Day 20

Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. I’m off to Rocky Mountain National Park. I spent the first half of the drive in the Denver suburbs, which was pretty lame—and then the sprawl fell away and the Rockies began. I drove in the long way, which took me past clear mountain streams and through thick pine forests. The road climbed and climbed, and around each bend was another spectacular view of hazy peaks in the distance.

The park begins at an altitude of over 7,000 feet, and the road kept climbing past open meadows and aspen groves. Eventually I cleared the timber line and set out into the delicate tundra. Visitors are confined to paved walkways, as the vegetation is so fragile that it would take decades to recover from a good stomping. Rocks speckle the brush, and the temperature cools about twenty degrees as the atmosphere thins and heat escapes. Over two miles up, I looked out on mountains still taller.

I completed the main road through the park, passing pristine alpine lakes and more ponderosa forests. Not a great day for wildlife—I plan on getting up early tomorrow to spot elk or moose

I spent the later part of the afternoon exploring the tourist town of Grand Lake. Less commercial than some of the other money sinks I’ve visited, but still pricey. I eschewed the steakhouse for a corn dog and jumped back in my car, parking in a loose collection of free campsites off the beaten path. The forest around me is burnt, which is good. Forest fires are an important part of both prairie and mountain pine forest ecosystems; they keep any one species from getting out of hand. I guess the Lord of Light had a point with the “purifying fire” trope.

Going to bed so I can get up before the sun tomorrow. Let’s hope my dawn sojourn is worth it.