America touches. Getting there. Yeah, when we visited together,
it was in June, so the weather was mostly sunny
and warm, but there was still plenty of snow up

(03:38):
top and the high elevation peaks um like trol Ridge
Road was open for the season, but there were still
some serious sections with like huge piles of snow. Yeah,
and snow can still happen even in here. And I
remember like we were visiting friends in the Denver area,
like the week prior, and this was like early June,
and we had heard that Trood Road was closed again

(04:01):
because of snow, and I'm like, what, it's June. What
this is going to mess up our plan. But by
the time we were there, it was all fine, and
any place where there was snow was paved. And while
we're on the road, we stopped at the Alpine Visitor
Center along the way, and you actually took a photo
of me standing next to one of these walls of
snow which was literally taller than I was, like almost

(04:23):
choice as high as me. And granted this is all
kind of pushed over, so it wasn't just like naturally
that high, but there's a lot of snow up there.
And even crazier was it was warm and I was
in short So it was a wild time and the
best of times. Our work trip worked out like perfect
in terms of season and weather because like the Trail
Ridge Road was completely open um and it which is

(04:47):
one of the most highest um elevation paved roads in
the country and it's only open for a few months
of the year due to the like how high, Yeah, exactly.
So it's a four forty eight mile stretch of US
Highway thirty four that connects the Estes Park side of
the park where we were staying, with the Grand Lake

(05:08):
side of the park on the west, which is totally
worth visiting and absolutely beautiful and compared to Estas Park especially,
it's much more underrated. Yeah, it really is underrated. Um,
we went over there. It was just stunning, but it's
just harder to get to and so that's a good things,
a little more isolated a bad thing. But yeah, um,
I really feel like Trail Ridge Road is right up

(05:30):
there with the Skyline Drive at Shannandoah. Um It's one
of the most epic scenic drives in the entire country. Um.
The views and the experiences are really unlike anything ever experience.
I completely agree. I think Trail Ridge Road is like
the Skyline Drive of the West, and both of them
are just really really incredible experiences and kind of bucket

(05:51):
list scenic drives. I think you should absolutely do it.
And just like Skyline Drive and our Shanandoah episode from
season one, I think they should both be levels on
Mario Kart. Like I said, Skyli and Drive should be like,
you know, the Rainbow Road of Shenandoah, And I think
child Ridge Road could also be a special level because
apparently I'm just constantly thinking of ideas for National Park

(06:12):
the Mario games, and I feel like I'm onto something
that'd be so much fun, really though, because I really
think that. I mean, last night we were playing and
you literally got so mad when I threw a green
shell if that hit you, and then immediately right after
you got hit by this red shelf which also came
from me. In the first match, you were going to
win and then I like sneaked by you literally at

(06:36):
the line, and you wanted to basically throw the game
out the window. First of all, I handled myself very well.
I was calm, I didn't I didn't over react. I
just put the controller away. That's not true. Yeah, and
we we don't have to get over the competitive here, Okay, Okay,
I know you're gonna be mad because I always beat
you at Mario cart so we should probably think of
something like less competitive, maybe like a little puzzle like

(06:59):
all sure, But knowing me, i'd also stell some how
managed to turn that puzzle into a competition and get
flustered and upset when I inevitably finished my puzzle last
or something. Because the unfortunate thing about me is I'm
cursed with this unfortunate combo of being overly competitive, very
very much like crippingly competitive. Well not also like being

(07:22):
very good at competitive things. So it's a serious lose
lose for me, Like no matter what activity I try,
I wind up being like upset. And I'm very good
at competitive things, and I'm very competitive. Just ask my
cousin Mike. He knows, he knows how to push all
the buttons to make me completely flipped, like I make
you flip in Mario Kart. I kind of enjoy that.

(07:44):
I'd like to like witness that because I'm tired. I'm
tired of being the only one who loses everything. I
mean even at our own wedding, Like I stormed out
because we were playing a game and I got so
frustrated with him. But it's just me being an over
dramatic like remember that. Um, yeah, that's probably when you
ran way to go to like top golf and uh
on the day of our wedding when we were supposed

(08:04):
to be setting up. That was the morning. Yeah, I
wasn't just like m I a from the ceremony. No,
it's fine, but um, at least we can both agree
that Rocky Mountains is this amazing place to drive in hike,
especially in the summer. Yeah, totally, And like you said,
this was the perfect time of year to visit. Our
drive along Trail Ridge Road was the most incredible experience.

(08:26):
Absolutely loved it. So the road was finished and opened
in saving tons of driving time for visitors looking to
see both sides of Rocky Mountain National Park because when
Trailwood Road is typically closed mid October through late May,
and during this time it's inaccessible and it takes you
a long time to get around. Yeah, and if you're

(08:49):
able to visit during the summer, the road really captures
the essence of the park because it travels through different
ecosystems and environments and a relatively like short span of time. Yeah,
absolutely so, from both sides of the park. No matter
how you're starting on Trail Ridge Road, it begins by
meandering up through aspen trees and Ponderosa pine forest, where

(09:10):
you're likely to see some major wildlife like moose and elk,
both of which we saw, and we actually saw a
lot of them. And once the road exceeds the eleven
thousand foot elevation line, that's when the tree line disappears,
and then suddenly you're driving through a landscape of alpine tundra,
a train that encompasses about one third of the entire park. Yeah,
up here, things are very barren and snowy and windy,

(09:33):
and it really feels like you're in the like ceiling
of America. That's beautiful and perfectly accurate. I've never felt
higher which is really saying something because we're in Colorado,
if you know what I mean. But I just because
what you didn't want to say marijuana. I mean, if

(09:53):
if you want to fill in that gap, go for it. Uh. Trails.
We we stopped about halfway the US the Trail Road
road to hike the Tundra Community's trail. Uh. It's about
a one mile round trip, not really hard, but it's
probably the first Arctic tundra hike we've done, which, yeah,
if you kind of mile the hike, Yeah, this was

(10:15):
pretty pretty easy, especially considering how high up we were
and windy and cold and kind of hostile. Otherwise, I've
never hiked in any environment like this before, and that's
that was exciting, because like I've done a lot of hiking,
done a lot of hiking Colorado even and this was
new and up here it's incredibly weird and wild. And

(10:35):
we saw this beautiful quote in a sign along the trail,
credited to this woman and swinger from her book Land
Above the Trees, and it read, the Alpine tundra is
a land of contrast and incredible intensity, where the sky
is the size of forever and the flowers the size
of a millisecond. That's damn. That's really good. Yeah, and

(10:57):
it's perfect because like the tundra totally is harsh and unforgiving,
but also serene and peaceful. I would completely agree with that,
probably also because it looks devoid of life up here,
with the only noise that we heard coming from the wind,
like the howling. There was a lot of wind a
turn of it. The trail is paved and pretty easy,
but once like we scrambled up a few rocks to

(11:17):
get to the very top of the trail, the gust
felt super strong. I mean I was like afraid er
hats were gonna fly off. Yeah, I was afraid I
was going to fly off a lot, a lot of
my hat. Like at that point, who cares. I was like,
this is kind of like going back to Guadalupe Mountains
when you felt like you're gonna fly off, because if
it if it's the same, then it really wasn't. I

(11:39):
think the big difference is at Guadalupe Mountains National Park,
like the trail was literally on the side of a
cliff and I'm like, okay, that's a possibility. I could,
you know, get blown down into the ravine. Yeah, this
definitely didn't have that here, weren't close to any edge.
I'm just letting you justify it so that way people
know the difference when they go experience of these places
for themselves. Yes, but up here I loved it too.

