Speaker 1: When it comes to big time national parks, it really
Speaker 1: doesn't get much more iconic than Rocky Mountain National Park
Speaker 1: in Colorado. I mean, really, these mountains are literally featured
Speaker 1: on Corps light cans, so that's legit. Yeah. This park
Speaker 1: really is just larger than life and overwhelming in the
Speaker 1: best way, with some of the mightiest mountains in the country.
Speaker 1: So it's no wonder why Rocky Mountain is not only
Speaker 1: one of the most visited national parks in America with
Speaker 1: more than four million annual visitors, but also a symbol
Speaker 1: of the National Park Service in and of itself. That's
Speaker 1: true when people think of American mountains, these are the
Speaker 1: types of mountains that come to mind. They're craggy, perpetually snowy, jagged,
Speaker 1: and filled with epic wildlife. They're basically the Himalayas of
Speaker 1: North America. In addition to the mountains themselves, this amazing
Speaker 1: Colorado park also features many other incredible sites, from some
Speaker 1: of the most pristine lakes and rivers to hotels both
Speaker 1: haunted and dreaming. After all, this is the kind of
Speaker 1: place that inspired Steping King to write The Shining and
Speaker 1: any park influence enough to inspire Stephen King and course
Speaker 1: light is sure to be memorable, to say the least. Hi,
Speaker 1: I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is park Landia production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. We sold our loft in Chicago,
Speaker 1: moved into an r V, and now we're talking in
Speaker 1: the country full time with our dog Finn. Exploring America's
Speaker 1: national parks in today's episode is a big one. It's
Speaker 1: about Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado, northwest of Denver.
Speaker 1: It's hard to know where to begin with this park
Speaker 1: because Rocky Mountain is just so monumental, so we brought
Speaker 1: on a bit of help for this episode, as our
Speaker 1: friend Elena Kirson will be our very first guest ever.
Speaker 1: We'll bring around later though in the episode to talk
Speaker 1: about her time with Matt in the park when they
Speaker 1: first visited together. But in the meantime, let's start with
Speaker 1: a little bit of background on this quintessential park. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited. It's really gonna be a fun episode,
Speaker 1: not only because of the shining references, which we're sure
Speaker 1: to flood you with, but because we'll have our first guest,
Speaker 1: who is a dear friend of ours, and it'll be
Speaker 1: so much fun to have her on and talk about
Speaker 1: this amazing park. We need, we really needed to do
Speaker 1: Rocky Mountain justice. So we're bringing in the Bay Guns.
Speaker 1: I love it. So let's first talk about the geography
Speaker 1: and the history of this region. UM Rocking the Mountain
Speaker 1: National Park UM actually protects a portion of the mile
Speaker 1: Rocky Mountain Range, which actually runs all the way from
Speaker 1: New Mexico to British Columbia. Now that's big. It's big,
Speaker 1: So they couldn't make that whole thing in National Park.
Speaker 1: That would be a lot, But the portion of Rocky
Speaker 1: Mountain is still huge and pivotal. So this range is
Speaker 1: often nicknamed things like the backbone of North America, which
Speaker 1: makes sense since it's so integral to the entire continent
Speaker 1: and massive mountains like these do kind of resemble a
Speaker 1: gigantic spine, I guess. Even though that image is a
Speaker 1: little grisly, it really does work, especially since the Mountain
Speaker 1: Range serves as an important water source for such a
Speaker 1: large portion of the continent. Yeah. I feel like a
Speaker 1: lot of people probably look at the Rockies they just
Speaker 1: see earth and rocks and such, which makes sense. But
Speaker 1: water is really everything here, and it's all because of
Speaker 1: the snow, which is present in some capacity year round
Speaker 1: thanks to the high elevations. It's either completely entrenched in
Speaker 1: it or just towards the very top snow amount is
Speaker 1: constantly flowing down off the slopes and into alpine lakes
Speaker 1: and rivers, eventually sprunning out to all three oceans that
Speaker 1: North America touches. Getting there. Yeah, when we visited together,
Speaker 1: it was in June, so the weather was mostly sunny
Speaker 1: and warm, but there was still plenty of snow up
Speaker 1: top and the high elevation peaks um like trol Ridge
Speaker 1: Road was open for the season, but there were still
Speaker 1: some serious sections with like huge piles of snow. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and snow can still happen even in here. And I
Speaker 1: remember like we were visiting friends in the Denver area,
Speaker 1: like the week prior, and this was like early June,
Speaker 1: and we had heard that Trood Road was closed again
Speaker 1: because of snow, and I'm like, what, it's June. What
Speaker 1: this is going to mess up our plan. But by
Speaker 1: the time we were there, it was all fine, and
Speaker 1: any place where there was snow was paved. And while
Speaker 1: we're on the road, we stopped at the Alpine Visitor
Speaker 1: Center along the way, and you actually took a photo
Speaker 1: of me standing next to one of these walls of
Speaker 1: snow which was literally taller than I was, like almost
Speaker 1: choice as high as me. And granted this is all
Speaker 1: kind of pushed over, so it wasn't just like naturally
Speaker 1: that high, but there's a lot of snow up there.
Speaker 1: And even crazier was it was warm and I was
Speaker 1: in short So it was a wild time and the
Speaker 1: best of times. Our work trip worked out like perfect
Speaker 1: in terms of season and weather because like the Trail
Speaker 1: Ridge Road was completely open um and it which is
Speaker 1: one of the most highest um elevation paved roads in
Speaker 1: the country and it's only open for a few months
Speaker 1: of the year due to the like how high, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1: So it's a four forty eight mile stretch of US
Speaker 1: Highway thirty four that connects the Estes Park side of
Speaker 1: the park where we were staying, with the Grand Lake
Speaker 1: side of the park on the west, which is totally
Speaker 1: worth visiting and absolutely beautiful and compared to Estas Park especially,
Speaker 1: it's much more underrated. Yeah, it really is underrated. Um,
Speaker 1: we went over there. It was just stunning, but it's
Speaker 1: just harder to get to and so that's a good things,
Speaker 1: a little more isolated a bad thing. But yeah, um,
Speaker 1: I really feel like Trail Ridge Road is right up
Speaker 1: there with the Skyline Drive at Shannandoah. Um It's one
Speaker 1: of the most epic scenic drives in the entire country. Um.
Speaker 1: The views and the experiences are really unlike anything ever experience.
Speaker 1: I completely agree. I think Trail Ridge Road is like
Speaker 1: the Skyline Drive of the West, and both of them
Speaker 1: are just really really incredible experiences and kind of bucket
Speaker 1: list scenic drives. I think you should absolutely do it.
Speaker 1: And just like Skyline Drive and our Shanandoah episode from
Speaker 1: season one, I think they should both be levels on
Speaker 1: Mario Kart. Like I said, Skyli and Drive should be like,
Speaker 1: you know, the Rainbow Road of Shenandoah, And I think
Speaker 1: child Ridge Road could also be a special level because
Speaker 1: apparently I'm just constantly thinking of ideas for National Park
Speaker 1: the Mario games, and I feel like I'm onto something
Speaker 1: that'd be so much fun, really though, because I really
Speaker 1: think that. I mean, last night we were playing and
Speaker 1: you literally got so mad when I threw a green
Speaker 1: shell if that hit you, and then immediately right after
Speaker 1: you got hit by this red shelf which also came
Speaker 1: from me. In the first match, you were going to
Speaker 1: win and then I like sneaked by you literally at
Speaker 1: the line, and you wanted to basically throw the game
Speaker 1: out the window. First of all, I handled myself very well.
Speaker 1: I was calm, I didn't I didn't over react. I
Speaker 1: just put the controller away. That's not true. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: we we don't have to get over the competitive here, Okay, Okay,
Speaker 1: I know you're gonna be mad because I always beat
Speaker 1: you at Mario cart so we should probably think of
Speaker 1: something like less competitive, maybe like a little puzzle like
Speaker 1: all sure, But knowing me, i'd also stell some how
Speaker 1: managed to turn that puzzle into a competition and get
Speaker 1: flustered and upset when I inevitably finished my puzzle last
Speaker 1: or something. Because the unfortunate thing about me is I'm
Speaker 1: cursed with this unfortunate combo of being overly competitive, very
Speaker 1: very much like crippingly competitive. Well not also like being
Speaker 1: very good at competitive things. So it's a serious lose
Speaker 1: lose for me, Like no matter what activity I try,
Speaker 1: I wind up being like upset. And I'm very good
Speaker 1: at competitive things, and I'm very competitive. Just ask my
Speaker 1: cousin Mike. He knows, he knows how to push all
Speaker 1: the buttons to make me completely flipped, like I make
Speaker 1: you flip in Mario Kart. I kind of enjoy that.
Speaker 1: I'd like to like witness that because I'm tired. I'm
Speaker 1: tired of being the only one who loses everything. I
Speaker 1: mean even at our own wedding, Like I stormed out
Speaker 1: because we were playing a game and I got so
Speaker 1: frustrated with him. But it's just me being an over
Speaker 1: dramatic like remember that. Um, yeah, that's probably when you
Speaker 1: ran way to go to like top golf and uh
Speaker 1: on the day of our wedding when we were supposed
Speaker 1: to be setting up. That was the morning. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: wasn't just like m I a from the ceremony. No,
Speaker 1: it's fine, but um, at least we can both agree
Speaker 1: that Rocky Mountains is this amazing place to drive in hike,
Speaker 1: especially in the summer. Yeah, totally, And like you said,
Speaker 1: this was the perfect time of year to visit. Our
Speaker 1: drive along Trail Ridge Road was the most incredible experience.
Speaker 1: Absolutely loved it. So the road was finished and opened
Speaker 1: in saving tons of driving time for visitors looking to
Speaker 1: see both sides of Rocky Mountain National Park because when
Speaker 1: Trailwood Road is typically closed mid October through late May,
Speaker 1: and during this time it's inaccessible and it takes you
Speaker 1: a long time to get around. Yeah, and if you're
Speaker 1: able to visit during the summer, the road really captures
Speaker 1: the essence of the park because it travels through different
Speaker 1: ecosystems and environments and a relatively like short span of time. Yeah,
Speaker 1: absolutely so, from both sides of the park. No matter
Speaker 1: how you're starting on Trail Ridge Road, it begins by
Speaker 1: meandering up through aspen trees and Ponderosa pine forest, where
Speaker 1: you're likely to see some major wildlife like moose and elk,
Speaker 1: both of which we saw, and we actually saw a
Speaker 1: lot of them. And once the road exceeds the eleven
Speaker 1: thousand foot elevation line, that's when the tree line disappears,
Speaker 1: and then suddenly you're driving through a landscape of alpine tundra,
Speaker 1: a train that encompasses about one third of the entire park. Yeah,
Speaker 1: up here, things are very barren and snowy and windy,
Speaker 1: and it really feels like you're in the like ceiling
Speaker 1: of America. That's beautiful and perfectly accurate. I've never felt
Speaker 1: higher which is really saying something because we're in Colorado,
Speaker 1: if you know what I mean. But I just because
Speaker 1: what you didn't want to say marijuana. I mean, if
Speaker 1: if you want to fill in that gap, go for it. Uh. Trails.
Speaker 1: We we stopped about halfway the US the Trail Road
Speaker 1: road to hike the Tundra Community's trail. Uh. It's about
Speaker 1: a one mile round trip, not really hard, but it's
Speaker 1: probably the first Arctic tundra hike we've done, which, yeah,
Speaker 1: if you kind of mile the hike, Yeah, this was
Speaker 1: pretty pretty easy, especially considering how high up we were
Speaker 1: and windy and cold and kind of hostile. Otherwise, I've
Speaker 1: never hiked in any environment like this before, and that's
Speaker 1: that was exciting, because like I've done a lot of hiking,
Speaker 1: done a lot of hiking Colorado even and this was
Speaker 1: new and up here it's incredibly weird and wild. And
Speaker 1: we saw this beautiful quote in a sign along the trail,
Speaker 1: credited to this woman and swinger from her book Land
Speaker 1: Above the Trees, and it read, the Alpine tundra is
Speaker 1: a land of contrast and incredible intensity, where the sky
Speaker 1: is the size of forever and the flowers the size
Speaker 1: of a millisecond. That's damn. That's really good. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: it's perfect because like the tundra totally is harsh and unforgiving,
Speaker 1: but also serene and peaceful. I would completely agree with that,
Speaker 1: probably also because it looks devoid of life up here,
Speaker 1: with the only noise that we heard coming from the wind,
Speaker 1: like the howling. There was a lot of wind a
Speaker 1: turn of it. The trail is paved and pretty easy,
Speaker 1: but once like we scrambled up a few rocks to
Speaker 1: get to the very top of the trail, the gust
Speaker 1: felt super strong. I mean I was like afraid er
Speaker 1: hats were gonna fly off. Yeah, I was afraid I
Speaker 1: was going to fly off a lot, a lot of
Speaker 1: my hat. Like at that point, who cares. I was like,
Speaker 1: this is kind of like going back to Guadalupe Mountains
Speaker 1: when you felt like you're gonna fly off, because if
Speaker 1: it if it's the same, then it really wasn't. I
Speaker 1: think the big difference is at Guadalupe Mountains National Park,
Speaker 1: like the trail was literally on the side of a
Speaker 1: cliff and I'm like, okay, that's a possibility. I could,
Speaker 1: you know, get blown down into the ravine. Yeah, this
Speaker 1: definitely didn't have that here, weren't close to any edge.
Speaker 1: I'm just letting you justify it so that way people
Speaker 1: know the difference when they go experience of these places
Speaker 1: for themselves. Yes, but up here I loved it too.
Speaker 1: I think it was, in spite of the wind, totally
Speaker 1: worth it for the views such you have these like sweeping,
Speaker 1: endless panoramas of tall snowy peaks and deep valleys on
Speaker 1: pretty much all sides of you. I kind of wanted
Speaker 1: to like recreate that scene from Titanic where Leonardo di
Speaker 1: Caprio yelled that he's on top of the world, even
Speaker 1: though when you think about it, he was at sea
Speaker 1: level so very much not the top of the world.
Speaker 1: That would make sense up here, like that line would
Speaker 1: be perfectly fitting on this trail in alpine tundra. I
Speaker 1: think he was more talking emotionally in the top of
Speaker 1: the world, but also no, like he was like a vagabond,
Speaker 1: which is like, you know, that's wander last I get it.
Speaker 1: But like he some may say he's nomadic. I guess yeah,
Speaker 1: speaking nomadic, you know, there's actually these times when we
Speaker 1: have to leave our nomadic lifestyle behind and grab that
Speaker 1: rental car, which I'm glad we were able to get
Speaker 1: back to UM so that way we could like make
Speaker 1: it through the park UM, because the r V would
Speaker 1: have been too big for a lot of points in
Speaker 1: Rocket Mountain National Park UM and you know the higher
Speaker 1: like elevation and the higher altitude UM. Yes, and the
Speaker 1: wind yes, because that's not fine, all right, We usually
Speaker 1: not plenty of time has been driving on just normal
Speaker 1: highways where there's a lot of wind, and it's tough
Speaker 1: to do that in r V. So I can't imagine
Speaker 1: doing that up here, driving through alpine tuntra with all
Speaker 1: that howling wind and just how winding the roads were
Speaker 1: too for like forty eight miles. So yeah, no, it's
Speaker 1: just yeah, I'm glad that we didn't have to really
Speaker 1: deal with that headache. I'm just like we were continued
Speaker 1: on to the Grand Lake UM section, or the western
Speaker 1: side of the park, which is by far the least
Speaker 1: visited side of Rocky Mountain because in the off season
Speaker 1: months when the Trail Ridge road is closed, it could
Speaker 1: take up to three hours to drive from one side
Speaker 1: to the other. But for us and only took like
Speaker 1: an hour or so. Yeah, and that was with you know,
Speaker 1: we're taking our time that. We also did some extra
Speaker 1: stops though along the way, like this time to trail,
Speaker 1: and then another portion that we visited was the Halsworth
Speaker 1: Historic Site, which was another one mile round trip trail,
Speaker 1: much easier because it's lower elevation and your back and
Speaker 1: like trees and no real snow or anything like that.
Speaker 1: Definitely no wind, and it was an easy gravel trail
Speaker 1: that crosses the Colorado River and then leads to an
Speaker 1: old dude ranch, which I absolutely love saying out loud.
Speaker 1: I don't know if I've ever been to a dude ranch,
Speaker 1: but here we we went to one. Yeah, it was
Speaker 1: a totally unplanned stop, but because neither of us had
Speaker 1: even heard of this area. But it was really cool
Speaker 1: to explore the secnsist of several old cabins built by
Speaker 1: the Howards family. Um, and I probably just slaughtered her name.
Speaker 1: But we're just gonna move on with that. We're gonna
Speaker 1: keep on going. Um because they used it as a
Speaker 1: ranch from nineteen nineteen to nineteen seventy four. UM, so
Speaker 1: it's really not even that long ago. Yeah, really not.
Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy five, the site was transferred to the
Speaker 1: National Park Service and then wrapped into the rest of
Speaker 1: Rocky Mountain Nah in the park, and it was also
Speaker 1: listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This place
Speaker 1: was cool. I'm really delighted that we did this and
Speaker 1: discovered it. I had never even heard about this, so
Speaker 1: it was a good little side trip. I loved it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: a little cozy retreat into the woods by the river. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was this absolute hidden gym, a little slice of
Speaker 1: heaven with cabins like the Rose Cabin, Mama cabin Um.
Speaker 1: This was long before WiFi was a thing, so the
Speaker 1: solitude and remoteness of these cabins was really just perfect. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think in small doses, like if they were like
Speaker 1: active gas cabins today and we stayed here, I think
Speaker 1: we'd both probably have millennial meltdown. We've been there before,
Speaker 1: so I just know it. They're fun to visit, though,
Speaker 1: Like we like how we did it, just kind of
Speaker 1: in and out in peruse, especially since when we passed through,
Speaker 1: they were National Park Service employees doing these old home
Speaker 1: studying demonstrations like baking biscuits and like exhibiting town srodermy
Speaker 1: and stuff like that. I was really interested in the biscuits.
