Feeling quite inspired, I decided it was time to make the trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a proper sunrise. I don't think I've ever woken up so early, I've stayed up this late many times, but never woke up at 2:30 AM before. I was trying to, of course, beat the sun, but I also had a 2-1/2 hour drive ahead of me. The trip was pretty uneventful until I got into the park, that's when the fun begins.
I made my plane to see the sunrise at the lookout on Trail Ridge Road. This road closes just a few hundred yards above for the winter. The forecast was evident that evening so it would make for a beautiful sunrise, but for freezing temperatures. As I made my way up in elevation towards the lookout, I started hearing crunching noises. Then I started slowing down, eventually stopped and started turning sideways even though I was gunning it. I tried a few more times but was going nowhere, and I was running out of time. I got out to see what I was dealing with and that's when I realized what the crunching sound was, about a 1/2 inch of ice.
With no time to waste and knowing that the road was closed ahead, I decided to leave my truck where it was stuck in the middle of the lane and deal with it later. Unfortunately, I still had about a mile or s ahead of me to get to the viewpoint.
Thankfully I made it with enough time to set up and not be too stressed for time. The sunrise was amazing. There is something so special about dawn maybe its that fact that so little see them compared to sunsets. I had the place all to myself, not a soul in sight. Just me and the beauty before me.
Once I was done soaking it all in, I carefully made my way back down the ice road to deal with the truck. Luckily being stuck on an incline with the downhill direction being where I wanted to go, it wasn't that difficult to get unstuck. I did a bit of exploring of the park afterwards hoping to find some elk, but didn't see any. Later that week I replaced my old worn out city tires with a new set of all terrains.
Photography Date: 4-25-17
Writing Date: 3-18-18
