A blast of unseasonally hot air, coupled with extremely dry forests, has led to fire restrictions being put into effect at Rocky Mountain National Park and Dinosaur National Monument.
Some years ago we passed on word of what grizzly bears and wolves in Yellowstone National Park do when nobody is watching. Well, now we know what elk in Rocky Mountain National Park do when they don't think anybody is watching. They dance.
Now is the time to see elk in Rocky Mountain National Park. Of course, so is July, and October, and May, just about any month of the year if you're on the eastern side of the park.
Summer is here, and the elk are easy to be seen throughout Rocky Mountain National Park. While Horseshoe Park is a reliable spot for seeing this magnificent animals, they also can be readily seen along Trail Ridge Road and along some backcountry trail corridors.
The call for help from the backcountry at Rocky Mountain National Park early on Father's Day morning could have been a worst-case scenario: a firefighter on the Big Meadows Fire had collapsed due to a sudden cardiac arrest. The outcome is a testimony to excellent planning, training, communications and equipment.
Crews were gaining the upper hand Monday on a fire at Rocky Mountain National Park, while teams were dispatched to battle a backcountry blaze at Dinosaur National Monument. Meanwhile, a search for a missing visitor at Mesa Verde National Park was scaled back, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe was moving closer to managing the southern half of Badlands National Park.
The Big Meadows fire, which was started by lighting on June 10 at Rocky Mountain National Park, proved to offer an unexpected benefit for a visitor—and a park rescue team. The man was injured during a climb in the park, and his rescue was aided by a helicopter which was assigned to personnel battling the fire.
Historic Old Fall River Road, a popular, historic one-way dirt road from the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park to the Alpine Visitor Center, will be closed for about two weeks for repairs to damage caused by avalanches.