(12:00):
I think it was, in spite of the wind, totally
worth it for the views such you have these like sweeping,
endless panoramas of tall snowy peaks and deep valleys on
pretty much all sides of you. I kind of wanted
to like recreate that scene from Titanic where Leonardo di
Caprio yelled that he's on top of the world, even
though when you think about it, he was at sea
level so very much not the top of the world.

(12:23):
That would make sense up here, like that line would
be perfectly fitting on this trail in alpine tundra. I
think he was more talking emotionally in the top of
the world, but also no, like he was like a vagabond,
which is like, you know, that's wander last I get it.
But like he some may say he's nomadic. I guess yeah,
speaking nomadic, you know, there's actually these times when we

(12:44):
have to leave our nomadic lifestyle behind and grab that
rental car, which I'm glad we were able to get
back to UM so that way we could like make
it through the park UM, because the r V would
have been too big for a lot of points in
Rocket Mountain National Park UM and you know the higher
like elevation and the higher altitude UM. Yes, and the

(13:05):
wind yes, because that's not fine, all right, We usually
not plenty of time has been driving on just normal
highways where there's a lot of wind, and it's tough
to do that in r V. So I can't imagine
doing that up here, driving through alpine tuntra with all
that howling wind and just how winding the roads were
too for like forty eight miles. So yeah, no, it's
just yeah, I'm glad that we didn't have to really

(13:27):
deal with that headache. I'm just like we were continued
on to the Grand Lake UM section, or the western
side of the park, which is by far the least
visited side of Rocky Mountain because in the off season
months when the Trail Ridge road is closed, it could
take up to three hours to drive from one side

(13:47):
to the other. But for us and only took like
an hour or so. Yeah, and that was with you know,
we're taking our time that. We also did some extra
stops though along the way, like this time to trail,
and then another portion that we visited was the Halsworth
Historic Site, which was another one mile round trip trail,
much easier because it's lower elevation and your back and

(14:09):
like trees and no real snow or anything like that.
Definitely no wind, and it was an easy gravel trail
that crosses the Colorado River and then leads to an
old dude ranch, which I absolutely love saying out loud.
I don't know if I've ever been to a dude ranch,
but here we we went to one. Yeah, it was
a totally unplanned stop, but because neither of us had

(14:30):
even heard of this area. But it was really cool
to explore the secnsist of several old cabins built by
the Howards family. Um, and I probably just slaughtered her name.
But we're just gonna move on with that. We're gonna
keep on going. Um because they used it as a
ranch from nineteen nineteen to nineteen seventy four. UM, so
it's really not even that long ago. Yeah, really not.

(14:54):
In nineteen seventy five, the site was transferred to the
National Park Service and then wrapped into the rest of
Rocky Mountain Nah in the park, and it was also
listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This place
was cool. I'm really delighted that we did this and
discovered it. I had never even heard about this, so
it was a good little side trip. I loved it. Yeah,

(15:16):
a little cozy retreat into the woods by the river. Yeah,
it was this absolute hidden gym, a little slice of
heaven with cabins like the Rose Cabin, Mama cabin Um.
This was long before WiFi was a thing, so the
solitude and remoteness of these cabins was really just perfect. Yeah.

(15:36):
I think in small doses, like if they were like
active gas cabins today and we stayed here, I think
we'd both probably have millennial meltdown. We've been there before,
so I just know it. They're fun to visit, though,
Like we like how we did it, just kind of
in and out in peruse, especially since when we passed through,
they were National Park Service employees doing these old home
studying demonstrations like baking biscuits and like exhibiting town srodermy

(16:00):
and stuff like that. I was really interested in the biscuits.
I was like hovering around being like is this just
for show? Are you actually serving these? Yeah? And it
was actually cool because we actually like learned that little
fun fact um that the Colorado River actually just starts
a few miles north and flows right through the park
before making its way all the way down through Utah, Arizona, Mexico.

(16:22):
So like learning about like these amazing biscuits and where
the Colorado River starts both highlights. Yeah, I would agree
with that. So the Colorado River starts at La Poudre
Pass Lake, which is not that far north. Like you said,
it was starting to kind of trickle through. It's a
pretty it was like a stream at this point when
we crossed it. So in a way, if you think

(16:44):
about it, the Rocky Mountains are responsible for like Grand
Candy National Park, among other things, which is wild to
think about. That is crazy though, like a whole Grand
Canyon is just a whole another thing, like like how
it was built and formed, and I really want to
get into that. But but you know, we continued the

(17:04):
rest of the way, um down to the end of
Trail Ridge Road to the Grand Canyon Lake side of
the park. Uh, And it was so beautiful and peaceful,
there were plenty of people here, but not nearly as
much as the estes Um park side, but that was refreshing.
And the first thing we did was we stopped to
get lunch at this place called Grand Lake Lodge, which
is this gorgeous, gorgeous property overlooking Grand Lake in the

(17:28):
namesake town below. And the lodge has been open, so
this is iconic and historic in its own right. And
again another surprise, because I had never even heard of
it before, and I'm so glad we discovered it. And
I'm so glad that we were hungry at the time
and that our cravings and appetites were perfectly aligned, because
this is one of the best meals I think we've

(17:48):
ever had at a national park. And I would go
back into heartbeat. The restaurant inside of the lodge that
we ate at was called the Hunting in House Tavern,
and it was so it so yeah. It was this huge,
like rustic restaurant with like great locally sourced food, local
craft beers and craft cocktails, um like buffalo meatballs, subs

(18:10):
and Colorado lamb sandwiches and steak frieds made from beef
from a local farm, a very local and they also
had a delicious falafelo wrap, to which I love flawfel,
and it's one of those things that I see it
on the menu, I have to order it, even if
it in the context here it does seem kind of strange,
like to have flaffel at this like Colorado, you know,

