September 21, 2020

We left Boulder and drove to Estes Park where we have an Airbnb [Longs Peak Lookout Cabin] rented for 4 nights.  The cabin is located at 2161 High Drive within 1 mile of the Beavers Meadow Entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Due to the pandemic, entry to the national park is by timed reservation only.  We had previously purchased our reservations but could only get the 4 days of entry tickets for 2:00 pm entry time.   Fortunately, some tickets are held back and are released at 8:00 am 48 hours prior to entry.  So, we will try to purchase some of these for 8:00 am.  Tickets are only $2 and permit multiple entry after the scheduled entry time.  

Because we arrived much earlier than the 4:00 pm check-in time, Bev and I drove on Rte. 7 outside town to the Bald Pate where we had stayed for several nights in 2015.  We noticed that it was still operating late into September, and it all looked the same.  Across the road was Lily Lake, which has a hiking trail we had used in 2015 and is in with the boundary of the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).  So, we had lunch on a picnic table with a great view of Lily Lake.  After relaxing, we decided to hike the Lily Lake and Ridge Trail.  The ridge trail above the lake gave great views of the lake and surrounding area.  

 









Laura and Hunter arrived from Boulder and met us at Lily Lake before we proceeded to Longs Peak Lookout Cabin Airbnb where we are staying for four nights.  The house has a deck with great direct views of Longs Peak and the other mountains on this side of the RMNP.  Before checking into the Airbnb at 3:30 pm, we entered RMNP using our timed reservation and drove to several lookout points. 


Lookout view in RMNP 

Views from our cabin deck.


We had dinner that evening on the deck at the cabin with great views of Long’s Peak and the mountain range.  Also, the views of the night sky were fantastic.







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