It was a rather boring Friday night for me. I was on-call for my job, both for that night and the next day. So I hadn't made any plans for the weekend. As it turned out, I wasn't needed at work on Friday, so I did some laundry, and chatted with a couple of friends who live in my apartment complex. My friend Misty mentioned that she wanted to drive up Fall River Road the next day. We both potentially had to work, but decided to make a very early morning trip the next day. I have such a daring life.

The next morning, Saturday, I met Misty at her apartment about 5:30 a.m. and we drove away from Fort Collins. For once, I didn't have to drive. Very nice! As the day got lighter, we realized how low the clouds were in the sky. Around each turn in the Big Thompson Canyon, the clouds put on a beautiful show. Misty has a new Canon SLR, so she was eager to stop and take pictures every time something interesting struck her.

A normally beautiful trip, the drive up Fall River Road seemed like something out of Lord of the Rings to us. At the bottom of the road, things were relatively clear - at least we could see for a distance in front of the car. Getting to the park so early, we were the only ones on the road for most of our trip. We drove slow and enjoyed the sights of Fall River, the animals and the wildflowers. A deer scampered in front of the car. Actually, she just kind of stopped in front of us. I couldn't decide if she was scared or curious. The flowers at the sides of the road seemed to pop out against the grey day. The blues and pinks were beautiful!

As we headed up, the fog and clouds got thicker, and eventually, we couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of us. Before we knew it, we were at the Alpine Visitor Center. I think it literally snuck upon us because we couldn't see where we were going! I don't think I've ever been in clouds that dense up on top like that.

As it was only about 7:30 a.m., Misty and I decided we both had plenty of time to goof off still before reporting for work. So we held our breaths and pulled out onto Trail Ridge Road, headed for the west side of the park. Normally, I love this drive, but in this area that day, we couldn't see the road ahead. We finally decended low enough to see for a distance as we pulled into the valley next to Poudre Lake. We watched a few bull elk grazing down in the meadow.

Farther on down the road, we stopped again to watch some elk and moose around the Bowen-Baker trailhead area. Unfortunately, most of my pictures of the animals aren't that great. But it was fun to watch the moose. I also gave Misty her first taste of wild strawberries. There were thousands near the trail. Although you're only allowed to pick a few berries at any location, if you've never tried a wild strawberry, they are worth the hunt!

Deciding that it would take a while to get back to the east side, we headed back. If you've never driven Trail Ridge in dense fog, it's quite a trip! Some cars didn't have their headlights on, and at times, we were both a bit nervous. We had a vehicle that tailgated us most of the way back. The clouds finally let up a bit as we neared Forest Canyon overlook. We pulled over and let Speedy pass us.

Back in Estes, I called in to work, and was told I didn't need to come in. Normally, that's a bad sign, as I need the paycheck. However, since I was in Estes, I could enjoy a few more hours of freedom. It was lunchtime, and Misty didn't need to be back at work until dinnertime. So we stopped for hamburgers and then went back to the park. This time, we drove through Moraine Park and up to Bear Lake. It was raining a little, but we walked around the lake.

The driving was a bit nerve-wrecking at times, but we had a good day!