June 30, Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park

Hi everyone, We left Denver this morning and drove into a very congested, not too appealing city. A lot of traffic and lights. We drove through Boulder but it wasn't quite as bad. We drove into the entrance of the Park which is called Estes and had to drive 48 miles through Rocky Mountain to our Campground. We detached the car because of all the turns and switchbacks. Every foot of the way was a breathtaking view. The snow covered mountains were so beautiful! I was taking pictures and driving at the same time so I had a lot of duds. The alphin beetle has devastated almost all of the alpine trees and that is sad. I guess they didn't have enough hard frosts to kill the beetles off. Sometimes nature is cruel. We settled into our camp and visited some friends that are volunteering here. Then we drove into a quaint little western village for dinner. We are exploring more tomorrow and I will fill you in about some history of the region. Love you all.