Our final days in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park were lovely. We spent a beautiful sunny Thursday in town catching up on email, photos, etc. We lunched by the river, and at the end of the day, visited Valley of the Wind winery and enjoyed their Tempranillo by the water at sunset. Ahh...
Friday, we took our last hike: 4.5 miles one way to the top of Mt. Ida at 12,880 ft and with a 2200 ft elevation gain. Along with Mt. Massive, this was our only other mountaintop hike. We got the best weather of the whole trip. At the top, it wasn't too cold, and you can see we're not completely bundled up! We had company at the top, which hardly happened on our hikes. Along the way, we heard elk bugling in the valley below us, saw several marmots seeking a sunny rock on the clear warm day, and spied super-chunky pikas - there must be plenty of good eating on Mt. Ida! On the way back, we surprised a herd of young bighorn sheep, which was impressive and our closest encounter with "big" wildlife on the entire trip.
Frank and Susan at Valley of the Wind Winery by the river, Estes Park, CO
King of the hill marmot, Mt. Ida trail, Rocky Mountain National Park
Frank and Susan on top of Mt. Ida (and that's Longs Peak, in case you were wondering)
Herd of big horn sheep, Mt. Ida Trail, RMNP
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