Matthew Botos

Visiting the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado was a new experience. Though I had been to the park before, it was primarily the east side and Trail Ridge Road. Grand Lake is a much more mellow entry point than Estes Park, and the western side of the park seemed similarly quiet and less crowded.

It consists primarily of the Kawuneeche Valley, through which the early stages of the Colorado River flows. It was overcast our first day, making it a great place to watch and hear mountain storms developing. There is something magical yet foreboding in seeing dark clouds building over the mountains as the distant rumble of thunder rumbles across open space.

By the time we had done the first nature trail loop and crossed the meadow to the Holzwarth Historic Site, soft showers had moved in, sending us into the shelter of one of the historic cabins. The artifacts there are a testament to pioneer ingenuity: a footstool made of animal feet, a sewing machine retrofitted with an electric motor, and a rough-road egg carrier made of old mattress springs. The taxidermy and ice sheds proved that some things don’t change: the taxidermy tools and techniques are similar to those used today, and the ice shed employed a living green roof for insulation.

After lunch, we continued onto the Colorado River trailhead to start the hike to Lulu City.