We got our site! The only campground that had openings was a first-come-first-serve campground.

There was a little hiccup on our way to the campground. We got to the campsite the day after the dump station closed. After a few days in Dillon, CO, we needed to dump.

We called around and had to try two different places before we found one that was still open for the season.

We headed back to the campsite and got settled in.

We had a nice little dinner outdoors and enjoyed the fresh air.

We were enjoying our time watching an episode of Blue Bloods until we caught something in the corner of our eye.

Elk!

As they got closer, we started to pack up our dinner and head towards the trailer. We definitely didn’t want to be standing in their way during the rutting season.

Everyone was stopping along the roads to get some pictures of the elk grazing in our front yard. It caused an “elk pile-up”.

The next day, we went out to explore. We were heading towards Estes Park!

We saw the Never Summer Mountains.

We saw some buck Elk and they were so majestic.

We went to Bear Lake and hiked up to the three lakes- Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes.

Nymph Lake was the easiest lake to get to.

It looked like a magical lake with all the plants growing on top of it.

Our next lake was a little harder due to the steepness. The high elevation also made it hard to breathe.

Dream Lake was beautiful!

We even saw some fish up close. Fishing is allowed but it’s only catch and release.

We continued on even though we contemplated heading back down from Dream Lake since we were tired.

Slow and steady gets you to some of the most beautiful places. We had a nice slow hike up to Emerald Lake.

When we got up to the top, the sun was starting to go down (as was the temperature). The view was still pretty nice.

We had a little snack break before we headed back down.

We’re always a lot better hiking downhill!

We checked out Bear Lake before we headed back to the trailer.

There were more elk that night! They were even closer.

We stayed indoors for the night, especially since the elk were hanging around right outside our door. As we tried going to sleep, we could hear the elk. They were loud!

After a late morning, we headed out to the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. We got better phone service back there so Jared was able to listen to the football games and download some Netflix episodes.

We stopped at another trailhead before heading back to Aljo. We don’t remember the name of it but it was just off the road.

The trees were beautiful, many having turned colors.

We had some obstacles but we got through it.

While we hiked through the forest, we kept hearing the trees swaying and hitting each other. It scared me just walking down the trails. I’m not fond of getting hit with falling trees.

There were plenty of trees blocking our path but it didn’t detour us.

The trail was a lot quieter than what we saw at Bear Lake so we took full advantage of the peace and quiet.

Bear Lake was a lot more crowded with tourists everywhere. This hike was way more tranquil.

We had a great time exploring the Rocky Mountains and seeing elk. The campgrounds were all closing soon due to the changing season. We definitely won’t forget the time we spent here.