I’m usually one of those people who turns up their nose at the thought of just DRIVING through a National Park. I love hiking. I love camping. I love to smell the air and feel the breeze. I want to really experience what makes an area special and DO something. I want a spectacular view and the chirping of birds and the light scent of wildflowers in the air.

Mostly, I love to get away from the crowds and enjoy solitude. The thought of a roadside pullout full of obnoxious tourists in rental RVs, snapping away with selfie sticks and feeding leftover sandwiches to the chipmunks just ruins a majestic mountain setting for me. I like to travel a few miles from the closest trailhead and get out where the crowds thin dramatically.

My in-laws are visiting, so we decided to go check out Rocky Mountain National Park this week. They aren’t quite as mobile as Brian and I are, especially at 9,000+ feet elevation. Brian’s dad has breathing troubles already and the extra altitude is hard (Of course, unless you really spend some time here, no one else can get around well without huffing and puffing either). So given our limitations, we decided to focus mainly on a driving tour of the park.

Rocky Mountain National Park has one, long and scenic road that cuts across the park east/west, called Trail Ridge Road. It goes up over 12,000 ft and follows a long, high ridge with fantastic views. I was reminded of what a great experience just driving around a park can be! We saw dramatic mountain scenery and tons of wildlife, just from driving that road. In fact, in the first 10 minutes inside the park, we spotted my favorite, elusive critter: a moose!   We spotted it in the brush and pulled off to watch.   Several cars passed us and just drive right on by without ever seeing it. We had this beautiful, bull moose all to ourselves for 6 or 7 minutes. He cruised along through the bushes and then crossed the road right in front of our car. It was so great. And we managed to clear out before anyone noticed and a car-jam could form.

Now, not to say we had the place to ourselves, but we did find a few overlooks with just a couple cars. There were only a handful of people around as we were “ooh”-ing and “ahh”-ing the snow-capped peaks of the Continental Divide. We were even able to hop off the road near the summit, at almost 12,000 ft, and have a moment of quiet observation to ourselves. It was very “Sound of Music” up there! We saw half a dozen Marmots and tons of elk bedded down.

There WERE some big crowds. The Visitor’s center? Holy cow. It was difficult to even park. Gift Shop? Forget it. The line was out the door. Roadside elk herd? Lined with camera-wielding idiots who had a death wish. Short hike to an observation point? Packed with screaming kids and teens with selfie sticks.

But at that same packed overlook, there was also a little girl who saw her first Marmot while perched on her dad’s shoulders. She laughed and named the marmot “Steve.” There were squadrons of folks from Florida and Texas who had never seen snow before and pulled off to throw snowballs. I saw a family perched on a sidewalk, watching a group of baby Marmots play in the distance at the Lava Rocks pullout. I even saw a mom, educating her son on giving the wildlife plenty of space in that elk herd.   Pretty cool stuff. There were lots of people who might not have a connection with the outdoors until they saw this awe-inspiring scenery. Hopefully, they will go home and feel a passion for getting outside and protecting the beautiful places in the world. Some will continue to be selfie stick-wielding, elk-petting idiots, but maybe some of them will be inspired to become naturalists, photographers, park rangers or incredible outdoor athletes because of their time in the park. I hope more people are inspired than not!

Seeing a National Park by car isn’t my top choice, but we had a great time, even during a busy holiday week. You can find some semi-solitude if you look, but even in the crowds, you can find a few inspiring moments if you are paying attention. I came up with a wish list of places to go back and visit on foot. I hope I get the chance to do some backpacking in RMNP, but I am reminded that sometimes moving with the herd can be a good experience too.