Rocky Mountain National Park The First 100 Years

THIS IS THE BOXED, FAUX-LEATHER LIMITED EDITION. IT IS NONRETURNABLE. Celebrate Rocky's centennial with Rocky Mountain National Park: The First 100 Years. Award-winning author Mary Taylor Young tells a story that stretches from the dawn of time into the future. Journey back to witness the rise, fall, and rise again of mountains. Meet ancient people who built rock game drives still visible atop Trail Ridge, and Utes and Arapaho who left behind only their names for many Park features. Discover explorers lured by the mountains' call, and adventurers consumed with conquering Longs Peak's soaring summit. Find out why life in the Park's lush valleys forced settlers like Joel and Patsey Estes and Abner and Alberta Sprague to turn from ranching to tourism. And how a young man named Enos Mills became a passionate advocate for this mountain wonderland and devoted his life to preserving it as a national park. Meet engineers sculpting Trail Ridge Road and CCC crews building trails, intrepid rangers rescuing lost hikers and researchers preserving the fragile tundra. Learn how the Park's elk were nearly wiped out, then restored to become one of America's premier wildlife sights. Relive the visits of millions of Americans, blessed with "money, kids, and cars," who flocked to this beloved national park through the 20th century, forming lifelong attachments to this special place. Discover how a changing climate may greatly alter Rocky in its next 100 years. Rocky Mountain National Park: The First 100 Years braids these stories and more into one grand tale, exquisitely illustrated with more than 250 historical and landscape images, including photographs by William Henry Jackson, John Fielder, and Erik Stensland, and paintings by Charles Partridge Adams and Birger Sandz n.

Brochure includes information on Rocky Mountain Parks Transportation Company tours through the Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park: A History is more than just the story of Rocky Mountain in its brief tenure as a national park. Its scope includes the earliest traces of human activity in the region and outlines the major events of exploration, settlement, and exploitation. Origins of the national park ideas are followed into the recent decades of the Park's overwhelming popularity. It is a story of change, of mountains reflecting the tenor of the times. From being a hunting ground to becoming ranchland, from being a region of resorts to becoming a national park, this small segment of the Rocky Mountains displays a record of human activities that helps explain the present and may guide us toward the future.

Make the most of your trip to Rocky! This handy guide covers everything you need to know. Find the best hikes, best picnic spots, best places to watch wildlife, best wildflowers, best waterfalls, best activities for kids, and more. Compiled by a former park ranger, with beautiful color photographs, locator maps, and clear, concise directions.

To contemplate an alpine lake or a ribbon of white water twisting down the face of the Rocky Mountains is to appreciate the majesty of this block of bedrock thrust up from Earth's interior, weathering eons of nature's assaults. To learn what humans, in our brief lifespan, have done here is to acquire a sobering sense of our place in the natural world. Ellen Wohl's account of a year in the life of Rocky Mountain National Park reflects a lifelong interest in these rhythms and disruptions. