2015 TYLER SUMMER TRIP TO COLORADO PART 3 - RMNP and Boulder

This is part 3 of our 2015 Summer Trip to Colorado. In Part 1, we spent a few days near Buena Vista, CO. In Part 2, we attempted to hike into the Holy Cross Wilderness, but storms drove us out and we ended up spending a few extra days in Vail.

After a relaxing few days in Vail, we made our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. One of our favorite spots to visit. When we come to RMNP for front-country camping, we always try and stay at Moraine Park. It is a very nice campground right outside Estes Park, CO. There are plenty of campsites, but for the summer months they book up early, so get online and reserve your spots in January-March.

We booked a great campsite, on the C-Loop around site 242. We had a tremendous view of Long's Peak and some great hammock trees. Below, you can see our wonderful assortment of tents. 6 people, 2 per tent, means 3 tents, strategically placed on the tent pad.

Great view of Long's Peak from our campsite.
Thank goodness there was a bear box for storing our valuables.
As with most Tyler adventures, we sought out a nice fishing spot with some hiking. Our first stop was the streams directly behind Moraine Park, on the way to Cub Lake. Since the family has become addicted to fly fishing, our hikes have gotten shorter and shorter. This day, I am not sure we hiked more than a mile.

We didn't catch a ton of fish, but got to enjoy some parts of the meadows of Moraine Park that we typically have not explored. Our youngest, Blake, enjoyed getting in and out of the river as much as fishing it, despite the chilly water.

Blake enjoying the cool water.

The second night we were there, we had a couple of exciting events.

First, we found out that a leading astronomer from the University of Colorado, Boulder was going to be at the Moraine Park Amphitheater giving a presentation. My daughter, LT, and son, Dylan, were very excited. He talked about topics ranging from the make-up of the galaxies to what causes phenomenon like the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). The kids, my wife and I were very intrigued by his presentation. Dylan even got his answer as to whether Pluto is a planet or not, you can thank Neil Degrasse Tyson for the declassification as a planet, by the way.

Second, as we were returning to camp, we heard a lot of yelling and screaming from some of the nearby campsites. One of the other campers informed us that there was a bear in camp and be on the lookout. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a small, very frightened, black bear ran right behind our campsite. It happened so fast, unfortunately, we did not get any pictures. The bear was in no mood to stop and wait to be photographed. He high-tailed it out of site in no time. Dylan, was extremely shaken up by the presence of a bear near our campsite. We assured him that bear was not coming back and he eventually calmed down.

The next day, we set out for another fishing adventure. This time to Sprague Lake. We fished the outlet of the lake, we fished all around the lake and didn't have much luck. Some storms rolled in and cut our day a little short, but it allowed us to head into Estes Park for some pizza and adult beverages.

Upon arriving, we found a spot of snow, high up in the mountains, that made mommy's day. We named it Snow Ghost.

Snow Ghost
The next day, we packed up and headed down to Boulder for a couple of nights for some fishing in Boulder Creek and a day of fun at the water park. Brandon and I walked up and down Boulder Creek, managing a few different varieties of Trout. I actually completed my Colorado Grand Slam for the trip, catching a Rainbow, Greenback Cutthroat, Brook and Brown. Brandon actually did as well, but he didn't have a picture of his Cutthroat, only a cutbow, so they didn't count it officially. We all know he did it, though.

On our last full day, we went to get our icing on the cake. If you've never been to Water World, we highly recommend it. It is one of the greatest water parks we've been to. They won't let you fly fish in the lazy river, though. There are a few lazy rivers, some great tube rides and overall, lots of family fun.





We also made a stop by University of Colorado, Boulder to let my daughter take a look at the campus. It's beautiful, and I was pulling for it, but she ended up choosing the University of Oklahoma. That's been a great choice for her and she loves it.

So, that's the end of the line for this fun filled, Tyler summer trip. 12 days total, 10 days of fishing. Not too bad.

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