Speaker 1: I was like hovering around being like is this just
Speaker 1: for show? Are you actually serving these? Yeah? And it
Speaker 1: was actually cool because we actually like learned that little
Speaker 1: fun fact um that the Colorado River actually just starts
Speaker 1: a few miles north and flows right through the park
Speaker 1: before making its way all the way down through Utah, Arizona, Mexico.
Speaker 1: So like learning about like these amazing biscuits and where
Speaker 1: the Colorado River starts both highlights. Yeah, I would agree
Speaker 1: with that. So the Colorado River starts at La Poudre
Speaker 1: Pass Lake, which is not that far north. Like you said,
Speaker 1: it was starting to kind of trickle through. It's a
Speaker 1: pretty it was like a stream at this point when
Speaker 1: we crossed it. So in a way, if you think
Speaker 1: about it, the Rocky Mountains are responsible for like Grand
Speaker 1: Candy National Park, among other things, which is wild to
Speaker 1: think about. That is crazy though, like a whole Grand
Speaker 1: Canyon is just a whole another thing, like like how
Speaker 1: it was built and formed, and I really want to
Speaker 1: get into that. But but you know, we continued the
Speaker 1: rest of the way, um down to the end of
Speaker 1: Trail Ridge Road to the Grand Canyon Lake side of
Speaker 1: the park. Uh, And it was so beautiful and peaceful,
Speaker 1: there were plenty of people here, but not nearly as
Speaker 1: much as the estes Um park side, but that was refreshing.
Speaker 1: And the first thing we did was we stopped to
Speaker 1: get lunch at this place called Grand Lake Lodge, which
Speaker 1: is this gorgeous, gorgeous property overlooking Grand Lake in the
Speaker 1: namesake town below. And the lodge has been open, so
Speaker 1: this is iconic and historic in its own right. And
Speaker 1: again another surprise, because I had never even heard of
Speaker 1: it before, and I'm so glad we discovered it. And
Speaker 1: I'm so glad that we were hungry at the time
Speaker 1: and that our cravings and appetites were perfectly aligned, because
Speaker 1: this is one of the best meals I think we've
Speaker 1: ever had at a national park. And I would go
Speaker 1: back into heartbeat. The restaurant inside of the lodge that
Speaker 1: we ate at was called the Hunting in House Tavern,
Speaker 1: and it was so it so yeah. It was this huge,
Speaker 1: like rustic restaurant with like great locally sourced food, local
Speaker 1: craft beers and craft cocktails, um like buffalo meatballs, subs
Speaker 1: and Colorado lamb sandwiches and steak frieds made from beef
Speaker 1: from a local farm, a very local and they also
Speaker 1: had a delicious falafelo wrap, to which I love flawfel,
Speaker 1: and it's one of those things that I see it
Speaker 1: on the menu, I have to order it, even if
Speaker 1: it in the context here it does seem kind of strange,
Speaker 1: like to have flaffel at this like Colorado, you know,
Speaker 1: local centric restaurant. But it was really really good and
Speaker 1: great hiking fuel to night, like hardy and nutritious. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because after lunch we parked um at the East Inlet
Speaker 1: trailhead by Grand Lake and we definitely needed that that fuel,
Speaker 1: and then we hiked to Adam Falls. Um. That part
Speaker 1: was easy and short and the falls are all like
Speaker 1: raging and loud, with lots of incredible photo opportunities, some
Speaker 1: serious white water as some of those falls. Yeah, that
Speaker 1: waterfall section was pretty pretty crazy crowded too. It was popular,
Speaker 1: filled with a lot of people, I think in large
Speaker 1: part because it's so close to the trailheads so it's
Speaker 1: easy to get to and tons of people just like
Speaker 1: shimming around on rocks getting different bantage points of the waterfall,
Speaker 1: which highly recommend. Loved it. So after Adams Falls, we
Speaker 1: hiked further along the trail pass two more rivers and
Speaker 1: waterfalls and the bright green colors of pine forest to
Speaker 1: just lots of vivid colors out here this time of year.
Speaker 1: It's crazy because like this river that we're hiking along
Speaker 1: starts with such a loud, fast moving waterfall, which is
Speaker 1: like slamming through these series of boulders, but then immediately,
Speaker 1: like shortly after, as we're walking along, it immediately gets
Speaker 1: quiet and still and like it feels like a whole
Speaker 1: another waterway entirely, these ponds and like streams and little
Speaker 1: inlets in the midst of wimming mountains in the background.
Speaker 1: I'll just picture perfect. Yeah, the hikes over on this
Speaker 1: side of the park are also lets steep and stenuous
Speaker 1: um and those on the east side by s Park,
Speaker 1: So it's great for families and anyone looking from more
Speaker 1: leisurely experience. Yes, I'm so glad we're able to visit
Speaker 1: the Grand Lake area and that we did this and
Speaker 1: the road leading there was open. And when we come back,
Speaker 1: we'll talk more about history, other hikes, regions and seasons
Speaker 1: here at Rocky Mountain National Park. Hi, I'm Matt and
Speaker 1: I'm Brad. This is park Landia, and today we're talking
Speaker 1: about Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado history. And now
Speaker 1: that we've given you a really good taste of this
Speaker 1: iconic national park, we're going to back it up and
Speaker 1: provide some more background on this historic region. Yeah, so
Speaker 1: long before we were hiking here and eating falafel here,
Speaker 1: you Indians hunted elk in the Grand Lake area some
Speaker 1: six thousand years ago, and on the east side, Arapaho
Speaker 1: and Cheyenne Indians lived on the plains portion of Colorado,
Speaker 1: frequently hunting in the Estes Park area. Native Americans actually
Speaker 1: lived here until the late seventeen hundreds, and the populations
Speaker 1: on either side of the mountains never even saw one
Speaker 1: another because the mountains were such like too rugged and
Speaker 1: too steep to cross, so tribes stay put. Plus there
Speaker 1: was just like plenty of food and water where they were,
Speaker 1: and there was no need to like risk hiking over
Speaker 1: these mountains. Yeah, exactly. So after the Louisiana purchase, these
Speaker 1: native peoples were sadly pushed out to reservations and new
Speaker 1: residents started to move into the area and develop this
Speaker 1: part of Colorado. And this is when places like Denver
Speaker 1: and Boulder took shape as boon towns for hopeful miners
Speaker 1: and prospectors now even the town of Estes Park, which
Speaker 1: gets his name from Joel Estes, who gave up looking
Speaker 1: for gold and began a business with his son by
Speaker 1: hunting meat and supplying it to businesses in Denver Um.
Speaker 1: He built cabins in the eighteen sixties, and so the
Speaker 1: origins of the present day Estes Park were essentially built
Speaker 1: on meat. Yeah, honestly, that's pretty brilliant and like what
Speaker 1: an innovator at the time, especially because there's a ton
Speaker 1: of elcan deer here. So the meat market is like,
Speaker 1: it has so much potential and he capitalized on it.
Speaker 1: And so after stuff like this, the reason began to
Speaker 1: take shape as a national park thanks to this hiker
Speaker 1: and conservationist named Enos Mills, who fell in love with
Speaker 1: the area in the late eighteen hundreds and began writing
Speaker 1: articles about protecting it from further development and commercialization. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he actually became a lecturer for National Park Service in
Speaker 1: nineteen o seven under present Theodore Roosevelt. Our boy. He
Speaker 1: was able to catch the attention and of important organizations
Speaker 1: like the Colorado Mountains Club in the Denver Chamber of Commerce,
Speaker 1: which definitely helped his cause to protect the land. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and it wind up being a sort of happily ever
Speaker 1: after situation because when Rocky Mountain National Park was established
Speaker 1: in nineteen fifteen, making it the ninth the national park
Speaker 1: in the country, and even though the entire Rocky Mountain
Speaker 1: Range stretches for thousands of miles, the park only contains
Speaker 1: two sixty five thousand acres of those, including some of
Speaker 1: the most iconic peaks in the range, like Long's Peak,
Speaker 1: the highest in the park at fourteen thousand two feet whopping.
Speaker 1: All in all, this park is a hikers dream. It's
Speaker 1: got more than three miles of trails to explore, from
Speaker 1: easy and relaxing to terrifyingly hard. Yeah, Like, didn't you
Speaker 1: actually like try and do one of those Long Peaks
Speaker 1: trails while we were there? Yeah? I did. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure what I was thinking, because in retrospect, that's crazy
Speaker 1: that I was thinking I could do that, But as
Speaker 1: we all know, that is part of the course. For me,
Speaker 1: I'm out of my mind. It's um sixteen miles round
Speaker 1: trip with four thousand feet of elevation game and it's
Speaker 1: marked as extremely strenuous with an exclamation point included, like
Speaker 1: that's what they have in the trail market and stuff,
Speaker 1: so you know they're serious. Can we call you the
Speaker 1: neurotic nomadic nomad or something? Yeah, I think that would
Speaker 1: be good. The neurotic nomad. Yeah, I'm fine with that.
Speaker 1: But unfortunately, if you're on well being, the trails, like
Speaker 1: towards the top was still too snowy and icy, so
Speaker 1: you couldn't do the whole thing. Yeah, so it kind
Speaker 1: of saved me for myself, because lord now I would
Speaker 1: have tried. I did wind up parking at the Long
Speaker 1: Speak trailhead though, on the southeastern side of the park
Speaker 1: and doing the Chasm Lake Trail instead, which was absolutely
Speaker 1: beautiful and a much better alternative for me. I think
Speaker 1: it leads through these tranquil pine forests and up across
Speaker 1: these rugged boulder fields before certainly around this shimmering alpine
Speaker 1: lake along this steep, snowy slope. It was actually like
Speaker 1: towards the end it wind up be so steep and
Speaker 1: snowy that I didn't finish the whole trail because I
Speaker 1: didn't have like snow spikes in my shoes and I
Speaker 1: was super hardly prepared. I don't have like proper hiking
Speaker 1: stuff for for that type of terrain or weather especially,
Speaker 1: so I didn't want to slip and slyly all the
Speaker 1: way down the mountain. Yeah, we really got to get
Speaker 1: you better hiking shoes, especially for those like snowy conditions
Speaker 1: like this. Yeah, and this was summer too, so that's
Speaker 1: really saying something. And you can imagine how grolling and
Speaker 1: impossibly I see things probably getting the winter, I don't
Speaker 1: even I don't think I could get more than like
Speaker 1: half a mile in. Isn't that when you actually visit
Speaker 1: the park for the first time with Elena? Yeah, it
Speaker 1: was right on the cusp of winter. It was mid November,
Speaker 1: so in Rocky Mountain terms, that is full blown winter. Yes,
Speaker 1: So you know what we should do. I think we
Speaker 1: should bring on Elena to talk more about her time
Speaker 1: here with you and what it's like visiting Rocky Mountain
Speaker 1: National Park in the off season. So our friend of
Speaker 1: Lana Kirson is one of our best friends from Chicago.
Speaker 1: We've known her for several years now, fortunate enough to
Speaker 1: meet and run in the same social circles. And also
Speaker 1: she's just so much fun to either go bar hopping
Speaker 1: with in Chicago or go on national park adventures and
Speaker 1: our hop or National Park Up National Park. Yeah, I've
Speaker 1: been fortunate enough to have been to a few National
Speaker 1: parks with a Wayne at this point. She is one
Speaker 1: of my favorite travel buddies and she's just always like
Speaker 1: down for any type of adventure, which I always appreciate.
Speaker 1: Makes it very easy to plan. And we both are
Speaker 1: kind of on the same level too. We like to
Speaker 1: high I can explore and really immerse ourselves and then
Speaker 1: when it's all done, go to like a brewery or
Speaker 1: something so and it's really a beautiful thing. And we
Speaker 1: wanted to bring on some of our friends and instead
Speaker 1: of just getting with the professionals behind national parks, are
Speaker 1: these people who have been inspired? We want to talk
Speaker 1: about more of the normalcy of traveling to national parks
Speaker 1: and what kind of bond that can bring um with
Speaker 1: your friends. Yeah, and she's perfect too to provide a
Speaker 1: perspective because like, unlike us, these you know, nomadic people
Speaker 1: who are traveling in an RV in and out of
Speaker 1: national parks. She's someone who she lives in Chicago still
Speaker 1: and she has a full time job. But it just
Speaker 1: kind of goes to show how accessible national parks are
Speaker 1: for pretty much like anyone, no matter like where you're from,
Speaker 1: what you're doing, what your lifestyle is like, and so forth.
Speaker 1: Just you know, requires some planning. But as long as
Speaker 1: you're down with it and ready to do it, it
Speaker 1: can you know, you can make memories together. And that's
Speaker 1: exactly what I've done with Elena. And we're excited to
Speaker 1: stroll down memory Lane a little bit. And since it
Speaker 1: was Rocky Mountain in November, memory Lane was very snowy.
Speaker 1: It was a snowy lane. Elena, why don't you tell
Speaker 1: us a little bit about yourself? Sure? Hi, Hi everyone.
Speaker 1: My name is Elena Kerson, um from Chicago. That's how
Speaker 1: I know Brad and Matt. We've known each other for
Speaker 1: I don't even know how long we've going each other.
Speaker 1: Feels like forever. Maybe a good five years more definitely
Speaker 1: like we're talking about seven, eight years, maybe a whole decade.
Speaker 1: Nice um. But yeah, I'm out here in Chicago. Um,
Speaker 1: I'm a tax manager, so I don't really you know,
Speaker 1: I'm kind of in the office kind of person. So
Speaker 1: this is, uh, this is really cool for me to
Speaker 1: come and talk to you guys about Rocky Mountain National Park. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that was such a cool trip to um here about
Speaker 1: Matt was telling me about this um this trip to
Speaker 1: Rocky Mountains for a couple of years before I even
Speaker 1: got the chance to go to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Speaker 1: So I was living vicariously through you, and I know
Speaker 1: that Matt has so many things that he wants to
Speaker 1: talk about and with you. Yeah, Well, first I kind
Speaker 1: of want to give a little bit of background, because
Speaker 1: you and I, Elena, have a really fun and awesome
Speaker 1: like kind of relationship with national parks. Like we started,
Speaker 1: Rocky Mountain was not our first park we went to together,
Speaker 1: and I think the start of that I remember vividly,
Speaker 1: like sitting down with you at a coffee shop in
Speaker 1: Chicago and like planning out uh, potential national parks vacation.
Speaker 1: The trip turned out wonderfully. We went to Big Bend
Speaker 1: National Park in Texas, and that really stuck with all
Speaker 1: of us who were on that trip, and then like
Speaker 1: in the following years, just that interest continue to grow.
Speaker 1: And then I think that contributed in a big way
Speaker 1: to leading us to Rocky Mountain National Park and why
Speaker 1: you and I wanted to prioritize going there together and
Speaker 1: I'm so glad we did. It was so much Yeah,
Speaker 1: the first trip was very well planned, but as I recall,
Speaker 1: with this Colorado Unver trip, I just sort of tagged.
Speaker 1: So that was just kind of me being like, hey,
Speaker 1: can I join you, Matt. That was and I'm so glad.
Speaker 1: You know, happy accidents, they're the best. Yeah, that's all
Speaker 1: of these trips. I remember them with such fondness, like
Speaker 1: it's it's such a nice way to bond with your
Speaker 1: friends too, because it's it's different than just traveling to
Speaker 1: a city. You know, you could experience something together. Um.
Speaker 1: And I think the Big Ben trip really solidifying that
Speaker 1: bond because we still talk about it to this Oh
Speaker 1: my gosh, we still have that group text going like
Speaker 1: from that trip text will never die, will never die. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's beautiful. So I think our five year reunions coming
Speaker 1: up it seriously. So this Colorado trip I remember for
Speaker 1: the first like chunk of it. I was out on
Speaker 1: like a work trip to visit Denver. This is my,
Speaker 1: I think, my first time in Denver, and I was
Speaker 1: like I had some appointments and meetings and whatnot in
Speaker 1: the city primarily, but I also had a ton of
Speaker 1: free time and I have like I had extra days
Speaker 1: to do whatever. So it wounded up being like the
Speaker 1: perfect opportunity to have like travel with you and kind
Speaker 1: of bounce around this new environment together. And the Rocky
Speaker 1: Mountain opportunity was hard to pass up. So that was big.
Speaker 1: And one kind of shocker for me was I didn't
Speaker 1: realize how like non mountainous Denver was. I always envisioned
Speaker 1: it as like in the mountains, like in the Rocky Guns,
Speaker 1: and it was it's not. Yeah, it's like pretty flat
Speaker 1: and you have to drive like two hours to get
Speaker 1: to just east of the range. Apparently no one. No
Speaker 1: one told me, yeah, you have to drive to the mountains, yes,
Speaker 1: like quite a way. So let me let's like talk
Speaker 1: about our for our experience that driving day and from
Speaker 1: Denver to Rocky Mountain, because it was like such a
Speaker 1: gorgeous drive. I remember the road that takes you right
Speaker 1: into the park, into Estes Park and then to the
Speaker 1: National Park. You were like in a canyon following this
Speaker 1: like Windy River, and things are getting snowier and rockier
Speaker 1: fittingly and craggier, and so it was really nice to
Speaker 1: leave like the city behind for a day and like
Speaker 1: unplug and then immerse ourselves in this like space, which
Speaker 1: was really incredible and it kind of absorbs you in
Speaker 1: it pretty quickly. Yeah, the drive there was was beautiful,
Speaker 1: and I feel like, not knowing what to expect, it's
Speaker 1: even better because it just sort of unfolds right in
Speaker 1: front of you. But yeah, I remember that day being beautiful.
Speaker 1: I think we we definitely looked out in terms of
Speaker 1: the weather and whatnot, even though I think we were
Speaker 1: very much under dressed. I think we yes, we were,
Speaker 1: and we did not know at least I did not
Speaker 1: have like proper snow footwear for for that day at all.