(18:32):
local centric restaurant. But it was really really good and
great hiking fuel to night, like hardy and nutritious. Yeah,
because after lunch we parked um at the East Inlet
trailhead by Grand Lake and we definitely needed that that fuel,
and then we hiked to Adam Falls. Um. That part

(18:52):
was easy and short and the falls are all like
raging and loud, with lots of incredible photo opportunities, some
serious white water as some of those falls. Yeah, that
waterfall section was pretty pretty crazy crowded too. It was popular,
filled with a lot of people, I think in large
part because it's so close to the trailheads so it's

(19:12):
easy to get to and tons of people just like
shimming around on rocks getting different bantage points of the waterfall,
which highly recommend. Loved it. So after Adams Falls, we
hiked further along the trail pass two more rivers and
waterfalls and the bright green colors of pine forest to
just lots of vivid colors out here this time of year.

(19:35):
It's crazy because like this river that we're hiking along
starts with such a loud, fast moving waterfall, which is
like slamming through these series of boulders, but then immediately,
like shortly after, as we're walking along, it immediately gets
quiet and still and like it feels like a whole
another waterway entirely, these ponds and like streams and little

(19:57):
inlets in the midst of wimming mountains in the background.
I'll just picture perfect. Yeah, the hikes over on this
side of the park are also lets steep and stenuous
um and those on the east side by s Park,
So it's great for families and anyone looking from more
leisurely experience. Yes, I'm so glad we're able to visit
the Grand Lake area and that we did this and
the road leading there was open. And when we come back,

(20:19):
we'll talk more about history, other hikes, regions and seasons
here at Rocky Mountain National Park. Hi, I'm Matt and

(20:43):
I'm Brad. This is park Landia, and today we're talking
about Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado history. And now
that we've given you a really good taste of this
iconic national park, we're going to back it up and
provide some more background on this historic region. Yeah, so

(21:05):
long before we were hiking here and eating falafel here,
you Indians hunted elk in the Grand Lake area some
six thousand years ago, and on the east side, Arapaho
and Cheyenne Indians lived on the plains portion of Colorado,
frequently hunting in the Estes Park area. Native Americans actually
lived here until the late seventeen hundreds, and the populations

(21:26):
on either side of the mountains never even saw one
another because the mountains were such like too rugged and
too steep to cross, so tribes stay put. Plus there
was just like plenty of food and water where they were,
and there was no need to like risk hiking over
these mountains. Yeah, exactly. So after the Louisiana purchase, these

(21:47):
native peoples were sadly pushed out to reservations and new
residents started to move into the area and develop this
part of Colorado. And this is when places like Denver
and Boulder took shape as boon towns for hopeful miners
and prospectors now even the town of Estes Park, which
gets his name from Joel Estes, who gave up looking
for gold and began a business with his son by

(22:08):
hunting meat and supplying it to businesses in Denver Um.
He built cabins in the eighteen sixties, and so the
origins of the present day Estes Park were essentially built
on meat. Yeah, honestly, that's pretty brilliant and like what
an innovator at the time, especially because there's a ton
of elcan deer here. So the meat market is like,

(22:30):
it has so much potential and he capitalized on it.
And so after stuff like this, the reason began to
take shape as a national park thanks to this hiker
and conservationist named Enos Mills, who fell in love with
the area in the late eighteen hundreds and began writing
articles about protecting it from further development and commercialization. Yeah,

(22:51):
he actually became a lecturer for National Park Service in
nineteen o seven under present Theodore Roosevelt. Our boy. He
was able to catch the attention and of important organizations
like the Colorado Mountains Club in the Denver Chamber of Commerce,
which definitely helped his cause to protect the land. Yeah,
and it wind up being a sort of happily ever

(23:11):
after situation because when Rocky Mountain National Park was established
in nineteen fifteen, making it the ninth the national park
in the country, and even though the entire Rocky Mountain
Range stretches for thousands of miles, the park only contains
two sixty five thousand acres of those, including some of
the most iconic peaks in the range, like Long's Peak,
the highest in the park at fourteen thousand two feet whopping.

(23:36):
All in all, this park is a hikers dream. It's
got more than three miles of trails to explore, from
easy and relaxing to terrifyingly hard. Yeah, Like, didn't you
actually like try and do one of those Long Peaks
trails while we were there? Yeah? I did. I'm not
sure what I was thinking, because in retrospect, that's crazy
that I was thinking I could do that, But as

(23:58):
we all know, that is part of the course. For me,
I'm out of my mind. It's um sixteen miles round
trip with four thousand feet of elevation game and it's
marked as extremely strenuous with an exclamation point included, like
that's what they have in the trail market and stuff,
so you know they're serious. Can we call you the
neurotic nomadic nomad or something? Yeah, I think that would

(24:23):
be good. The neurotic nomad. Yeah, I'm fine with that.
But unfortunately, if you're on well being, the trails, like
towards the top was still too snowy and icy, so
you couldn't do the whole thing. Yeah, so it kind
of saved me for myself, because lord now I would
have tried. I did wind up parking at the Long
Speak trailhead though, on the southeastern side of the park
and doing the Chasm Lake Trail instead, which was absolutely

(24:46):
beautiful and a much better alternative for me. I think
it leads through these tranquil pine forests and up across
these rugged boulder fields before certainly around this shimmering alpine
lake along this steep, snowy slope. It was actually like
towards the end it wind up be so steep and
snowy that I didn't finish the whole trail because I
didn't have like snow spikes in my shoes and I

(25:07):
was super hardly prepared. I don't have like proper hiking
stuff for for that type of terrain or weather especially,
so I didn't want to slip and slyly all the
way down the mountain. Yeah, we really got to get
you better hiking shoes, especially for those like snowy conditions
like this. Yeah, and this was summer too, so that's
really saying something. And you can imagine how grolling and

(25:28):
impossibly I see things probably getting the winter, I don't
even I don't think I could get more than like
half a mile in. Isn't that when you actually visit
the park for the first time with Elena? Yeah, it
was right on the cusp of winter. It was mid November,
so in Rocky Mountain terms, that is full blown winter. Yes,
So you know what we should do. I think we

(25:49):
should bring on Elena to talk more about her time
here with you and what it's like visiting Rocky Mountain
National Park in the off season. So our friend of
Lana Kirson is one of our best friends from Chicago.
We've known her for several years now, fortunate enough to
meet and run in the same social circles. And also

