South Mountain Pass

Archive for the ‘rocky mountain’ Category

Rocky Mountain National Park, which extends to just 400 square miles, is certainly not the largest park in the system but many of its millions of visitors each year will tell you that it is one of the finest of the United States’ national parks.

The centerpiece of the park for many is Trail Ridge Road which is some fifty miles long and crosses the park from east to west. The road drops into the Kawuneeche Valley, from where visitors can view the Colorado River, and along the way climbs up to over 12,000 feet as it passes through some of the highest peaks in America.

The views along this route are simply spectacular and as you make your way through the famous ‘Roof of the Rockies’ you will come across glacier-carved mountains around every bend. Pause at Forest Canyon Overlook and you can look out over alpine forests that are among the most magnificent you will see anywhere. It is also well worth taking a few minutes to visit the Alpine Visitor Center at Fall River where you can pick up a great deal of information about the area, including hiking maps and guide books.

Rocky Mountain National Park offers some great hiking along more than 350 miles of trails and Bear Lake is a very popular starting point. Located at the base of Hallett’s Peak at the Continental Divide, Bear Lake is a wonderful sight in itself.

Hiking in this area can be a bit more demanding than it is in other parks with elevations ranging from 7,500 feet to over 14,000 feet. At these heights the air is thin and the UV strong so you need to be prepared. You will need to take plenty of water with you as the thin, cool air will evaporates moisture from your lungs quite quickly and headaches are common if you who do not drink enough water.

Whether you are driving or hiking you will find that there is plenty of wildlife to see as the park is home to more than 3,000 elk, 800 bighorn sheep and some 280 different bird species. If you visit the Bighorn at Sheep Lake between May and the middle of August you will see moose wandering through the willows along the Colorado River in Kawuneeche and, if you keep a close eye out, you might even spot some river otters as well.

At both dawn and dusk you can witness some of the many bats which hover over the lakes feeding on insects and marmots are fairly easy to spot on the tundra along Old Fall River road. Stellar jays also dot the skies along Trail Ridge road and they share the sky with prairie falcons and the occasional golden eagle. Another fascinating bird which calls the park its home is the white-tailed ptarmigan.

The park is also home to a number of museums and historical sites of which the Moraine Park Museum is one of the best. Here you will find hundreds of items from the area which give a very good overview of the natural flora and fauna. Another favorite is the Never Summer Ranch which offers a look at what a resort from past years was like.

Unlike some of the other national parks, Rocky Mountain is open year round which makes it possible to explore this wonderful area in all of its glorious seasons and visiting during the winter months will not only allow you to see sights which summer visitors simply do not experience, but it will also allow you to see the park without the usual summer crowds.

Sunshine, Pines, Mountain peaks, lakes are some of Colorado’s preview. It presents another destination for your RV vacation – The Rocky Mountain National Park. The rich scenery of the park typifies the massive grandeur of the Rocky Mountains.

Drive from Denver and the east, take U.S. routes 34 or 36 through Estes Park, Colorado. If you are from west or south, take I-70 to U.S. Rt. 40., then to U.S. Rt.34 through Grand Lake, Colorado. The Trail Ridge Road gives the best view of the Rocky Mountain National Park while it is considered as the highest continuous motorway in the United States. The Road promises a spectacular view and in the early morning when the sun is about to rise.

Adventure, solitude, family vacation, camping and romance are some popular getaways to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. For those coming in through an RV vehicle you can choose among five of RMNP’s campgrounds. They are Aspenglen, Glacier Basin, Moraine Park, Longs Peak, and Timber Creek, with group camping at Glacier Basin. All of the mentioned campgrounds do not have electric, water or sewer hookups.

The Aspenglen Campground on US Route 34 just west of the Fall River Entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park has 54 sites open from mid-May through mid-September  first come, first served. Camping fee $20/site/night. Recreational vehicle and trailer length limit is 30 feet.

The Glacier Basin Campground is located near the Fall River Entrance on the east side of the park with 150 Individual and 15 Group sites first come, first served. Typically the reservation period is mid-May through mid-September. Reservations are 5 months in advance of desired camping date through 1-800-365-2267.

The Longs Peak Campground has 26 sites  located nine miles south of the town of Estes Park on Route 7. Camping fee $20/site/night when water is on, approximately late May-mid September; $14/site/night when water is off. There is a three night stay limit during the summer and fourteen nights during the winter.  Observes first come, first served basis.

The Moraine Park Campground has 247 sites located in a ponderosa pine forest, just off the Bear Lake Road. The rolling terrain is also dotted with boulders. Many sites look out over the large meadows of Moraine Park. Moraine Park Campground can accommodate vehicles up to 35 feet and trailers up 27 feet. Reservation period is only approximately mid-May through mid September conveniently through 1-800-365-2267.

Timber Creek Campground has 100 sites open year ’round on a “First Come, First Served” Basis.  Located on the west side of the national park, ten miles north of the Grand Lake Entrance. The campground is in the Kawuneeche Valley near the Colorado River.

For the past year I’ve been compiling a list of Railroading Museums for my model railroading website.  These museums all look like fantastic places to visit, but what are the most popular?   I’ll continue with this list for the Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States.  The Southwest and Rocky Mountain States are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

The most popular railroading museums (based on online chatter) in the Southwest and Rocky Mountains are:

10. Railway Museum of San Angelo in San Angelo, Texas

9. Las Cruces Railroad Museum in Las Cruces, New Mexico

8. Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nevada

7. Northern Pacific Depot Railroad Museum in Wallace, Idaho

6. Pueblo Railway Museum in Pueblo, Colorado

5. Phoenix Trolley Museum in Phoenix, Arizona

4. Wheels Transportation Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico

3. Oklahoma Railway Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

2. Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado

…and the most popular railroading museum in the USA Southwest and Rocky Mountains is…

1. Arizona Railway Museum in Chandler, Arizona

Museums not making my top 10 were Cheyenne Depot Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Southern Arizona Transportation Museum in Tucson, Arizona; Three Rivers Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma; Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah; Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum in Durango, Colorado; Ridgway Railroad Museum in Ridgway, Colorado; Western Mining and Railroad Museum in Helper, Utah; Golden Spike National Historic Site in Promontory, Utah; Old Pueblo Trolley in Tucson, Arizona; Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Railroad Museum of Oklahoma in Enid, Oklahoma; and Cimarron Valley Railroad Museum in Cushing, Oklahoma.

It’s nice to see that seven different states did get museums in the top ranking, meaning that anyone living in or visiting this region might have something interesting close enough to visit.  This is a huge region, though, so some residents of these regions will be no where close to these great museums – but perhaps that’s the perfect reason to take a little vacation!

I compiled this list by searching for the railroading museums listed on a number of search engines and ranking them by the number of web pages, discussion forums, photos, videos, etc that are available online. Check out my complete list of Railroading Museums at www.ModelTrainsWithLarry.com.