Speaker 1: I would I did not bring my snow boots, not
Speaker 1: at all, because I assumed to be like Denver. Again,
Speaker 1: like silly mate, Like I thought the weather or the
Speaker 1: you know, snow, it would be the same as Denver,
Speaker 1: which was pretty minimal in the city. But again they
Speaker 1: have like street plows and people constantly doing that and
Speaker 1: that's not the case in the wilderness. So good to Yeah.
Speaker 1: And the and the elevation change always, oh yeah, big
Speaker 1: elevation change. Yeah, yeah, I remember very vividly. Yes, so
Speaker 1: the spur of the moment trip left you unprepared. Basically,
Speaker 1: I'm in the best way possible, like we we didn't
Speaker 1: you know, we didn't get caught in like a snowstorm
Speaker 1: or anything, but just maybe we're just like a little
Speaker 1: colder than we should just if we if we packed appropriately,
Speaker 1: that's perfect though. Yeah I can handle that. So our
Speaker 1: first stop was at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, which
Speaker 1: is um like the main visitor center near Estes Park,
Speaker 1: the kind of heart or the gateway to Rocky Mountain
Speaker 1: National Park on the most visited side, and excellent visitors center.
Speaker 1: The thing I remember most about this visitor center and
Speaker 1: that I love the most was I think this is
Speaker 1: where you got your first or is this where you
Speaker 1: bought your passport but your national park passport book? I
Speaker 1: think so yeah, yeah, so I which is sad because
Speaker 1: then I didn't get the big bend one. So that's
Speaker 1: more reason to go back. Yeah. Um, but yeah that
Speaker 1: was like this little book travels with me everywhere now,
Speaker 1: so yeah, this is the start of the passport book.
Speaker 1: I love that because I feel I mean, I've talked
Speaker 1: about how obsessed I am with my passport book, and
Speaker 1: I feel like whichever park you bought it at, whichever
Speaker 1: visitor center, just kind of holds extra meaning, extra special meaning,
Speaker 1: and I love that. I love that there's this connection
Speaker 1: with Rocky Mountain in particular because this is where you
Speaker 1: got your book, and I remember you got your first stamp,
Speaker 1: and we're both just so elated about it. Yeah, that's good,
Speaker 1: the first one. And I get those little stick gurs
Speaker 1: because I feel like that, Yeah, well that totally adds. Yeah,
Speaker 1: on top of that for sure, for sure. So from
Speaker 1: the from the visitor center, we kind of wand our
Speaker 1: way into the park and the first thing we did
Speaker 1: was this little, this pretty short trail around an area
Speaker 1: called Sprague Lake, which was about half a mile round trip,
Speaker 1: and it's this loop and I loved it because it
Speaker 1: was just like pretty quiet. I don't remember other people
Speaker 1: or many other people being there, and it was our
Speaker 1: first physical activity we did in the park, so it
Speaker 1: was nice to get out into this world and see
Speaker 1: the mountains blooming in the distance and all the snow
Speaker 1: and ice. Was just really serene. That lake was beautiful.
Speaker 1: I think we may have been the only ones there
Speaker 1: for for a little bit. Yeah, but it felt like
Speaker 1: we had the whole place to ourselves. It did. I know.
Speaker 1: That's the best part. It wasn't chanting, it wasn't chanting.
Speaker 1: I was looking at some pictures of it, so I
Speaker 1: it's uh, it was. It was a very it wasn't
Speaker 1: a large lake right like, it was like you could
Speaker 1: see from one end to the other. Yeah, And it
Speaker 1: was like all covered in snow and the whole path
Speaker 1: was covered in snow um and we just made our
Speaker 1: way around it. It was really beautiful and chanting is
Speaker 1: a really good way to describe Rocky Mountain National Park
Speaker 1: as a whole, but especially in front of the lake.
Speaker 1: Oh I stop. I agree, And that also I think
Speaker 1: this highlights why it's so so like awesome to visit
Speaker 1: a park like this in the off season. Like had
Speaker 1: we done this in like July or August, I can
Speaker 1: only assume like Sprock Lake would be swarming with people
Speaker 1: and the parking the trailhead would be like mobbed or
Speaker 1: inaccessible because Rocky Mountain gets so many visitors. And it
Speaker 1: was nice to do this like mid November, where sure
Speaker 1: things are cold, things are snowy, but like it's not
Speaker 1: unreasonable by any means, and it's not torturous and it's
Speaker 1: worth it just to have like these little calm moments
Speaker 1: of like peace and serenity in nature. And that's I
Speaker 1: think that's my favorite way to like experience places like this,
Speaker 1: when you know you're not having to elbow people out
Speaker 1: of the way. Yeah. I whenever I go, I try
Speaker 1: to plan a during off peak times because it's really
Speaker 1: nice to have a space to yourself, because you really
Speaker 1: feel like you're out in nature. Um, I mean not
Speaker 1: that you know, having other people around is like a
Speaker 1: horrible thing, it's kind of nice as well. It's comforting
Speaker 1: if you haven't seen someone for a while to to
Speaker 1: see a friendly human face. Um. But yeah, that was
Speaker 1: it really is. It was like a magical little lake.
Speaker 1: It was. It was really beautiful. I think it would
Speaker 1: have been a lot different had we gone in the summer.
Speaker 1: In the spring, I prefer that. I kind of prefer
Speaker 1: that we saw that the snow. There's no version of
Speaker 1: that lake. Yeah, yeah, right, for sure for sure. So
Speaker 1: from here, the main like highlight thing that we did
Speaker 1: that day was we drove. So we got back onto
Speaker 1: this main road, are Lake Road and then drove pretty
Speaker 1: much down to the end of it to this really
Speaker 1: popular trailhead called Bare Lake Trailhead, which, again in the
Speaker 1: summer I'm sure is just insanity. But because even then,
Speaker 1: like it was cold and snowy, but like there's still
Speaker 1: a good amount of cars in that parking lot, I remember,
Speaker 1: and we wanted to do one of the There was
Speaker 1: like a series of trails that branch off of this,
Speaker 1: and from what we read, they seemed like they were
Speaker 1: some of the most popular like trails in the park.
Speaker 1: So they just sounded really great, and they all led
Speaker 1: to like different lakes, all had like really lovely names,
Speaker 1: Like we did the Dream Lake trail, which I mean
Speaker 1: that sounds how can you not go with the trail
Speaker 1: like that? And this one was a bit longer than
Speaker 1: Sprog Lake. It was about two miles round trips, like
Speaker 1: one mile up to the Dream Lake itself and then
Speaker 1: we like looped around the lake and then came back
Speaker 1: down like about another mile, And I this one was
Speaker 1: pretty epic. This is when things were starting to get
Speaker 1: like pretty cold. My feet were getting wet. But in
Speaker 1: spite of all that, I'm like, this is again like
Speaker 1: enchanting and you're like in the forest. I don't think
Speaker 1: I was prepared for the like the elevation change and
Speaker 1: the climb, because I think we were very much fooled
Speaker 1: by that first little hike we did around on the lake. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because it was flat, you didn't have to don't you
Speaker 1: don't have to struggle. No, that's true to work. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that one was like really comfortable and level and open too.
Speaker 1: It was you know, so there was like more sunlight
Speaker 1: that kind of mitigated the chill. But this one was
Speaker 1: pretty immersive because we were in like like in the woods.
Speaker 1: There was a ton of ore trees pretty much from
Speaker 1: the very beginning, and the whole thing, I think, if
Speaker 1: I recalled correctly, the whole the whole path was pretty
Speaker 1: much covered in snow. So you're just sort of like
Speaker 1: trying to make your way up these hills. Some of
Speaker 1: them were much steeper than others um and difficult to climb.
Speaker 1: And I remember feeling like that you were in the
Speaker 1: mountains because the elevation change, and you could feel like
Speaker 1: it was a lot more difficult to walk. Absolutely as
Speaker 1: we were making a way to the Dream Lakes, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I could definitely feel it, and not just like in
Speaker 1: terms of like my feet were getting wet, but like
Speaker 1: my note, I remember my nose was kind of sore
Speaker 1: because of the elevation change, and then my lips were
Speaker 1: super chaps I was like guzzling water and also like
Speaker 1: tearing through chapstick, Like it was kind of this fall
Speaker 1: body experience, which it was a full body Yeah, I
Speaker 1: was like, oh, I haven't trained for this, kind of
Speaker 1: not physically fit enough to be here. No, it wasn't
Speaker 1: that bad, But I think it was just kind of
Speaker 1: like the whole thing was just discovering this park, Like, um,
Speaker 1: I had no expectations for what we would encounter at all,
Speaker 1: which I again needed that much better, both of the
Speaker 1: beginning of both of your journeys into national parks and
Speaker 1: just really exploring them, um, you know, as adults for
Speaker 1: the first time, and and so there's just a lot
Speaker 1: of a lot of pieces that you don't know until
Speaker 1: you experience it. And then once you've experienced it, you
Speaker 1: know you've changed the way you travel, right, Oh totally, yeah,
Speaker 1: absolutely very much. So after this, uh, this first trip there, Elena,
Speaker 1: what but are a couple of things that you would
Speaker 1: bring water? Yeah, A hat. Um, I don't just stress appropriately,
Speaker 1: I think I think, well, I guess it depends on
Speaker 1: the time of year, but just keep in mind that
Speaker 1: even if you're coming from Denver and it's and it's sunny,
Speaker 1: and warm, and you maybe have like a light jacket
Speaker 1: on that you may need a couple more layers coming
Speaker 1: into the park. Um and maybe not the gym shoes
Speaker 1: with the slippery bottoms, like something with a little crap,
Speaker 1: because like if you end up doing those hikes, like
Speaker 1: the elevation change, like it's it's pretty significant. So like
Speaker 1: you end up piking, and you don't want to be
Speaker 1: like on your hands and knees cry. I mean, I
Speaker 1: guess you can. It's not a bad way to go.
