Day 3 – Abort

Well, we made it into Rocky Mountain National Park this morning. It was still overcast and drizzling at the hotel, but radar looked like the sky was clearing to the west. So we bundled up and left Loveland. The ride between Loveland and Estes Park is quite beautiful with the road built along a mountain stream deep in a narrow canyon. We actually saw a few peeks of sunshine. About half a mile from the entrance to RMNP there was a sign saying Trail Ridge Road temporarily closed. Now there’s only one road through the park… Highway 34 aka Trail Ridge Road. Turns out overnight snow and ice shut down the road on both the east and west. The majority of the park was inaccessible and may be till noon or later. We could either go in and wait in queue or circle around and back out the gate. That was the final straw for Colorado so we turned around and headed for sunnier latitudes. We passed our hotel again two and a half hours after leaving that morning and jumped on I-25 North to Wyoming.

We ran up to Cheyenne and caught Highway 85 heading to the Black Hills of South Dakota. It didn’t take long for the skies to gradually start clearing once north of Colorado. The drive through Wyoming was great and, as always, the pictures just do not do justice to what we saw. The sky was stunning and there were rocks and bluffs everywhere.

It was pretty frustrating abandoning this long planned Colorado trip but it just wasn’t to be. As Rocky Mountain National Park reminded us this morning, bad weather at this time of year at the altitude we would be camping should not be taken lightly. Seams like our motorcycle and horse trips are increasingly canceled do to weather in recent years. Didn’t use to be this way. So we find ourselves in South Dakota after the long way here via Kansas and Colorado. And we know this area and have a favorite campground. And the scenery is absolutely stunning. I did blog about the Black Hills and Badlands two or three years ago so I may not post anymore this trip unless we get some spectacular photos. I will update when we’re home. Thanks all for taking the time to follow and thanks for all the comments.