Rocky Mountain National Park - Day 2 - Night

I mentioned that one of the reasons I was glad we'd purchased a curated itinerary for Rocky Mountain National Park were the little extras that we learned from it.

One example of this was what inspired our last hike for the day. We'd made our way through the park on Trail Ridge Road and now found ourselves at the trail head for Adam's Falls. We did the short hike into the falls, and we were impressed. The itinerary, however, suggested that there was a unique vista to be seen if we pushed on a bit further on the trail. We did and found ourselves at the alpine meadow that the guide had promised us. The whole scene was just beyond gorgeous and that was after a full day of seeing nothing but unbelievable views.

Once we were done chilling at the meadow we effectively retraced our steps for the day: first returning back to Adams Falls, then getting in the car and driving back along Trail Ridge Road. Pro tip: the Kawuneeche Visitor's Center, located at the entrance to the park near Grand Lake has great bathrooms, if you find yourself in need like we did.

The drive along Trail Ridge Road was still amazing the second time, and we caught a glimpse of more Elk and Deer.

By 7pm, we were back at our Airbnb and having a debate about what we should do the next day. I wanted to stick to the plan and enjoy exploring the park. Shira thought we should catch a flight home. Her logic wasn't wrong: we'd clearly been exposed to a case of Covid. If we left tomorrow, we'd have seen a bit of the park and will have avoided developing symptoms. Once we started developing symptoms, it would be wrong to get on an airplane. My counter argument of: c'mon, live a little! wasn't swaying her.

I finally came around to her line of thinking when I realized that if we ended up sick in Colorado it would not have been a surprise, it would have been the direct result of an avoidable situation. So reluctantly, I agreed with Shira and we booked our flight home for the following afternoon. At least we'd had one epic day in the park, which was a real thrill.