Rocky Mountain National Park

While the WINs were staying in Longmont, CO, Margaret led us on a great trip through Rocky Mountain National Park. Our first stop was the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.

The hotel is known for its many ghosts. It also hosted the horror novelist Stephen King, inspiring him to write "The Shining."

The furnishings are really unique.

And there's a huge bar, with some equally unique drinks. By the way, I was at Burger King today and they have a Bacon Sundae now. Is everything better with bacon?

We then entered the park, and went to see the Alluvial Fan, the result of a huge flood in 1982. An earthen dam broke, killing 2 campers and resulting in 6-foot deep flood waters rushing into the town of Estes Park.

From there we headed up the Old Fall River Road, the original road into the park. It's a one-way dirt road with steep dropoffs on one side.

At least we saw some wildlife...

When we got to the top, the views were amazing.

And we saw some real wildlife - some elk that were too far away for pictures, and these 2 adorable marmots.