Rocky Mountain National Park - Bear Lake Road

Estes Park sits at an elevation of about 7,500 feet (compared to Little Rock, which sits at an elevation of about 350 feet or so). So the next day we were already feeling the effects of elevation sickness. I had a pounding headache, so when we left to go to Rocky Mountain National Park we stocked up on Tylenol and lots of water.

This is our second visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. Our first visit was in 2022, but we were only there for one day. So this time, I was eager to be able to see more of the park. We managed to secure one of the timed entry passes for Bear Lake Road, which is one of the most popular areas of the park. Our timed entry was from between Noon and 2:00, which was the earliest entry I could get (I logged on the website on the day they were made available, and the earlier entry tickets had already been taken). 

There is a good reason why this is the most popular area of the park. Bear Lake Road is only about ten miles long, but it passes by several lakes and trailheads. The first place we stopped was at Morraine Park, a wide valley filled with a meadow and the meandering Big Thompson River. We stopped at a pullover and walked down to the river, which here was a fast-moving stream.



It was a scenic spot, with the towering mountains rising above the valley.



We decided that this might be a good spot to return to later that evening, when there might be some nice light around sunset.





We followed the road all the way to Bear Lake, and somehow lucked into actually getting a spot in the parking lot. We then did the short hike that runs along the length of the lake. It was really crowded with people, but it was a nice stroll with some great scenery.







It was bright and sunny, so the light was a little too harsh for pictures.



We got back in the car and made a few stops at some of the other pull-offs. This was the trail at Hollowell Park.



By this time, the elevation had gotten to the kids and they weren't interested in stopping at every single overlook and pull-off in the park. But we stopped at one last overlook that had this great view of Horseshoe Park.

Monument Rocks

We crossed the border and entered Kansas. This was my second visit to the Sunflower State, the first was way back in the 90s during a road trip with my family. On that trip we went out of our way to visit Dodge City, because my mother wanted to see where Marshal Dillon and Miss Kitty lived (she was disappointed to get there and find out that they didn't actually live there because they were fictional characters from the TV show Gunsmoke).

We didn't stop in Dodge City this time, instead we stayed on the freeway as it cut across the state. Now you do see a lot of people complain about this drive being really boring, but I didn't think it was all that bad. The terrain is flat, but it was dotted with numerous silos, windmills and old buildings. Or maybe I've driven through the Arkansas Delta so much that I've gotten immune to flat lands. But that evening we stopped at Oakley, a small town in western Kansas. And after checking into the hotel and getting dinner, Jonah and I got back in the car and headed south towards Monument Rocks.

To get there we drove through what truly did feel like the middle of nowhere. We went through what seemed like a vast expanse of farms and fields, along with an occasional oil derrick or an old wind mill.



The road also passes through rangeland, and there were several places where cows were lazily grazing alongside the road, without any fences to keep them from strolling out in front of a car. After about 45 minutes of driving we finally saw Monument Rocks, sticking up from the landscape like a natural Stonehenge (seen here in the distance with an indifferent cow grazing in the foreground):



Monument Rocks (also known as the Chalk Pyramids) look almost surreal, definitely not what you'd expect to find way out here in the prairie. It looks like someone scooped up part of Death Valley and just dropped it off here amongst the farms and ranches.







The rock formations began to form over 80 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Back then, this area was all under a vast inland sea that used to stretch across the North American continent. Sediment from that sea became layers of shale and chalk, which were then lifted up through tectonic forces. Over time those rocks were eroded into their current shapes, which includes arches and pillars that are up to 70 feet tall.











A large number of fossils have been found in the area, including giant swimming reptiles called mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. There were also fossils of aquatic birds, fish that were 20 feet-long, and clams that were six feet in diameter.



We didn't see any swimming reptiles or large clams while we were out there. But there were a lot of birds - a bunch of cliff swallows were perched on the chalk spires. The small birds use mud to build nests on the side of rock formations, and they are good hunters of insects. Thanks to their hard work, we weren't bothered by mosquitoes at all while we were there.



