Day 9 of our bus tour, May 28, we departed from Cheyenne and headed to Denver, Colorado for our last night of the trip. Our route was to climb high into Rocky Moutain National Park, which is set in the southern Rockies, and to cross the continental divide. The highest peaks are 14,000 feet. Hearly 1/3 of the park is above the treeline - 11,400 feet. Above this is too harsh for trees to grow.
The pass we were to go through was 11,000 feet. We entered the park from the NE side at Estes Park, stopped at the Fall River Visitor Center for a break, and then continued up the mountain range to "Many Parks Curve", after which the road was closed because of heavy snowfall. Here are some pictures taken from this viewpoint.
We then returned to the little Alpine town of Estes Park. It was Memorial Day weekend and the town was featuring many artists' exhibits. The town was packed - it is only 20 minutes from Denver so many people had driven up for the day. We had lunch at Mama Rosa's in Estes Park - very fresh Italian pasta.
We reached Denver by late afternoon and then had a delicious and fun farewell banquet at the Marriot Denver City Centre Hotel where we stayed. We said fond farewell to all our new friends. Absolutely great tour. Group photo:
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