(26:10):
she's just so much fun to either go bar hopping
with in Chicago or go on national park adventures and
our hop or National Park Up National Park. Yeah, I've
been fortunate enough to have been to a few National
parks with a Wayne at this point. She is one
of my favorite travel buddies and she's just always like

(26:31):
down for any type of adventure, which I always appreciate.
Makes it very easy to plan. And we both are
kind of on the same level too. We like to
high I can explore and really immerse ourselves and then
when it's all done, go to like a brewery or
something so and it's really a beautiful thing. And we
wanted to bring on some of our friends and instead

(26:52):
of just getting with the professionals behind national parks, are
these people who have been inspired? We want to talk
about more of the normalcy of traveling to national parks
and what kind of bond that can bring um with
your friends. Yeah, and she's perfect too to provide a
perspective because like, unlike us, these you know, nomadic people

(27:13):
who are traveling in an RV in and out of
national parks. She's someone who she lives in Chicago still
and she has a full time job. But it just
kind of goes to show how accessible national parks are
for pretty much like anyone, no matter like where you're from,
what you're doing, what your lifestyle is like, and so forth.
Just you know, requires some planning. But as long as

(27:36):
you're down with it and ready to do it, it
can you know, you can make memories together. And that's
exactly what I've done with Elena. And we're excited to
stroll down memory Lane a little bit. And since it
was Rocky Mountain in November, memory Lane was very snowy.
It was a snowy lane. Elena, why don't you tell

(28:02):
us a little bit about yourself? Sure? Hi, Hi everyone.
My name is Elena Kerson, um from Chicago. That's how
I know Brad and Matt. We've known each other for
I don't even know how long we've going each other.
Feels like forever. Maybe a good five years more definitely
like we're talking about seven, eight years, maybe a whole decade.

(28:24):
Nice um. But yeah, I'm out here in Chicago. Um,
I'm a tax manager, so I don't really you know,
I'm kind of in the office kind of person. So
this is, uh, this is really cool for me to
come and talk to you guys about Rocky Mountain National Park. Yeah,
that was such a cool trip to um here about

(28:46):
Matt was telling me about this um this trip to
Rocky Mountains for a couple of years before I even
got the chance to go to Rocky Mountain National Park.
So I was living vicariously through you, and I know
that Matt has so many things that he wants to
talk about and with you. Yeah, Well, first I kind
of want to give a little bit of background, because

(29:06):
you and I, Elena, have a really fun and awesome
like kind of relationship with national parks. Like we started,
Rocky Mountain was not our first park we went to together,
and I think the start of that I remember vividly,
like sitting down with you at a coffee shop in
Chicago and like planning out uh, potential national parks vacation.
The trip turned out wonderfully. We went to Big Bend

(29:29):
National Park in Texas, and that really stuck with all
of us who were on that trip, and then like
in the following years, just that interest continue to grow.
And then I think that contributed in a big way
to leading us to Rocky Mountain National Park and why
you and I wanted to prioritize going there together and

(29:50):
I'm so glad we did. It was so much Yeah,
the first trip was very well planned, but as I recall,
with this Colorado Unver trip, I just sort of tagged.
So that was just kind of me being like, hey,
can I join you, Matt. That was and I'm so glad.
You know, happy accidents, they're the best. Yeah, that's all

(30:13):
of these trips. I remember them with such fondness, like
it's it's such a nice way to bond with your
friends too, because it's it's different than just traveling to
a city. You know, you could experience something together. Um.
And I think the Big Ben trip really solidifying that
bond because we still talk about it to this Oh
my gosh, we still have that group text going like
from that trip text will never die, will never die. Yeah,

(30:40):
that's beautiful. So I think our five year reunions coming
up it seriously. So this Colorado trip I remember for
the first like chunk of it. I was out on
like a work trip to visit Denver. This is my,
I think, my first time in Denver, and I was
like I had some appointments and meetings and whatnot in
the city primarily, but I also had a ton of

(31:02):
free time and I have like I had extra days
to do whatever. So it wounded up being like the
perfect opportunity to have like travel with you and kind
of bounce around this new environment together. And the Rocky
Mountain opportunity was hard to pass up. So that was big.

(31:23):
And one kind of shocker for me was I didn't
realize how like non mountainous Denver was. I always envisioned
it as like in the mountains, like in the Rocky Guns,
and it was it's not. Yeah, it's like pretty flat
and you have to drive like two hours to get
to just east of the range. Apparently no one. No

(31:43):
one told me, yeah, you have to drive to the mountains, yes,
like quite a way. So let me let's like talk
about our for our experience that driving day and from
Denver to Rocky Mountain, because it was like such a
gorgeous drive. I remember the road that takes you right

(32:05):
into the park, into Estes Park and then to the
National Park. You were like in a canyon following this
like Windy River, and things are getting snowier and rockier
fittingly and craggier, and so it was really nice to
leave like the city behind for a day and like
unplug and then immerse ourselves in this like space, which

(32:28):
was really incredible and it kind of absorbs you in
it pretty quickly. Yeah, the drive there was was beautiful,
and I feel like, not knowing what to expect, it's
even better because it just sort of unfolds right in
front of you. But yeah, I remember that day being beautiful.
I think we we definitely looked out in terms of
the weather and whatnot, even though I think we were
very much under dressed. I think we yes, we were,

(32:53):
and we did not know at least I did not
have like proper snow footwear for for that day at all.
I would I did not bring my snow boots, not
at all, because I assumed to be like Denver. Again,
like silly mate, Like I thought the weather or the
you know, snow, it would be the same as Denver,
which was pretty minimal in the city. But again they

(33:15):
have like street plows and people constantly doing that and
that's not the case in the wilderness. So good to Yeah.
And the and the elevation change always, oh yeah, big
elevation change. Yeah, yeah, I remember very vividly. Yes, so
the spur of the moment trip left you unprepared. Basically,

(33:35):
I'm in the best way possible, like we we didn't
you know, we didn't get caught in like a snowstorm
or anything, but just maybe we're just like a little
colder than we should just if we if we packed appropriately,
that's perfect though. Yeah I can handle that. So our
first stop was at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, which
is um like the main visitor center near Estes Park,

(33:58):
the kind of heart or the gateway to Rocky Mountain
National Park on the most visited side, and excellent visitors center.
The thing I remember most about this visitor center and
that I love the most was I think this is
where you got your first or is this where you
bought your passport but your national park passport book? I
think so yeah, yeah, so I which is sad because

(34:20):
then I didn't get the big bend one. So that's
more reason to go back. Yeah. Um, but yeah that
was like this little book travels with me everywhere now,
so yeah, this is the start of the passport book.
I love that because I feel I mean, I've talked
about how obsessed I am with my passport book, and
I feel like whichever park you bought it at, whichever

(34:40):
visitor center, just kind of holds extra meaning, extra special meaning,
and I love that. I love that there's this connection
with Rocky Mountain in particular because this is where you
got your book, and I remember you got your first stamp,
and we're both just so elated about it. Yeah, that's good,
the first one. And I get those little stick gurs
because I feel like that, Yeah, well that totally adds. Yeah,

(35:05):
on top of that for sure, for sure. So from
the from the visitor center, we kind of wand our
way into the park and the first thing we did
was this little, this pretty short trail around an area
called Sprague Lake, which was about half a mile round trip,

(35:26):
and it's this loop and I loved it because it
was just like pretty quiet. I don't remember other people
or many other people being there, and it was our
first physical activity we did in the park, so it
was nice to get out into this world and see
the mountains blooming in the distance and all the snow
and ice. Was just really serene. That lake was beautiful.

