Estes Park with Annette's Parents

We arrived in Estes Park in early May, so the RV park was nice and quiet. Most of the Elk Meadow campground was empty, so we got our choice of sites. We chose a place under a tree with a great view of the mountains.

Annette's Parents Arrive

The third week in May, Annette's parents came to visit us in Estes Park. They stayed at a motel near our Elk Meadow RV park, so it was easy to get together for drives into the park.

As soon as they arrived, we took our first trip through the park and immediately saw a group of bull.

One of our first stops was the Rocky Mountain National Park Fall River Visitor's Center. The visitor center is filled with great quotations about nature such as:

The Rockies stir one's blood and strengthen and sweeten life - Enos Mills

Man masters nature, not by force, but by understanding. - Jacob Bronowski

Wilderness... is one of the permanent homes of the human spirit. - Joseph Wood Krutch

The shop next door contained a different type of quote such as:

I don't have hot flashes, I have power surges!

Elk Everywhere!

We drove through the park to the Beaver Meadow Visitor Center entrance and saw many elk along the way.

Glen Haven

Another day the four of us took a trip to the Forest Service Glen Haven picnic area. While Bill and Nancy found a picnic table and began to sketch, Annette hiked up the wash. Larry climbed to the top of the hill and photographed the area.

Taco Bell Picnic

One of our favorite activities is called a Taco Bell Picnic. We go through the Estes Park Taco Bell drive-through window and buy a bag full of hard shell tacos. Next, we drive out to the Endovalley picnic area in RMNP. There's a great spot where the picnic table is surrounded on three sides by a creek.