The rocks still feel ancient, maybe because the area around it hasn't been developed. There are no bathrooms, no tacky souvenir shops. Nothing except the lonely dirt road and the wind. It doesn't seem like it'd be much too different than what it must have been like here centuries ago. The only difference being just the chalk formations getting slowly eroded over time.







As it got closer to sunset, the chalk formations took on a deeper golden hue. And the full moon slowly rose higher across the sky.









We headed back over to this arch to catch sunset. There were a few other people out there taking pictures, including one car that sped to a stop nearby. A woman ran out and started taking pictures, saying they wanted to get there quicker but some cows were blocking the road.





And another view through the arch, of the moon rising slowly above the rocks. Above the opening, you can see some of the cliff swallow nests.





It was starting to get dark, so we took a few last pictures:



We got into the car to start the drive back to our hotel in Oakley, only for the car to give an unpleasant little chime and warning - low tire pressure. Somewhere on our road trip we managed to pick up a nail, and it was slowly letting air out from one of the tires. I got out and looked at the tire, and it looked like it was ok to still drive on for a bit (I guess, I am not a mechanic). The last thing I wanted to do was have to change a tire along a dirt road in the dark in the middle of nowhere. So I slowly and nervously started driving back, constantly keeping an eye on the tire pressure. And it steadily decreased, dropping a few PSI along the way.

The dirt road back from Monument Rocks seemed even more eerie at night, especially with the looming threat of a flat tire hanging over us. It didn't help that the "quickest" route the GPS decided to guide us back to civilization just happened to go across a bridge that had been washed out and was closed. So we had to double-back, adding more time and mileage on our leaking tire. But thankfully we eventually made it back to Oakley and to a truck stop that was still open, so we could put some air in the tire. We made it back to the hotel all safe and sound, glad to have been able to visit a scenic spot like Monument Rocks. It was worth the drive out there, even with the air slowly leaking out of the tire in the hotel parking lot.

A Few More Stops

After spending the day driving through the Delta, it was finally time to turn around and start heading back home. But along the way I made a few more stops. Like at this one spot near Clarendon, which had some little silos and water tanks and other assorted farm things lying around.



Off in the distance, a few storm clouds were starting to build over the horizon.



Then I drove by the old Idlewild schoolhouse, which was built in 1921.



And then I drove through the little town of DeVall's Bluff, and had to stop at the old St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church. The church was built in 1912, but was abandoned in 1986 after the church's last parishioner passed away.







I made one last stop - at this old farmhouse that seems to have been abandoned for awhile.



Although it looks like someone is nice enough to be cutting the grass around the house, the building itself has continued to slowly deteriorate and crumble away.







And one last shot, taken before I got back in the car and finally drove home:

Back To The Delta

It had been a few months since I'd driven out to the Delta, so I grabbed the camera and headed back east. I drove through Scott, and then through the little town of Keo. There are a bunch of old gins and other assorted farm buildings scattered through the center of town. I'm not sure how many are still in use, but one did have this old tractor parked outside.



And that same tractor, reflected in a large rain puddle.



Nearby was an old building, which had a bunch of pipes being stored along its side. It looks like that pipe had been there for awhile, probably stuck there and then never used (kinda like that box of old power cables that everyone has stuck in the back of a closet). The only one who has been using that pipe lately appears to be some birds, who have been using it for target practice.



And then I drove through England (the town, not the country), where I always have to stop and get pictures of this old abandoned house:



And then I pulled over again for this old building:



Heading east, you start heading towards the town of Stuttgart. This is an area that is filled with rice fields, and soon you drive by this old building. The paint has faded with age, but you can just barely read "Why Buy Japanese? THEY WON'T BUY OUR RICE." I think this is referring to a time (many decades ago) when Japan did not allow any imports of foreign rice, much to the chagrin of Arkansas rice farmers. I took a picture and then drove off in my car (I hope whoever painted that sign didn't see me, since my car is a Japanese brand).



In Stuttgart, I drove by this old building that was surrounded by a sea of yellow wildflowers.



And then heading further east, I stopped at this field (of soybeans, I think):



And in a nearby building was this old truck, which seems like it's been parked here for awhile (it doesn't look like it was made in Japan).