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skitique · 07-09-2016, 11:18 PM

Hi All,
Thought I'd post info & pictures on our 2 week trip that started in Estes Park, CO at the Rocky Mtn National Park, then to the Grand Tetons, then Yellowstone & back home to Charleston, SC.

Hubby met me in Denver with our 34 ft AS & we went to Spruce Lake RV Park in Estes, CO. Estes is about 2 hours north of Denver & close to the entrance to Rocky Mtn National Park. Nice RV park, sites close but well taken care of & staff is really nice & helpful. Most wer couples that work ther from May to Oct. & they return each year. An elk walked through camp one morning. Very exciting.

http://sprucelakerv.com

We bought an annual park pass since we were going to several national parks this year - cost $80. We drove Trail Ridge Road which crests at just above 12,000 ft. Lots of places to stop &'walk or just site see. Estes Park is about 7500 ft up so did have some altitude problems but drank lots of water before arriving & it leveled out after a day. Definitely couldn't walk like we normally do though. Above 11,000 ft really was hard to breath &'made me dizzy so we had to descend below 11,000 ft & was then ok.

Pictures below are
1. some scenery on the way up,
2. an elk herd we saw once we were above the tree line just over 11,000 ft.,
3.a chipmunk at pull over at 11,000'ft. Many of his buddies were here as the tourists feed them (yes I agree they shouldn't)
4. A young male elk in the grass at Estes Park.

skitique · 07-09-2016, 11:20 PM

Not sure why only the last picture uploaded & then sideways. Let me figure out how to,post multiple pics correctly &'will then will upload more.

Jane

Lily&Me · 07-10-2016, 05:19 AM

Hi Jane!

If you edit and crop your photos down a bit, they should post right side up.

I can only do one at a time, tho others can do multiple I've never been able to figure it out.

Maggie

skitique · 07-10-2016, 10:31 AM

After a couple of days in Estes Park we headed to the Grand Tetons. We stayed at Colter Bay Village RV park inside the Tetons. It is a very nice park with large spaces. Took an early morning boat ride to Elk Ilsand. The Tetons are amazing beautiful. Also took a ride to Jackson about 30 minutes away. There is a national elk preserve near Jackson & every year the Boy Scouts pick up shed antlers which are auctioned every May & proceeds support the preserve.

skitique · 07-10-2016, 10:36 AM

Teton entrance

fwjumper · 07-10-2016, 12:30 PM

Thanks for the travel log. Having been to Spruce lake and also most of the Teton parks, Jenny lake, Yellowstone, jackson, etc, you are making us terribly homesick for the Tetons. Enjoy it for us some! The photos may not always capture the grandeur, but they do trigger the memories of those special spots. Hopefully, we'll see it again soon.

skitique · 07-10-2016, 12:41 PM

We left Colter Bay & spent a couple of nights at Headwater RV park inside the John D. Rockefeller park which is between Tetons & Yellowstone. My advice would be to skip this RV park as it is vet poorly maintained. The roads haven't been graveled in a long time so hughe clouds of dust swirl through the park when anyone drives through. The trash bins weren't emptied regularly & the staff was so disorganized they didn't allow any checking before 2:00 pm even though 50% of the sites were vacant. This park is run by the same vendor that ran Colter Bay & Yellowstone but it poorly managed & maintained.

skitique · 07-10-2016, 12:52 PM

Next we went to Yellowstone & stayed at Fishing Bridge RV park which is in the southeastern part of the park at Yellowstone lake. This RV park has full hookups & has convenient access to a general store & sandwich grill or to restaurants at the marina or Old Faithful Inn. Saw lots of Bison, deer, & elk. One of my favorite places was Mamouth Hot Springs in the northern part of the park. This is the headquarters for Yellowstone & the elk come into town & lie on the grass. Had to keep distance from them but it was a spectacular site!

I know this image is sideways because I don't know how to edit on my iPad but wanted to share. If I figure out how to correct this will share other pics.

Thanks Jane

VT Wanderer · 07-10-2016, 06:00 PM

We're getting pumped now, as we get ready to visit RMNP, Tetons and Yellowstone, starting at the end of July. We start in VT.

skitique · 07-10-2016, 09:42 PM

VT Wander
You are going to have a great time! Any idea how long your drive will be from Vermont? In Yellowstone it will be chilly at night & when it rains during the day the temp will drop from 70s to low 50s so take layered clothing. Where are you staying?

Jane

Lily&Me · 07-11-2016, 05:47 AM

Jane,

If you click on a photo, an edit button appears at the top right corner, tap on that and you'll see the little square and rotate icon, click on that which allows you to crop your photo.

Press "done" and you're good to go.

Maggie

VT Wanderer · 07-11-2016, 07:25 AM

In 19 days - We're headed to Rocky Mtn. National Park first - 4 days from VT. We stay at Moraine Campground in the park. Next on to Tetons w. overnight in Dubois enroute. Dubois to Tetons is just a couple hours. Tetons we stay at Colter Bay RV campground. Then on to Yellowstone - Fishing Bridge. We travel west if not yearly, darn close to it. Years ago we spent 2 summers working in YS. It takes us 5 days to get from YS to VT. (and vice versa)