(35:49):
I think we may have been the only ones there
for for a little bit. Yeah, but it felt like
we had the whole place to ourselves. It did. I know.
That's the best part. It wasn't chanting, it wasn't chanting.
I was looking at some pictures of it, so I
it's uh, it was. It was a very it wasn't
a large lake right like, it was like you could

(36:10):
see from one end to the other. Yeah, And it
was like all covered in snow and the whole path
was covered in snow um and we just made our
way around it. It was really beautiful and chanting is
a really good way to describe Rocky Mountain National Park
as a whole, but especially in front of the lake.
Oh I stop. I agree, And that also I think

(36:31):
this highlights why it's so so like awesome to visit
a park like this in the off season. Like had
we done this in like July or August, I can
only assume like Sprock Lake would be swarming with people
and the parking the trailhead would be like mobbed or
inaccessible because Rocky Mountain gets so many visitors. And it
was nice to do this like mid November, where sure

(36:54):
things are cold, things are snowy, but like it's not
unreasonable by any means, and it's not torturous and it's
worth it just to have like these little calm moments
of like peace and serenity in nature. And that's I
think that's my favorite way to like experience places like this,
when you know you're not having to elbow people out
of the way. Yeah. I whenever I go, I try

(37:16):
to plan a during off peak times because it's really
nice to have a space to yourself, because you really
feel like you're out in nature. Um, I mean not
that you know, having other people around is like a
horrible thing, it's kind of nice as well. It's comforting
if you haven't seen someone for a while to to
see a friendly human face. Um. But yeah, that was
it really is. It was like a magical little lake.

(37:38):
It was. It was really beautiful. I think it would
have been a lot different had we gone in the summer.
In the spring, I prefer that. I kind of prefer
that we saw that the snow. There's no version of
that lake. Yeah, yeah, right, for sure for sure. So
from here, the main like highlight thing that we did
that day was we drove. So we got back onto
this main road, are Lake Road and then drove pretty

(38:02):
much down to the end of it to this really
popular trailhead called Bare Lake Trailhead, which, again in the
summer I'm sure is just insanity. But because even then,
like it was cold and snowy, but like there's still
a good amount of cars in that parking lot, I remember,
and we wanted to do one of the There was
like a series of trails that branch off of this,

(38:24):
and from what we read, they seemed like they were
some of the most popular like trails in the park.
So they just sounded really great, and they all led
to like different lakes, all had like really lovely names,
Like we did the Dream Lake trail, which I mean
that sounds how can you not go with the trail
like that? And this one was a bit longer than

(38:47):
Sprog Lake. It was about two miles round trips, like
one mile up to the Dream Lake itself and then
we like looped around the lake and then came back
down like about another mile, And I this one was
pretty epic. This is when things were starting to get
like pretty cold. My feet were getting wet. But in

(39:08):
spite of all that, I'm like, this is again like
enchanting and you're like in the forest. I don't think
I was prepared for the like the elevation change and
the climb, because I think we were very much fooled
by that first little hike we did around on the lake. Yeah,
because it was flat, you didn't have to don't you
don't have to struggle. No, that's true to work. Yeah,

(39:28):
that one was like really comfortable and level and open too.
It was you know, so there was like more sunlight
that kind of mitigated the chill. But this one was
pretty immersive because we were in like like in the woods.
There was a ton of ore trees pretty much from
the very beginning, and the whole thing, I think, if

(39:49):
I recalled correctly, the whole the whole path was pretty
much covered in snow. So you're just sort of like
trying to make your way up these hills. Some of
them were much steeper than others um and difficult to climb.
And I remember feeling like that you were in the
mountains because the elevation change, and you could feel like
it was a lot more difficult to walk. Absolutely as
we were making a way to the Dream Lakes, right, Yeah,

(40:12):
I could definitely feel it, and not just like in
terms of like my feet were getting wet, but like
my note, I remember my nose was kind of sore
because of the elevation change, and then my lips were
super chaps I was like guzzling water and also like
tearing through chapstick, Like it was kind of this fall
body experience, which it was a full body Yeah, I
was like, oh, I haven't trained for this, kind of

(40:36):
not physically fit enough to be here. No, it wasn't
that bad, But I think it was just kind of
like the whole thing was just discovering this park, Like, um,
I had no expectations for what we would encounter at all,
which I again needed that much better, both of the
beginning of both of your journeys into national parks and
just really exploring them, um, you know, as adults for

(40:56):
the first time, and and so there's just a lot
of a lot of pieces that you don't know until
you experience it. And then once you've experienced it, you
know you've changed the way you travel, right, Oh totally, yeah,
absolutely very much. So after this, uh, this first trip there, Elena,
what but are a couple of things that you would
bring water? Yeah, A hat. Um, I don't just stress appropriately,

(41:23):
I think I think, well, I guess it depends on
the time of year, but just keep in mind that
even if you're coming from Denver and it's and it's sunny,
and warm, and you maybe have like a light jacket
on that you may need a couple more layers coming
into the park. Um and maybe not the gym shoes
with the slippery bottoms, like something with a little crap,
because like if you end up doing those hikes, like
the elevation change, like it's it's pretty significant. So like

(41:46):
you end up piking, and you don't want to be
like on your hands and knees cry. I mean, I
guess you can. It's not a bad way to go.
So but yeah, I would say just dress appropriately and
and bring water and put on sunscreen because the sun, yes,
he's out there. Yeah, and chopstick. I guess Matt gets
it's cold and wintry that there's no sun and that
is just not the truth. The snow that reflects the

(42:09):
sun onto you, which like amplifies it. Remember likesing like crazy,
Like I needed prescription sunglasses because the sun was like
not only hitting you directly, but it's also like reflecting
off of this like really bright white snow and ice.
So I'm just like blindly wandering forward in my like
slippery sneakers through the forest. It was I was trying

