Read more about the article Rocky Mountain National Park – Estes Park, Colorado 2022
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Rocky Mountain National Park – Estes Park, Colorado 2022

We had blown through North and South Dakota in five days, but we still had two days left before our flight out of Denver. Looking at a map, Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) in Estes Park, Colorado called our name. The decision was two-fold. It was close to Denver and we had always planned to return to RMNP after visiting the park for only a few hours back in 2016.

After an afternoon tour of Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota, we arrived late in the evening at Estes Park, the gateway town of RMNP. Although we knew snow flurries were predicted (even in late May), we woke up to a winter wonderland. Over five inches of snow covered everything in sight!

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Jewel Cave National Monument – Hot Springs, SD

It was the last day of our South Dakota trip and we had one more thing on our itinerary – Jewel Cave National Monument. Fortunately, we booked tickets ahead of time and we’re glad we did. There were no tickets available for walk-up visitors.

Jewel Cave is home to the third largest cave system in the world and the second largest in the US behind Mammoth Cave National Park. Discovered in 1900 by mining prospectors, Jewel Cave became the first national monument to protect a cave in 1908. Until the 1950s, cavers only discovered two miles of passageways. Today, explorers have mapped 215 miles of trails and still haven’t found the end.

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