Colorado Part 5: Let Freedom Ring!

We headed up the Trail Ridge Road at the RMNP -- the highest continuous paved road in the U.S. -- in search of scenic views.  The road winds and curves through the length of the entire park starting at Estes Park on the east, reaching a breathtaking (literally) height of around 12,000 feet, crossing the Continental Divide (which marks where water flows east versus west), and ending west side of the park at Grand Lake.

Checking out the views at an overlook.

Another pit stop above the tree-line in the Alpine tundra.  Don't let the sunshine fool you ... it was coooooold and windy way up there.

 Brrrrrrrrrrr!  Max was ready to head back to lower elevations and warmer temperatures!

We headed back down the Trail Ridge Road to the Junior Ranger Headquarters at Hidden Valley.

We were lucky to stumble upon two activities.  First, we arrived just as some park rangers and a group of about 25 visitors where filming a segment for the National Park Service's website.  August 28th was the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.  As I'm sure you recall, a portion of the speech talks about letting freedom ring from various locations across our great nation.  Our group walked up a hill with the beautiful mountains behind us with bells in hand.  One of the rangers read a portion of the speech, and when he got to the part that reads, "Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!", all the kids rang their bells like crazy.  There were a few takes, and the one they ended up using for the website included Scarlett getting bored mid-bell-ringing and asking to be picked up and Max getting hacked off because they ran out of bells and he didn't get to ring one.

[This is where I would insert the link from the National Park Service's website so you could see it for yourself, but the national parks (and website) are currently shut down.  When the Congressional shenanigans are over and the website is back up and running, I'll post a link.]

The next fun activity at the Junior Rangers Headquarters was a presentation by two national park firefighters.  They showed their gear to the kids, did a little fire demonstration, let everyone check out their truck (while some of the moms (and grandmas, I might add) checked out the firefighters), and handed out badges to the kids.

After a picnic lunch, we wandered around Hidden Valley and engaged in Max's favorite activity -- throwing rocks in water.

 Unintentional butt bump while gathering rocks.

On our way back down to Estes Park, we checked out the Alluvial Fan.  In July 1982, Lawn Lake broke through a natural dam and tens of millions of gallons of water rushed down to the valley floor.  The water swept trees and car-sized boulders with it, creating a 42-acre "fan" of debris.    

Chris climbed up to get a closer look.

The water was freezing cold, but Scarlett loved sticking her bare feet in it.

Max ... not so much (which is surprising given that it was the perfect opportunity to engage in rock throwing).

Taking in the beautiful scenery at the Alluvial Fan at the end of a long day.  Note Scarlett's head on Chris's shoulder.  So sweet.