(42:31):
to like like make sure mad doesn't follow them out
in the internre right, or like wander onto dream leg
and like crashed to the ice or something. It all
out straight onto the lake. So like should I stopped him? No,
he looks fine, he looks fine. I'm fine. I did
because I remember I actually did buy because again I
wasn't prepared with enough layers. But from the visitor center,
I did get one of those like buffs, which kind

(42:53):
of you can configure as you please. So I used
it as like a makeshift scarf and like wrapped it
tightly around my neck. Yeah, yeah, I remember that. Now
that works. Good thinking. Good thinking. Uh. There's so many
ways that like national parks inspire people or change their mindsets.
Like from when you first went to a national park

(43:15):
until now, what are what are some of the changes
that you see when you go to national parks Like um,
like we we've been talking about like how it like
creates less anxiety for us, um or it just clears
our mind. What's to do for you? Um? Yeah, it's definitely.
It's it's a good like a head clearing kind of
um moment, you know when you're there, um, just being

(43:38):
in the city all the time and working, you know,
sitting in front of a computer for me, you know,
sitting all the time. I think I really love being
out there and being in walking and hiking, um discovering
you know, like we'll get the little books with like
what are the trees, what's the foliage, you know, like
all these different um kind of history of the parks

(43:58):
and just learning about it. I think there's there's a
greater appreciation for all these places. And the more, the
more times you go, the more you appreciate being out there.
So like now when we plan vacations, it's usually like
we have to have at least one vacation during the
year where we go to a national park. Yes, it
helps me on wine and and you know, from the
stress and stuff, and it's you know, it's different being

(44:20):
out in nature and the fact that you don't have
cell phone reception is actually beautiful. I very much enjoyed,
like be prepared for it, but um, I like not
being connected for a little bit. Absolutely, It's it's one
of the best feelings ever. And I love the feeling
the struggle of like having what shoes or being prepared
and going getting through it and learning from it because
like those experiences are what like just really just you

(44:44):
push yourself outside of your comfort zone in a way
and you've learned from that. And it's like, I know
it sounds silly, but like learning how to be prepared
there helps me learn how to be prepared more in
the business world, and it makes me think of things
differently when I get back, so because you've just been
able to shut out. So that's personally for me. But
I just love those, um those instances where you kind

(45:05):
of just get that three sixty experience or like, I've
got to experience this, and what am I bringing back
from this trip besides peace? Because yeah. And then and
there's moments where you like accomplish something like you get
to the end of a trail or it's like you know,
um and it's at the top of a mountain or something,
and you feel super accomplished for for doing something like that, um,
you know, on top of like the views and the

(45:26):
amazing um the challenge of it all. So I also
like that part of it, just kind of pushing yourself
a little harder every time and finding a trail that
you normally wouldn't pick, um, just to get out there
and to to experience something different. Oh yeah, so true. Yeah,
I love it too. And there's also an element that
I find with especially an experience like this, like a

(45:48):
wintry Rocky Mountain National Park, is it's somewhat humbling to
be reminded like, oh I have there's still so much
to learn and discover, not only just in terms like
ecology and wildlife and whatever, but like with within myself,
like oh, like I I'm woefully underdressed for this, Like

(46:09):
I do not have a full grasp on this National
park or any national park. And it's nice and it
feels good to kind of be humbled by that in
these like really epic places that remind you in not
so subtle ways that like, yes, you're you're just you know,
a little human being like here to explore and drink

(46:29):
it in and have this experience and grow from it.
And sometimes that's wetter and icier than I would ideally like,
but it's I walk away feeling much better for it,
And then it also makes for much better memories, you know,
to like a park like this during the time of
year like that are just some of my favorite moments
because they're so special and so kind of individualistic. You

(46:54):
know I like that too. Yeah, humbling is a good word. You.
I always feel humbled whenever when I when I visit
a national park, just because they're always so much bigger
than you when you think they are, even when you
know how right, that's very true. It's hard to comprehend
enchanting and humbling. Those are those are the key takeaways. Perfect. Hi,

(47:38):
I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is park Landia and
today we're talking about Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Food. Alright,
so we really got to talk about Estes Park more. Um,
the town where we were staying just for a few days,
the town that meat built because Mr O. G. S
I started butchering deer and selling it to local restaurants

(48:00):
and whatever. Yeah, it's definitely a cool and popular place,
and cool by meaning cold. But in June this place
is just really bustling and busy. Um, so be sure
to make sure that there's campgrounds, you know, you want
to reserve way in advance, um, for hotel reservations anything

(48:20):
like that. Um. We were lucky and like got last
min out reservations. But the good thing about our lifestyle
is like we can quickly change things. But if you're
planning a trip, you want to make sure you have
reservations because it's too risky, too risky, and I'm not
at all comfortable with that type of risk, which is
kind of ironic because like my hiking lifestyle, apparently, I

(48:42):
throw that out the window and I just put my
life at risk on these treacherous trails apparently. But this
type of risk is what scares me, Like not having
a potential urvace body. I freak out. He does. But
I'm glad it all worked out and we were able
to spend some time here because it's really really lovely
and lively. Um in the summer, it was perfect. We

(49:03):
were there at the perfect time, and s S Park
is like really where it's at. Of the more than
four million annual visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park, most
people at least come through here, if not stay here,
and it shows with so many touristy shops and restaurants,
and especially a booming fudge shops scene and ice cream
shop scene. Like this is a very sweet booming You

(49:23):
mean there's like twenty two blocks. Yeah, it's crazy. There's
so many fudge shops. Um, that's this park. May have
been built by meat, but it's definitely got a sweet tooth.
Though I know there's a lot a lot here. I
don't know how they all stay in business. It's kind
of astonishing to me. But you and I just wound
up getting some ice cream from one of the you know,
thirty ice cream shops here and strolling around the cute streets,

(49:47):
and it was really nice, like an early summer evening.
And then you wound up dropping years in the ground
and the stroll was over. At least I got a
few good links out of it, Yeah, you did, and
you know it was great. Otherwise, and ice cream in
a cone is another risk I'm not comfortable with, and
I think this is proof of that. For this very reason,

(50:08):
I always get like worried that I'm going to spill
it like that, or that I need to make it
really fast otherwise it'll melt all over me. It's like
a race against the clock. You definitely overthink things when
it comes to ice cream, yes, and underthink things when
it comes to my physical capabilities. I guess I I
admit both of those things. Yes, And right there in
town um Invests. I really love the farmer's market, which

(50:32):
We're gonna have our friend Tim Burton on here coming
up um on the next episode, and of Burton's Mapwood
Farm and he sells his pure and barrel aged maple
syrups there, and I just really really love it and
I can get behind it. Um. It's something that I
love working on Tim with and you know, helping him

(50:53):
out throughout the road in our travels at different events. Um.
He's a really great guy. So I'm really excited to
talk about that in the next episode. But what else
do we really love about estes Park Um? I think
we both know the answer to that. It's the Stanley
Hotel and it's time to talk about the Shining Hotel. Ak.

