Day 6: Mountains, Moose, and a Whole Lotta Driving
We kicked off Day 6 bright and early—before 7:00 a.m. We managed to beat the crowds into the park, which felt like a major win... for about five minutes.
After enjoying the stunning Trail Ridge Road, the highest elevation in the park, at 11,796 feet, we realized—plot twist!—Bear Lake was on the complete opposite side of the park. So back down the mountain we went, like a couple of National Park ping-pong balls.
At Bear Lake, we hit the trifecta of mild chaos: Sprague Lake? Found it. Emerald Lake? Never saw a sparkle. The parking lot? A modern-day gladiator arena. We circled the shuttle lot three times like vultures looking for a spot. We finally left and have up on Beat Lake. Just when we were about to abandon hope, four glorious spaces opened up at Bear Lake. We snagged one like it was the last slice of pizza.
All that effort for Bear Lake and… it was a lake. With ducks. Yep. Some ducks. Honestly, I’ve seen more excitement in a hotel lobby fountain. A bit of a major letdown.
From there, we headed back up the mountain (again), then down the West side, stopping at every overlook we could find—each one more beautiful than the last. The snowcapped peaks were amazing, and I was thrilled to see so much snow still hanging around in June. Dave (more on him in a sec) told us they had three feet of snow up there in May! Nature clearly forgot it’s summer.
For lunch, we stopped at the Grand Lake Lodge, pictures amazing views of the surrounding lakes. The Grand Lake Lodge sits at an elevation of 8,369 feet (2,551 meters). where I had a mini high school reunion with my old friend Dave Funkhouser—haven’t seen him in 20 years! It was awesome catching up. The food was fantastic. The service? Let’s just say... it gave us plenty of time to talk. It's waiter definitely needs to find a new career path.
Oh—and the wildlife! Right when we entered the park, we spotted a moose taking a casual drink in the water like it was his own personal spa. I got some amazing pictures, and later in the day when I showed them to other visitors, I basically became the moose paparazzi. We also saw elk, deer, wild turkeys, and something that might’ve been a pheasant—or a very confident pigeon.
One of the people I shared the moose photo with got so excited that I offered to text it to him. He gave me his number starting with 850. I said, “Florida?” He said yes. I said, were from Tallahassee. He said, “No way, me too!” Turns out we’re both from the same hometown. What a small world!
We wrapped up the day with a drive to Utah, where tomorrow we’re visiting a dinosaur quarry before heading to Jackson Hole. Because apparently, this trip isn’t just scenic—it’s prehistoric too.