Speaker 1: So but yeah, I would say just dress appropriately and
Speaker 1: and bring water and put on sunscreen because the sun, yes,
Speaker 1: he's out there. Yeah, and chopstick. I guess Matt gets
Speaker 1: it's cold and wintry that there's no sun and that
Speaker 1: is just not the truth. The snow that reflects the
Speaker 1: sun onto you, which like amplifies it. Remember likesing like crazy,
Speaker 1: Like I needed prescription sunglasses because the sun was like
Speaker 1: not only hitting you directly, but it's also like reflecting
Speaker 1: off of this like really bright white snow and ice.
Speaker 1: So I'm just like blindly wandering forward in my like
Speaker 1: slippery sneakers through the forest. It was I was trying
Speaker 1: to like like make sure mad doesn't follow them out
Speaker 1: in the internre right, or like wander onto dream leg
Speaker 1: and like crashed to the ice or something. It all
Speaker 1: out straight onto the lake. So like should I stopped him? No,
Speaker 1: he looks fine, he looks fine. I'm fine. I did
Speaker 1: because I remember I actually did buy because again I
Speaker 1: wasn't prepared with enough layers. But from the visitor center,
Speaker 1: I did get one of those like buffs, which kind
Speaker 1: of you can configure as you please. So I used
Speaker 1: it as like a makeshift scarf and like wrapped it
Speaker 1: tightly around my neck. Yeah, yeah, I remember that. Now
Speaker 1: that works. Good thinking. Good thinking. Uh. There's so many
Speaker 1: ways that like national parks inspire people or change their mindsets.
Speaker 1: Like from when you first went to a national park
Speaker 1: until now, what are what are some of the changes
Speaker 1: that you see when you go to national parks Like um,
Speaker 1: like we we've been talking about like how it like
Speaker 1: creates less anxiety for us, um or it just clears
Speaker 1: our mind. What's to do for you? Um? Yeah, it's definitely.
Speaker 1: It's it's a good like a head clearing kind of
Speaker 1: um moment, you know when you're there, um, just being
Speaker 1: in the city all the time and working, you know,
Speaker 1: sitting in front of a computer for me, you know,
Speaker 1: sitting all the time. I think I really love being
Speaker 1: out there and being in walking and hiking, um discovering
Speaker 1: you know, like we'll get the little books with like
Speaker 1: what are the trees, what's the foliage, you know, like
Speaker 1: all these different um kind of history of the parks
Speaker 1: and just learning about it. I think there's there's a
Speaker 1: greater appreciation for all these places. And the more, the
Speaker 1: more times you go, the more you appreciate being out there.
Speaker 1: So like now when we plan vacations, it's usually like
Speaker 1: we have to have at least one vacation during the
Speaker 1: year where we go to a national park. Yes, it
Speaker 1: helps me on wine and and you know, from the
Speaker 1: stress and stuff, and it's you know, it's different being
Speaker 1: out in nature and the fact that you don't have
Speaker 1: cell phone reception is actually beautiful. I very much enjoyed,
Speaker 1: like be prepared for it, but um, I like not
Speaker 1: being connected for a little bit. Absolutely, It's it's one
Speaker 1: of the best feelings ever. And I love the feeling
Speaker 1: the struggle of like having what shoes or being prepared
Speaker 1: and going getting through it and learning from it because
Speaker 1: like those experiences are what like just really just you
Speaker 1: push yourself outside of your comfort zone in a way
Speaker 1: and you've learned from that. And it's like, I know
Speaker 1: it sounds silly, but like learning how to be prepared
Speaker 1: there helps me learn how to be prepared more in
Speaker 1: the business world, and it makes me think of things
Speaker 1: differently when I get back, so because you've just been
Speaker 1: able to shut out. So that's personally for me. But
Speaker 1: I just love those, um those instances where you kind
Speaker 1: of just get that three sixty experience or like, I've
Speaker 1: got to experience this, and what am I bringing back
Speaker 1: from this trip besides peace? Because yeah. And then and
Speaker 1: there's moments where you like accomplish something like you get
Speaker 1: to the end of a trail or it's like you know,
Speaker 1: um and it's at the top of a mountain or something,
Speaker 1: and you feel super accomplished for for doing something like that, um,
Speaker 1: you know, on top of like the views and the
Speaker 1: amazing um the challenge of it all. So I also
Speaker 1: like that part of it, just kind of pushing yourself
Speaker 1: a little harder every time and finding a trail that
Speaker 1: you normally wouldn't pick, um, just to get out there
Speaker 1: and to to experience something different. Oh yeah, so true. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I love it too. And there's also an element that
Speaker 1: I find with especially an experience like this, like a
Speaker 1: wintry Rocky Mountain National Park, is it's somewhat humbling to
Speaker 1: be reminded like, oh I have there's still so much
Speaker 1: to learn and discover, not only just in terms like
Speaker 1: ecology and wildlife and whatever, but like with within myself,
Speaker 1: like oh, like I I'm woefully underdressed for this, Like
Speaker 1: I do not have a full grasp on this National
Speaker 1: park or any national park. And it's nice and it
Speaker 1: feels good to kind of be humbled by that in
Speaker 1: these like really epic places that remind you in not
Speaker 1: so subtle ways that like, yes, you're you're just you know,
Speaker 1: a little human being like here to explore and drink
Speaker 1: it in and have this experience and grow from it.
Speaker 1: And sometimes that's wetter and icier than I would ideally like,
Speaker 1: but it's I walk away feeling much better for it,
Speaker 1: And then it also makes for much better memories, you know,
Speaker 1: to like a park like this during the time of
Speaker 1: year like that are just some of my favorite moments
Speaker 1: because they're so special and so kind of individualistic. You
Speaker 1: know I like that too. Yeah, humbling is a good word. You.
Speaker 1: I always feel humbled whenever when I when I visit
Speaker 1: a national park, just because they're always so much bigger
Speaker 1: than you when you think they are, even when you
Speaker 1: know how right, that's very true. It's hard to comprehend
Speaker 1: enchanting and humbling. Those are those are the key takeaways. Perfect. Hi,
Speaker 1: I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is park Landia and
Speaker 1: today we're talking about Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Food. Alright,
Speaker 1: so we really got to talk about Estes Park more. Um,
Speaker 1: the town where we were staying just for a few days,
Speaker 1: the town that meat built because Mr O. G. S
Speaker 1: I started butchering deer and selling it to local restaurants
Speaker 1: and whatever. Yeah, it's definitely a cool and popular place,
Speaker 1: and cool by meaning cold. But in June this place
Speaker 1: is just really bustling and busy. Um, so be sure
Speaker 1: to make sure that there's campgrounds, you know, you want
Speaker 1: to reserve way in advance, um, for hotel reservations anything
Speaker 1: like that. Um. We were lucky and like got last
Speaker 1: min out reservations. But the good thing about our lifestyle
Speaker 1: is like we can quickly change things. But if you're
Speaker 1: planning a trip, you want to make sure you have
Speaker 1: reservations because it's too risky, too risky, and I'm not
Speaker 1: at all comfortable with that type of risk, which is
Speaker 1: kind of ironic because like my hiking lifestyle, apparently, I
Speaker 1: throw that out the window and I just put my
Speaker 1: life at risk on these treacherous trails apparently. But this
Speaker 1: type of risk is what scares me, Like not having
Speaker 1: a potential urvace body. I freak out. He does. But
Speaker 1: I'm glad it all worked out and we were able
Speaker 1: to spend some time here because it's really really lovely
Speaker 1: and lively. Um in the summer, it was perfect. We
Speaker 1: were there at the perfect time, and s S Park
Speaker 1: is like really where it's at. Of the more than
Speaker 1: four million annual visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park, most
Speaker 1: people at least come through here, if not stay here,
Speaker 1: and it shows with so many touristy shops and restaurants,
Speaker 1: and especially a booming fudge shops scene and ice cream
Speaker 1: shop scene. Like this is a very sweet booming You
Speaker 1: mean there's like twenty two blocks. Yeah, it's crazy. There's
Speaker 1: so many fudge shops. Um, that's this park. May have
Speaker 1: been built by meat, but it's definitely got a sweet tooth.
