The mountains are calling.

The drive to the park was 2.5-3 hours, so we got to enjoy the scenery out and around Denver on our way there. 

Protect our public lands.

We chose to drive the Trail Ridge Road, which is 48 miles long, 11 miles above the tree line, and crosses the Continental Divide.

Fun book finds in the Visitor's Center.

We stopped at the visitor's center and picked up a guide for the Trail Ridge Road (highly recommend picking it up, it was only $2-3 if I remember correctly and has tons of info plus some historical sites and trailheads marked!) and I grabbed a park pin and patch to put on my backpack.

We are casual nature walk-type people.

A big part of the first half hour or so of the Trail Ridge Road was seeing the Never Summer Mountains, which, as the name implies, are cold AF and it's never summer. Something like 20 million years ago, they were volcanoes.

Going to the mountains is going home. - John Muir

Along the Trail Ridge Road, there are tons of places to pull over and take in the breathtaking views. The altitude isn't as high as Mt. Evans, so I didn't feel all wonky every time we got out of the car.

There are also a handful of visitor centers that have bathrooms - major plus.

Sun, sky, and snow.

The deck off the visitor center at the midpoint offered such a beautiful view of the mountains and the valley, complete with snow. Some people were saying that there were some moose in the valley eating but I couldn't see that far down. 

The temps were pretty cold and very windy - I regretted not bringing a legitimate jacket and only wearing leggings.

Be prepared for lightning storms.

It's amazing to see these mountains that are millions and millions of years old and home to so many plants and animals - it really reminds you of how insignificant you are in this universe.

Moose!

On our drive down the other side, we did get a chance to see a moose. He was enjoying his lunch and was very uninterested in the fact that 50+ people stopped their cars to take a picture. Those antlers were HUGE!

Future Denver Resident Starter Pack.

On our way back to Denver we drove through Boulder and stopped at Boulder Running Company. I picked up some Colorado-themed running gear (and some Goodrs, of course!).

Denver is such a cool city and I can't wait to go back out there and explore more of Colorado! Who knows, maybe Denver will be our new home someday ;)