(51:15):
It's everything that I've ever dreamed of or had nightmares about.
I guess it's his beautiful, vintage looking colonial like revival
style hotel up on the hill overlooking the heart of
Estes Um. It served as an inspiration for Stephen King's
Overlook Hotel in the book. Yeah, and it makes sense.
The Stanley Hotel first opened in nineteen nine, so it's

(51:38):
about it's been around a very long time, and when
Stephen King stayed here in I can totally see up
being isolated and getting kind of cabin fever in the winter,
since ses Park was much less developed at the time
and not nearly as much of a year round destination
like it is today. Yeah, he and his wife stayed
here at the end of the season, right before or

(52:00):
the hotel closed for the winter, so it's probably like
early quiet and empty. And the roomy stayed in, Room
to seventeen is still the most requested room at the
Stanley Hotel, Yes it is, and even though that notorious
room in the movie is changed to thirty seven, so
that guess wouldn't be too terrified to stay there, you know,
that's that's a fun fact, but silly then because there

(52:21):
are tons of people out there who seek that stuff out.
And not only is it not a deterrent, like people
aren't gonna be too scared of it, but it's become
like a little tourist attraction in its own right, And
it's just it shows the hotel fully embracing it by
doing stuff like that, and they host these haunted tours
as well, which we need to do it. We didn't

(52:42):
do that, but we definitely have to go back to
That's just park Grand Lake more timing Grand Lake, and
it would be really cool to stay at the Stanley Hotel. Yes. Um.
In addition to the insbracing for the Shining though, there's
like ports of like paranormal activity here and the hotel

(53:03):
has been feature on shows like Ghost Tensers. So stay
here if you did. Yeah, I'm actually not sure I
could do that. Parallel stuff really creased me out. I
could do like this the shining like inspiration like that's
that's one thing, but parallel activity if it's anything like
the movie which really messed me up, like really did Um,

(53:24):
I don't know if I could I could do that.
I think it's we'd probably better off just coming to
the Stanley Hotel for cocktails, which we did and they
it's a fun way to do it. The only thing
that will haunt you there is potentially a hangover That
would be so worth it though, because the bar there
is fantastic. Uh. We came two different times when we

(53:45):
were instas Park right, Yes, we did. We liked it
so much that became I don't know if it's two
nights in a row, but we definitely came twice. Yeah,
And the drinks are like totally legit and the vibe
is like totally cozy and like school. I mean, I
think I got a fray. Did you really want to
say that that's inspired me to like get it more? Yeah,
oh no, but it was View Correy. It was. That's right,

(54:08):
because yeah that's clever. Now, yeah, I don't remember that,
but it's good. I'm lying. The Rocky Mountain View is
what they called it, and it was spelled v I
e u X, like it's just about it. So yeah,
the Rocky Mountain View is the cocktail nice. So the
main restaurant here at the Stanley is called Cascades, but

(54:30):
we just visited the Whiskey Bar, which is attached and
has a lot of small plates off of that same menu.
And then the drinks are like the front and center.
They most mostly focus on the super kind of boozy
whiskey based drinks obviously, and I love that they have
something in addition to your clever thing. They have a
drink here called red Rum Punch, because of course they do.

(54:52):
They're just totally embracing the shining. It's made with rum
plus from Bois BlackBerry liquor, lime pineapple, a gave and
it sounds it sounds great. It's like a fun, boozy
like fruity punch. Yeah, they are. It's I mean, it's
just it's really amazing. They have amazing old fashions in
Manhattan's Uman. Yeah, I think my favorite. Remember the drink

(55:16):
I had both times was this like basically Banana Manhattan
top Top Banana top Top Banana of Manhattan. It is
essentially classic Manhattan, which is like one of my go
to drinks, but this one had the addition of banana
LaCour and tomorrow so smooth, like got it all sweet
like banana things could be. They can veer into like

(55:39):
chloinge and territory, and they taste like the what's that
like banana runts, you know where it's just like bright yellow.
It doesn't like taste like banana, just tastes like the
color yellow. Yeah, oh man, you know what the good
thing is? If you are not satisfied by great cocktails
and you're still like kind of creeped out by the
shining and peril normal activity stuff, it will be helpful

(56:02):
to know that Dumb and Dummer was also filmed here. Yeah,
that was a nice surprise, especially a much like appreciated
dose of lovity. And I had no idea I didn't
know that was filmed here. But and that's saying something
because Dumb and Dumber used to be like one of
my favorite movies. We're probably still is, Like I love
that movie. It's been a while since we've watched it.
It's time, it's time, And like because this is that

(56:24):
I remember the scene, like the setting perfectly. This is
like where Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels go to this
lavish gala that's like way way about their pay grade,
and they're dressed like Neon cartoons basically, like one's in
like a bright orange tuxedo, the other one it's like
getting like a light blue Remember, such a good scene.
They stand out like until they like well, you know,

(56:48):
basically killing. They kill an owl with a champagne cork.
Is that right there? Like pop a ball of champagne
and then kill this like rare owl. Yeah, classic classic
Dumb and Dummer. That sounds like I feel like maybe
what I would never First of all, I would never purpose,
but like on accident, we would accidentally do that. Like
of course I don't have the best of lex sometimes sure,

(57:10):
I mean, fortunately we haven't done something that egregious yet.
But luckily was just in the movie, right right, my favorite.
So there's a lot to impact with Rocky Mountain National Park. Yeah,
lots of options with this one, big park, big experiences.