Speaker 1: Though I know there's a lot a lot here. I
Speaker 1: don't know how they all stay in business. It's kind
Speaker 1: of astonishing to me. But you and I just wound
Speaker 1: up getting some ice cream from one of the you know,
Speaker 1: thirty ice cream shops here and strolling around the cute streets,
Speaker 1: and it was really nice, like an early summer evening.
Speaker 1: And then you wound up dropping years in the ground
Speaker 1: and the stroll was over. At least I got a
Speaker 1: few good links out of it, Yeah, you did, and
Speaker 1: you know it was great. Otherwise, and ice cream in
Speaker 1: a cone is another risk I'm not comfortable with, and
Speaker 1: I think this is proof of that. For this very reason,
Speaker 1: I always get like worried that I'm going to spill
Speaker 1: it like that, or that I need to make it
Speaker 1: really fast otherwise it'll melt all over me. It's like
Speaker 1: a race against the clock. You definitely overthink things when
Speaker 1: it comes to ice cream, yes, and underthink things when
Speaker 1: it comes to my physical capabilities. I guess I I
Speaker 1: admit both of those things. Yes, And right there in
Speaker 1: town um Invests. I really love the farmer's market, which
Speaker 1: We're gonna have our friend Tim Burton on here coming
Speaker 1: up um on the next episode, and of Burton's Mapwood
Speaker 1: Farm and he sells his pure and barrel aged maple
Speaker 1: syrups there, and I just really really love it and
Speaker 1: I can get behind it. Um. It's something that I
Speaker 1: love working on Tim with and you know, helping him
Speaker 1: out throughout the road in our travels at different events. Um.
Speaker 1: He's a really great guy. So I'm really excited to
Speaker 1: talk about that in the next episode. But what else
Speaker 1: do we really love about estes Park Um? I think
Speaker 1: we both know the answer to that. It's the Stanley
Speaker 1: Hotel and it's time to talk about the Shining Hotel. Ak.
Speaker 1: It's everything that I've ever dreamed of or had nightmares about.
Speaker 1: I guess it's his beautiful, vintage looking colonial like revival
Speaker 1: style hotel up on the hill overlooking the heart of
Speaker 1: Estes Um. It served as an inspiration for Stephen King's
Speaker 1: Overlook Hotel in the book. Yeah, and it makes sense.
Speaker 1: The Stanley Hotel first opened in nineteen nine, so it's
Speaker 1: about it's been around a very long time, and when
Speaker 1: Stephen King stayed here in I can totally see up
Speaker 1: being isolated and getting kind of cabin fever in the winter,
Speaker 1: since ses Park was much less developed at the time
Speaker 1: and not nearly as much of a year round destination
Speaker 1: like it is today. Yeah, he and his wife stayed
Speaker 1: here at the end of the season, right before or
Speaker 1: the hotel closed for the winter, so it's probably like
Speaker 1: early quiet and empty. And the roomy stayed in, Room
Speaker 1: to seventeen is still the most requested room at the
Speaker 1: Stanley Hotel, Yes it is, and even though that notorious
Speaker 1: room in the movie is changed to thirty seven, so
Speaker 1: that guess wouldn't be too terrified to stay there, you know,
Speaker 1: that's that's a fun fact, but silly then because there
Speaker 1: are tons of people out there who seek that stuff out.
Speaker 1: And not only is it not a deterrent, like people
Speaker 1: aren't gonna be too scared of it, but it's become
Speaker 1: like a little tourist attraction in its own right, And
Speaker 1: it's just it shows the hotel fully embracing it by
Speaker 1: doing stuff like that, and they host these haunted tours
Speaker 1: as well, which we need to do it. We didn't
Speaker 1: do that, but we definitely have to go back to
Speaker 1: That's just park Grand Lake more timing Grand Lake, and
Speaker 1: it would be really cool to stay at the Stanley Hotel. Yes. Um.
Speaker 1: In addition to the insbracing for the Shining though, there's
Speaker 1: like ports of like paranormal activity here and the hotel
Speaker 1: has been feature on shows like Ghost Tensers. So stay
Speaker 1: here if you did. Yeah, I'm actually not sure I
Speaker 1: could do that. Parallel stuff really creased me out. I
Speaker 1: could do like this the shining like inspiration like that's
Speaker 1: that's one thing, but parallel activity if it's anything like
Speaker 1: the movie which really messed me up, like really did Um,
Speaker 1: I don't know if I could I could do that.
Speaker 1: I think it's we'd probably better off just coming to
Speaker 1: the Stanley Hotel for cocktails, which we did and they
Speaker 1: it's a fun way to do it. The only thing
Speaker 1: that will haunt you there is potentially a hangover That
Speaker 1: would be so worth it though, because the bar there
Speaker 1: is fantastic. Uh. We came two different times when we
Speaker 1: were instas Park right, Yes, we did. We liked it
Speaker 1: so much that became I don't know if it's two
Speaker 1: nights in a row, but we definitely came twice. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And the drinks are like totally legit and the vibe
Speaker 1: is like totally cozy and like school. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think I got a fray. Did you really want to
Speaker 1: say that that's inspired me to like get it more? Yeah,
Speaker 1: oh no, but it was View Correy. It was. That's right,
Speaker 1: because yeah that's clever. Now, yeah, I don't remember that,
Speaker 1: but it's good. I'm lying. The Rocky Mountain View is
Speaker 1: what they called it, and it was spelled v I
Speaker 1: e u X, like it's just about it. So yeah,
Speaker 1: the Rocky Mountain View is the cocktail nice. So the
Speaker 1: main restaurant here at the Stanley is called Cascades, but
Speaker 1: we just visited the Whiskey Bar, which is attached and
Speaker 1: has a lot of small plates off of that same menu.
Speaker 1: And then the drinks are like the front and center.
Speaker 1: They most mostly focus on the super kind of boozy
Speaker 1: whiskey based drinks obviously, and I love that they have
Speaker 1: something in addition to your clever thing. They have a
Speaker 1: drink here called red Rum Punch, because of course they do.
Speaker 1: They're just totally embracing the shining. It's made with rum
Speaker 1: plus from Bois BlackBerry liquor, lime pineapple, a gave and
Speaker 1: it sounds it sounds great. It's like a fun, boozy
Speaker 1: like fruity punch. Yeah, they are. It's I mean, it's
Speaker 1: just it's really amazing. They have amazing old fashions in
Speaker 1: Manhattan's Uman. Yeah, I think my favorite. Remember the drink
Speaker 1: I had both times was this like basically Banana Manhattan
Speaker 1: top Top Banana top Top Banana of Manhattan. It is
Speaker 1: essentially classic Manhattan, which is like one of my go
Speaker 1: to drinks, but this one had the addition of banana
Speaker 1: LaCour and tomorrow so smooth, like got it all sweet
Speaker 1: like banana things could be. They can veer into like
Speaker 1: chloinge and territory, and they taste like the what's that
Speaker 1: like banana runts, you know where it's just like bright yellow.
Speaker 1: It doesn't like taste like banana, just tastes like the
Speaker 1: color yellow. Yeah, oh man, you know what the good
Speaker 1: thing is? If you are not satisfied by great cocktails
Speaker 1: and you're still like kind of creeped out by the
Speaker 1: shining and peril normal activity stuff, it will be helpful
Speaker 1: to know that Dumb and Dummer was also filmed here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that was a nice surprise, especially a much like appreciated
Speaker 1: dose of lovity. And I had no idea I didn't
Speaker 1: know that was filmed here. But and that's saying something
Speaker 1: because Dumb and Dumber used to be like one of
Speaker 1: my favorite movies. We're probably still is, Like I love
Speaker 1: that movie. It's been a while since we've watched it.
Speaker 1: It's time, it's time, And like because this is that
Speaker 1: I remember the scene, like the setting perfectly. This is
Speaker 1: like where Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels go to this
Speaker 1: lavish gala that's like way way about their pay grade,
Speaker 1: and they're dressed like Neon cartoons basically, like one's in
Speaker 1: like a bright orange tuxedo, the other one it's like
Speaker 1: getting like a light blue Remember, such a good scene.
Speaker 1: They stand out like until they like well, you know,
Speaker 1: basically killing. They kill an owl with a champagne cork.
Speaker 1: Is that right there? Like pop a ball of champagne
Speaker 1: and then kill this like rare owl. Yeah, classic classic
Speaker 1: Dumb and Dummer. That sounds like I feel like maybe
Speaker 1: what I would never First of all, I would never purpose,
Speaker 1: but like on accident, we would accidentally do that. Like
Speaker 1: of course I don't have the best of lex sometimes sure,
Speaker 1: I mean, fortunately we haven't done something that egregious yet.
Speaker 1: But luckily was just in the movie, right right, my favorite.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot to impact with Rocky Mountain National Park. Yeah,
Speaker 1: lots of options with this one, big park, big experiences.
Speaker 1: What is your favorite thing about Rocky Mountain National Park? Well,
Speaker 1: I would say I would say the trail Ridge Road
Speaker 1: in general, but more specifically, I really left that trail.
