Hike to Little Yellowstone
Several weekends ago we took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. We stayed at a tiny budget motel in Estes Park. On Saturday we drove up to the park, and entered through the Estes Park entrance. On our way to the Little Yellowstone trailhead, we saw some bull elk, and pondered the meaning of the term “speed limit.” Once at the trail head, we headed out. The hike isn’t hard, though it can be long. We saw a heard of big horn sheep (including baby sheep), and had some nice views of the mountain peaks. We also saw a marmot scampering around the rocky section of the trail.
Mini Big Horn Sheep
On the way back to our car, we decided to walk by Lulu City. This is the site of an old mining town, from some time in the 1800s. While the buildings are no longer standing, the grassy field is very pretty. However, we did not realize that the hike to get from the field back to the trail would involve multiple switchbacks. 
We got to see the herd of sheep again – there were about 2 dozen total, and three baby sheep.
After the hike we went to get lunch in Grand Lake. We went to the Sagebrush BBQ and Grill. Louisa had a good burrito, but Tony had a great ribeye sandwich. We also ordered onion rings, which were good, too.
Moose at Dinner Time
After lunch we walked the two blocks down to the lake, and then drove back into the park. On the way in there were cars parked on both sides of the road and just a general hub-bub. So, we drove past them, found a spot to park, and walked back. There was a bull moose in the woods, a female moose across the road, and another bull moose just sitting in the grass. We decided to stick around for a bit, to see if he would stand up. Eventually, he did – and wandered behind a small shrub. We waited for a bit longer, until he decided to explore other dining options. Fortunately, there were some tasty looking shrubs closer to us, and he began to wander over. He wasn’t that far away to begin with – maybe 30 yards – but by the end of his foray into the land of yummy shrubs he was maybe 10 from us. (We made sure not to be in his direct path, in case he got spooked.)
After watching the moose for the better part of an hour, we drove back through the park and checked into our hotel at the edge of Estes Park. Then we walked into town to get dinner. We stopped at Poppy’s Pizza and Grill, our preferred pizza area in town. We chose to do a create-your-own pizza, with pesto sauce, home made italian sausage, extra cheese, and mushrooms. The pizza was fabulous, and the crust was just right – not thin, but not Chicago style, either. After dinner we walked through town, before heading back to the hotel and getting some sleep.
Photos can be found here.
