Rocky Mountain National Park

At the stop in Fairplay, our national park to visit was the one and only Rocky Mountain National Park. We had been there in 2015, but we didn’t have the Passport book.  So here we go the next day up the mountain as did about 5,000 other people.

The Rocky Mountains form one of the world’s longest ranges, stretching almost unbroken from Alaska to below the nation’s southern border.  Native Americans preceded all others in this wild place. Tools, pottery, and rock piles whisper of a human presence over 10,000 years ago, when Paleo-Indians seasonally hunted and possibly traded there.  Later, Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho bands came to these mountains.  They probably wore down the path now known as Trail Ridge Road.  They left few other traces.  

Native Americans lived on and cared for this land for centuries.  As human numbers and uses grew, people recognized that preservation was needed.  Many passionate advocates for a park emerged, including naturalist and guide Enos Mills.  He led the push for a wilderness park.  Mining, grazing, and logging interests lobbied for a national forest where commercial activities could continue.  In 1915 Congress dedicated Rocky Mountain National Park; thus, protecting all its natural resources.   

Elk roam and graze freely in the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The park is home to over 350 bighorn sheep, which graze freely in the summer but migrate in the fall to lower elevations.  Other animals do not migrate but hibernate during the winter in the higher levels.

A male elk is feeding in the meadow. 

Over one million people now pour into the park in a six-week period each summer.  For years fires were suppressed which created dense undergrowth; thus, increasing the fire threat to surrounding communities and changes in the forest composition.  To better understand these and other challenges, the park has set aside areas for science and research.  It also is home to the Continental Divide Learning Center, where education and research programs focus on park resources.  

As the Rocky Mountain National Park moves into its second century it will continue to preserve natural systems and cultural stories for future generations.