Most of my trips to Colorado end the same way, with me on a plane wondering why I don’t live there.
That’s the short version of this post. The longer version involves a moose, hundreds of elk, a farmer’s market, a side trip to Wyoming, afternoon tea, and the best wildlife day I’ve had at Rocky Mountain National Park in years. And I did all that in two and a half days.
This year, our annual girls’ weekend trip brought us to visit our friend in Greeley, Colorado, and we really made the most of our time! Because we had a local insider, we were able to go to all of the best places at the right times and the weather cooperated wonderfully: it was around 80 degrees with brilliant sun the whole weekend. My body, perpetually stuck in Madison where it is cloudy most of the time, was thrilled. I feel like I got a full month’s worth of vitamin D from two days outside. Here’s what we did in Colorado last weekend and what you might want to consider adding to your trip.
Saturday: Farmer’s Market, Wyoming, and the Turtle Rock Loop
Saturday started at the local farmer’s market in Greeley, specifically in search of roasted chiles. We found them. They weren’t hatch chiles like you see in New Mexico, but they were delicious. Poblanos are what we ended up with.
Then we drove to Wyoming.
Vedauwoo Recreation Area (pronounced VEE-da-voo) is ten minutes east of Laramie, along I-80, within the Medicine Bow National Forest. The name comes from the Arapaho word “bi-ito’o’wu” meaning “earth-born”. It has enormous ancient granite formations rising out of the plains and they are gorgeous!
We did the Turtle Rock Loop Trail, a three-mile trek around the Turtle Rock formation. The aspens were already bright yellow and provided a nice contrast to the red rock we were circling. We stayed for a picnic lunch and then staked a spot to simply read and take in the scenery to finish out our first wonderful day of this trip.
Sunday: Rocky Mountain National Park’s Best Wildlife Day Ever
I’ve been to Rocky Mountain National Park plenty of times before and Sunday was the best wildlife day I’ve ever had there.
We started by circling both Bear Lake and Sprague Lake. Both are very simple, flat hikes. Busy, but not too bad. I enjoyed Sprague Lake the most because there were fewer people and I think the lake is more interesting. You could see rainbow trout struggling to swim upstream and had beautiful views of the mountains which sprung up from behind.
We made a quick stop at the Alluvial Fan, which had been rerouted by nature’s forces since the last time I stopped by.
Next, we started up the very rutted, dirt Fall River Road and soon afterwards were rewarded with my favorite siting of the day: a lovely moose.
Moose sitings are pretty rare and I was very excited that we found one. They are enormous creatures and although this one wasn’t that close to the road, it blocked up the one-way road because every, single car wanted to stop and see it.
On the way down from the Trail Ridge Visitor Center, we also spotted pikas which are small, round, mouse-like animals. They are adorable and they make the cutest little squeaking noises as they scurry around in the rocks. I’d often see these when I visited Glacier National Park every summer back in my 20’s and it was nice to see them again.
Elk Season: Yes, Some People Tailgate During the Elk Rut
It was elk rut season, which in Rocky Mountain National Park means two things: elk everywhere, and people who come specifically to watch them everywhere.
The second part surprised me more than the first.
We went in search of elk at dusk, which is when the bulls are most active. We found a bull with his harem in the park, and we heard him bugle a few times. Elk bugles are quite strange. One of my friends said it reminds them of a whale call. If you’ve never heard an elk bugle, scroll down and watch the video. It is really something to behold in person.
But here’s what I didn’t expect: the audience. The meadow at dusk was filled with people who had come specifically for elk-watching. They had camping chairs set-up long before the elk arrived. Some were on the grass, some staked out in the back of their pick-up trucks. The car behind us even had a grill. These people were planning to tailgate! There were dozens of volunteers out helping to direct traffic. Coloradans, it seems, take their wildlife viewing seriously.
The most elk, though, were not in the park. They were at the Estes Park Golf Course.
I don’t know whose idea it was to build a golf course in a valley that elk use as their autumn gathering ground, but I assure you no golf was taking place last Sunday night. The elk have clearly decided this golf course is theirs. There were multiple groups interacting, bugling constantly, moving across the fairways with zero regard for any human agenda. It was wild (literally)! We stood near the course restaurant and watched for a good long time.
Monday: Afternoon Tea at The Duchess in Fort Collins
Before heading to the airport, we made time for afternoon tea in Fort Collins, which is one of our girls’ weekend traditions. We always make time for afternoon tea.
The Duchess Tea Room in downtown Fort Collins is an English tea room that’s exploded with pink things, serving authentic afternoon tea, brunch, and lunch complete with tea sandwiches, homemade scones with clotted cream and jam, and seasonal patisseries, with an unlimited pot of tea.
On Mondays, tea is discounted and by all accounts a steal at $39 and it was a pretty good tea. We had their fall menu with included a homemade cinnamon roll and chocolate chip orange cake. Next time, I would have liked to spend more time in downtown Fort Collins as there was a wine bar and we were also steps away from the Fat Tire brewery, both of which would have been fun to see.
Colorado Is Very Easy to Get to From Madison (And Lots of Other Places)
Colorado is a short, direct flight from Madison, Wisconsin, which makes it a very easy weekend destination.
Rocky Mountain National Park in fall, with the aspens turning, the elk bugling, and the pikas on the rocks above treeline is an extraordinary place to visit and I can be there in less than two hours by plane. If you have never been to Rocky Mountain, it belongs on your list. And if, like me, you have friends on the front range, call them immediately and go check-out Colorado in the Fall.
Have you done Rocky Mountain National Park in fall? I’d love to hear about your wildlife sightings in the comments below.
