Trail Ridge Road

View from 12,005 feet above sea level at the top of the Alpie Visitor Center of Trail Ridge Road

And yet another zigzag entry for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge. This time, the zigzagging is a result of human intervention – the 48-mile-long Trail Ridge Road in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. The road is the highest major highway in North America. It reaches an elevation of 12,183 feet above sea level at a point about one-half mile beyond the curve in the distance.

For intrepid visitors, there is 207-foot vertical climb up the Alpine Ridge Trail that begins steps away from the Alpine Visitor Center (pictured just off the parking lot). Keeping in mind we were almost 2-1/2 miles above sea level, the going was slow —  sometimes only a few steps at a time — but the vista at the top was magnificent, as was the feeling of accomplishment!

For a zigzag created by Mother Nature, see my previous entry, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Alpine Ridge Trail

Alpine Ridge Trail Top

Snapped with an iPhone 4

14 thoughts on “Trail Ridge Road

  1. Great shot Stacy , and yes, good on you for making the crest whatever your pace! Headed to Estes Park for a wedding next summer. The air up there is a killer for a SC low country set of lungs!!!

    Like

    • And for those of us from Washington, DC 🙂 But the view from the top was definitely magnificent. Made me wish I had had a wide-angle lens for that shot. Estes Park is a beautiful setting for a wedding – my niece was married standing next to Mary’s Lake. Wonderful memories. Thanks, Tina!

      Like

  2. A great entry for the challenge, Stacy. You can really see the zigzag going up that mountain (far clearer than the one I posted). Good to see they were taken with an iPhone 4, because that is what I use for my pictures as well.

    Like

    • Hey, Hugh – actually only the last picture was taken with an iphone; the first two were with my Nikon D90. I would love to upgrade to an iPhone 5 (though I’ve heard rumors of an iPhone 6 coming in September). All I know is that the photos I’ve seen with the 5 bury my 4. It would be nice to have that capability if I don’t have my bigger camera with me!

      Like

      • You are thinking like me, Stacy, I’m waiting for September as well and that iPhone 6 I hope! Anyway, your pictures are all great what ever you take them on. That’s why I pressed that follow button a few weeks back and now I’m taking pictures on my iPhone 4 everywhere we go (much to the disapproval of my partner!).

        Like

Any thoughts?