(57:31):
What is your favorite thing about Rocky Mountain National Park? Well,
I would say I would say the trail Ridge Road
in general, but more specifically, I really left that trail.
We did kind of at the top of it, the
Tundra Communities trail, the one that's only like a mile, right, Yeah,
that's really good time. I liked it because it was

(57:52):
a completely new experience for both of us to hike
in an environment like that alpine tundra and the weather.
Aside in the wind, the weather was perfect hiking weather.
The views were just phenomenal like nothing else I think
either of us have ever seen. And it really felt
like you were up perched on the ceiling of the continent,

(58:12):
which is like hard to describe to feel that high
up and overlooking so much. I remember when we got there,
we actually made a little video and I think I screamed,
did you we made it to the Rocky Mountain? Oh? Yeah?
And you had to scream because the wind like it

(58:33):
was like um that affect while I was screaming because
the wind was so heavy. It was It's really good.
I remember I was like in the back front of
that video, like crawling on the rocks, like on all fours,
trying to just keep myself together. Yeah, and like lower
my center of gravity because it was intense but also
clearly super memorable and amazing. So I think that was

(58:55):
probably my favorite part. What about you my favorite part? Gosh,
this one was really difficult because there's just so much
history there um so much culture, and I mean I
loved Estes Park. I love the Stanley Hotel, but I'd

(59:16):
have to say it was going into the cabins and
seeing like the taxidermy and they like fresh made biscuits,
and like the culture behind right before it became a
National park, the Dude Ranch, the Dude Ranch. Yeah, because
it was just it was a really pretty walk and
it was fun. It was cozy, Like I feel like

(59:38):
I could like hang out there for a day and
just have a great time. Um, because I really like
to relax and opposite of you where you like to
like climb to the top of the highest mountains you
can find. And so I think it's just personality style.
I would really love to just relax and stay there
for a day, but I don't think you really can.

(59:59):
I mean you can, but you would be like that's
a waste of a whole day. It would be nice
too if they turned it there was some sort of
B ANDB option where they apply you with biscuits in
the morning and just chill out and like the Rose Cabin,
one of the cabins you can walk through and you
see like just this preserved space of what it was
like there originally, and it looks really nice and homie.

(01:00:20):
I think would be a lovely place. Maybe with some
more modern amenities like WiFi or whatever that it would
be nice because I don't want to just like sit
in silence for twenty four hours or whatever. I would
love them. But you know what's actually um really good.
Like the trails that we did, we didn't need hiking equipment,
but there's a lot of trails that you do, and

(01:00:43):
like that one you did, you needed the hiking stuff.
So like a couple of things that you could bring
are definitely like hiking sticks that would be very helpful here,
Like um, the shoe, Yeah, have like snow spikes your
shoes because I've hiked in those um in New England.
My dad has something so when I've gone on hikest

(01:01:04):
with him, I've warned them and they're amazing. They make
a huge difference and I really could have used something
like that here when I did the Chasm Lake Trail.
There's some that you can even do like cost country
skiing on in the winter. Not when we were there,
but so, like, there's definitely a lot of hiking options.
So when you're planning your trip, make sure to think

(01:01:25):
about when you're going, what trails they're going to be,
and what specific equipment you need for hiking, because there's
a lot of hiking that's available here and it's a
I would say it's probably one of the most diverse
hiking marks that I've been too, because of this ability
of snow cross county skiing, like kind of bouldering, there's

(01:01:48):
actual like rock climbing. I mean, there's just about everything
in Rocky Mountain National Park there. Yeah, there really is.
It sounds cliche, but this is one of those places
where there truly is something for everyone, every age ability,
interest level. You know, whatever you're looking for, it's bound
to have it. Whatever type of view you want hiking trail,

(01:02:09):
all of it. It's incredible place and it's very very
fun too to explore. Whether it's on your own or
with a partner or a family or a large group,
it's fantastic. And then got you can hang out as
park after and just have the best time getting ice
cream and fudge. Another great thing you could bring those
when you're doing these hikes if you're going to be

(01:02:30):
a little bit more hardcore to bring, like there's cans
of oxygen, different things like that, or camel backs. So
we have a ton of water because if you're going
on a sixteen mile trail, it's not like one bottle
of water is going to get you. You're gonna need
a camel back. You're gonna need snacks and trail mix
and things like that. Um, we didn't have enough time
to like fully unpack and like repack and do something

(01:02:54):
like that big, but I think it would be fun
to go back in the winter and do that absolutely
because it's such a great time. Yeah. And then another
point is when we were there and throughout summer in June, July,
August into September two, it can be a madhouse. The
parking lots fill up very early and some of them

(01:03:14):
are rather small. So it's advised that you get your
day starter early because you don't want to like plane
your day and have this trail in mind that you
want to do and then drive all the way they
are to find that there's no space whatsoever. And yeah,
I saw that happened to a lot of people. Fortunately
that was not the issue with us. We had a
rental car that was compact and small enough that we

(01:03:37):
could get into a lot more spaces than the RV.
But but in the winter, you don't want to have
a compact car. You're gonna want to have something that's
four wheel drive. You're gonna want to make sure you
have like snow chains. There's definitely different things that you
have to pack for when you're coming to Rocky Mountain
National Park, depending on the season. Yeah, so for us,
all summer compact car is perfect. Winter, don't even dream

(01:03:59):
about coming into will drive. Yeah no, really, What do
you think is something else that we would bring? Um, layers,
of course, right, we'd have to bring layers. And again
even in the summer, we had layers. We had like
a T shirt, sweatshirt and a jacket, so that way
we could shred or go depending on our elevation, because

(01:04:20):
that one thousand feet of elevation difference makes a difference. Yes,
it really does. And when we the trail wood Road,
I was wearing shorts and then initially like a T
shirt when we're in the Stas Park area, then again
in Grand Lake. But while we're up there doing the
Tunsra Communities trail, I had to put a jacket on,
you know, right, but jacket that is my winners. Don't

(01:04:43):
cut it themselves, Beyonce jacket of course, the Bruins jacket.
Oh that's right, not a Bruin storm kidding. But yeah,
So it's good to have stuff like that and it's
light enough where you can easily carry it along and
then throw it on if you if you need a
tied around your waist if it's getting too warm whatever.
So that's advised. Yeah. So between layers and snow choose

(01:05:06):
and snow chains and all these different things, there's so
many things that you need to bring when you decide
how you want to visit, how you want to find
your park, how you want to discover it. What you
need to do is you need to think about the
research behind when how and why yeah, but really, Rocky

(01:05:28):
Mountain is right up there as one of the most
iconic national parks in the country, and it's an absolute
Mussie for anyone into hiking, especially Guess anyone into hiking,
and also anyone into horror novels Corse Light and Fudge
apparently too. You've been listening to park Landia, a show
about national parks park Landi's the production of My Heart Radio,

(01:05:50):
created by Matt Carouac, Brad Carouac and Christopher has the
otis produced and edited by Mike John's. Our executive producer
is Christopher has the otis our researcher. It's Jescelyn shield
A special things goes out to Gabrielle Collins, Crystal Waters
and the rest of the Parklandia crew and Hey listeners.
If you're enjoying the show, leave us a review on
Apple Podcasts. It helps other people like you find our show.

(01:06:11):
You can keep up with us on social media as well.
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