Speaker 1: We did kind of at the top of it, the
Speaker 1: Tundra Communities trail, the one that's only like a mile, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's really good time. I liked it because it was
Speaker 1: a completely new experience for both of us to hike
Speaker 1: in an environment like that alpine tundra and the weather.
Speaker 1: Aside in the wind, the weather was perfect hiking weather.
Speaker 1: The views were just phenomenal like nothing else I think
Speaker 1: either of us have ever seen. And it really felt
Speaker 1: like you were up perched on the ceiling of the continent,
Speaker 1: which is like hard to describe to feel that high
Speaker 1: up and overlooking so much. I remember when we got there,
Speaker 1: we actually made a little video and I think I screamed,
Speaker 1: did you we made it to the Rocky Mountain? Oh? Yeah?
Speaker 1: And you had to scream because the wind like it
Speaker 1: was like um that affect while I was screaming because
Speaker 1: the wind was so heavy. It was It's really good.
Speaker 1: I remember I was like in the back front of
Speaker 1: that video, like crawling on the rocks, like on all fours,
Speaker 1: trying to just keep myself together. Yeah, and like lower
Speaker 1: my center of gravity because it was intense but also
Speaker 1: clearly super memorable and amazing. So I think that was
Speaker 1: probably my favorite part. What about you my favorite part? Gosh,
Speaker 1: this one was really difficult because there's just so much
Speaker 1: history there um so much culture, and I mean I
Speaker 1: loved Estes Park. I love the Stanley Hotel, but I'd
Speaker 1: have to say it was going into the cabins and
Speaker 1: seeing like the taxidermy and they like fresh made biscuits,
Speaker 1: and like the culture behind right before it became a
Speaker 1: National park, the Dude Ranch, the Dude Ranch. Yeah, because
Speaker 1: it was just it was a really pretty walk and
Speaker 1: it was fun. It was cozy, Like I feel like
Speaker 1: I could like hang out there for a day and
Speaker 1: just have a great time. Um, because I really like
Speaker 1: to relax and opposite of you where you like to
Speaker 1: like climb to the top of the highest mountains you
Speaker 1: can find. And so I think it's just personality style.
Speaker 1: I would really love to just relax and stay there
Speaker 1: for a day, but I don't think you really can.
Speaker 1: I mean you can, but you would be like that's
Speaker 1: a waste of a whole day. It would be nice
Speaker 1: too if they turned it there was some sort of
Speaker 1: B ANDB option where they apply you with biscuits in
Speaker 1: the morning and just chill out and like the Rose Cabin,
Speaker 1: one of the cabins you can walk through and you
Speaker 1: see like just this preserved space of what it was
Speaker 1: like there originally, and it looks really nice and homie.
Speaker 1: I think would be a lovely place. Maybe with some
Speaker 1: more modern amenities like WiFi or whatever that it would
Speaker 1: be nice because I don't want to just like sit
Speaker 1: in silence for twenty four hours or whatever. I would
Speaker 1: love them. But you know what's actually um really good.
Speaker 1: Like the trails that we did, we didn't need hiking equipment,
Speaker 1: but there's a lot of trails that you do, and
Speaker 1: like that one you did, you needed the hiking stuff.
Speaker 1: So like a couple of things that you could bring
Speaker 1: are definitely like hiking sticks that would be very helpful here,
Speaker 1: Like um, the shoe, Yeah, have like snow spikes your
Speaker 1: shoes because I've hiked in those um in New England.
Speaker 1: My dad has something so when I've gone on hikest
Speaker 1: with him, I've warned them and they're amazing. They make
Speaker 1: a huge difference and I really could have used something
Speaker 1: like that here when I did the Chasm Lake Trail.
Speaker 1: There's some that you can even do like cost country
Speaker 1: skiing on in the winter. Not when we were there,
Speaker 1: but so, like, there's definitely a lot of hiking options.
Speaker 1: So when you're planning your trip, make sure to think
Speaker 1: about when you're going, what trails they're going to be,
Speaker 1: and what specific equipment you need for hiking, because there's
Speaker 1: a lot of hiking that's available here and it's a
Speaker 1: I would say it's probably one of the most diverse
Speaker 1: hiking marks that I've been too, because of this ability
Speaker 1: of snow cross county skiing, like kind of bouldering, there's
Speaker 1: actual like rock climbing. I mean, there's just about everything
Speaker 1: in Rocky Mountain National Park there. Yeah, there really is.
Speaker 1: It sounds cliche, but this is one of those places
Speaker 1: where there truly is something for everyone, every age ability,
Speaker 1: interest level. You know, whatever you're looking for, it's bound
Speaker 1: to have it. Whatever type of view you want hiking trail,
Speaker 1: all of it. It's incredible place and it's very very
Speaker 1: fun too to explore. Whether it's on your own or
Speaker 1: with a partner or a family or a large group,
Speaker 1: it's fantastic. And then got you can hang out as
Speaker 1: park after and just have the best time getting ice
Speaker 1: cream and fudge. Another great thing you could bring those
Speaker 1: when you're doing these hikes if you're going to be
Speaker 1: a little bit more hardcore to bring, like there's cans
Speaker 1: of oxygen, different things like that, or camel backs. So
Speaker 1: we have a ton of water because if you're going
Speaker 1: on a sixteen mile trail, it's not like one bottle
Speaker 1: of water is going to get you. You're gonna need
Speaker 1: a camel back. You're gonna need snacks and trail mix
Speaker 1: and things like that. Um, we didn't have enough time
Speaker 1: to like fully unpack and like repack and do something
Speaker 1: like that big, but I think it would be fun
Speaker 1: to go back in the winter and do that absolutely
Speaker 1: because it's such a great time. Yeah. And then another
Speaker 1: point is when we were there and throughout summer in June, July,
Speaker 1: August into September two, it can be a madhouse. The
Speaker 1: parking lots fill up very early and some of them
Speaker 1: are rather small. So it's advised that you get your
Speaker 1: day starter early because you don't want to like plane
Speaker 1: your day and have this trail in mind that you
Speaker 1: want to do and then drive all the way they
Speaker 1: are to find that there's no space whatsoever. And yeah,
Speaker 1: I saw that happened to a lot of people. Fortunately
Speaker 1: that was not the issue with us. We had a
Speaker 1: rental car that was compact and small enough that we
Speaker 1: could get into a lot more spaces than the RV.
Speaker 1: But but in the winter, you don't want to have
Speaker 1: a compact car. You're gonna want to have something that's
Speaker 1: four wheel drive. You're gonna want to make sure you
Speaker 1: have like snow chains. There's definitely different things that you
Speaker 1: have to pack for when you're coming to Rocky Mountain
Speaker 1: National Park, depending on the season. Yeah, so for us,
Speaker 1: all summer compact car is perfect. Winter, don't even dream
Speaker 1: about coming into will drive. Yeah no, really, What do
Speaker 1: you think is something else that we would bring? Um, layers,
Speaker 1: of course, right, we'd have to bring layers. And again
Speaker 1: even in the summer, we had layers. We had like
Speaker 1: a T shirt, sweatshirt and a jacket, so that way
Speaker 1: we could shred or go depending on our elevation, because
Speaker 1: that one thousand feet of elevation difference makes a difference. Yes,
Speaker 1: it really does. And when we the trail wood Road,
Speaker 1: I was wearing shorts and then initially like a T
Speaker 1: shirt when we're in the Stas Park area, then again
Speaker 1: in Grand Lake. But while we're up there doing the
Speaker 1: Tunsra Communities trail, I had to put a jacket on,
Speaker 1: you know, right, but jacket that is my winners. Don't
Speaker 1: cut it themselves, Beyonce jacket of course, the Bruins jacket.
Speaker 1: Oh that's right, not a Bruin storm kidding. But yeah,
Speaker 1: So it's good to have stuff like that and it's
Speaker 1: light enough where you can easily carry it along and
Speaker 1: then throw it on if you if you need a
Speaker 1: tied around your waist if it's getting too warm whatever.
Speaker 1: So that's advised. Yeah. So between layers and snow choose
Speaker 1: and snow chains and all these different things, there's so
Speaker 1: many things that you need to bring when you decide
Speaker 1: how you want to visit, how you want to find
Speaker 1: your park, how you want to discover it. What you
Speaker 1: need to do is you need to think about the
Speaker 1: research behind when how and why yeah, but really, Rocky
Speaker 1: Mountain is right up there as one of the most
Speaker 1: iconic national parks in the country, and it's an absolute
Speaker 1: Mussie for anyone into hiking, especially Guess anyone into hiking,
Speaker 1: and also anyone into horror novels Corse Light and Fudge
Speaker 1: apparently too. You've been listening to park Landia, a show
Speaker 1: about national parks park Landi's the production of My Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: created by Matt Carouac, Brad Carouac and Christopher has the
Speaker 1: otis produced and edited by Mike John's. Our executive producer
Speaker 1: is Christopher has the otis our researcher. It's Jescelyn shield
Speaker 1: A special things goes out to Gabrielle Collins, Crystal Waters
Speaker 1: and the rest of the Parklandia crew and Hey listeners.
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