Memorial Day 2024
June 17, 2024
Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kick-off of summer - and although summer is not officially here yet (just a couple more days!), this year’s Memorial Day weekend was the perfect beginning to the summer season! This year has been a little different for Don and I as we make some exciting and necessary changes to hopefully start living a life we have dreamed of, so we have been doing less of the things we typically like to do so we can focus on making those changes. We usually take our first camping trip over Memorial Day but this year we decided to just take a day trip.
For this year’s trip, we aimed to make a big loop and check out some of our favorite spots. We started with a drive up to the Kremmling area to check on our trail cameras. Along the way, we stopped to admire the view of the Eagle’s Nest Wilderness and watch both Vesper and Brewer’s Sparrows singing in the early morning sun.
View of the Eagle’s Nest Wilderness from Highway 9
We continued on towards our trail cameras and were delighted to be greeted by Black-throated Gray Warblers (which we first saw in Meeker in April) when we arrived! We also had Clark’s Nutcrackers, Pinyon Jays, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Chipping Sparrows, Northern Flickers, Magpies, and Mountain Bluebirds all around as we checked the cameras. We didn’t get as much on our trail cameras this round, so we took all but 2 down and decided to see if we could hang them up elsewhere.
After checking the cameras and enjoying the birds, we made our way towards the Walden area. Our next stop was the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, which has some great wildlife and birding areas. I highly recommend a visit to the refuge! We took a quick break at the Moose-Goose Nature Trail - a great spot to see a wonderful assortment of animals from moose to mink! At our stop we got to watch a pair or Mountain Bluebirds setting up a nest box.
Mountain Bluebird (male)
The wind really picked up so we decided to head over to the auto tour loop to check out the migratory birds. The auto tour loop is a couple miles north of the main refuge. It doesn’t look like much from the road, but once you get to the lakes, there is such an abundance of BIRDS along with Ground Squirrels, Prairie Dogs, Pronghorn, Muskrat, and occasional visits from moose, deer, and elk! This is a very important and special place for migratory birds and definitely a great place to visit. If you are patient, you can usually get some pretty good close-up views of the birds and wildlife. Check out a few images from our trip below (click on the photos to enlarge).
We enjoyed a couple hours at the refuge and then decided to get on the road and see if we could make it to Rocky Mountain National Park before dark. Of course, we had to make a quick stop at The Rand Store in Rand, CO on the way! The Rand Store is a must stop - they have a wonderful assortment of gifts, books, and information about the area and, if you’re lucky, you might see moose, wolves, fox, or deer right outside the store! They also carry yummy snacks and we picked up some dark chocolate espresso truffles before getting back on the road.
After Rand, we came across an adorable family of foxes! We were lucky to see both parents our hunting and 5 kits playing and lounging in the sun while mom and dad took turns visiting. So fun!
We then headed up to Grand Lake and into Rocky Mountain National Park. Along the way, we crossed paths with about 6 moose!
We were on the lookout for baby moose or elk, intently looking as we drove. We ended up stopping for a break and to get out and walk around a bit, when one of the highlights of the day happened! While looking for the Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, I got a glimpse of a Golden-crowned Kinglet!! These tiny birds (think smaller than a hummingbird) are incredibly hardy and typically live in coniferous forests. They also have big personalities and will claim giant pine trees by singing their unique song from the very top of the tree! I think you’ll agree these birds are adorable! Click on photos to enlarge.
This stop proved to be quite delightful! While I was watching the Kinglets, a Red-naped Sapsucker flew in to claim his tree again (note the squares in the tree trunk where the sapsucker was getting sap from the tree - which also benefits the Kinglets). After the Sapsucker flew in, an American Kestrel flew out of the base of the trees and a squirrel emerged!
After this lovely stop, we decided to head back towards Grand Lake to get ready to go home. Trail Ridge Road wasn’t open all the way yet so we had to make the big loop around through Winter Park to go home. On the way out of the park, we started seeing more wildlife and came across several more moose and elk, and this time, got to see the very first baby moose of the season! We also had a random visit from a beautiful Yellow-rumped Warbler! What an end to a great day!
Brand new baby moose! May 26, 2024
Memorial Day weekend has always been such a special time of year, and we really enjoyed our day-trip this year! What did you do over Memorial Day weekend? Feel free to email me (laura@lnsphotography.net) if you want to share or if you have any questions about our trip!
Our general route for our Memorial Day drive.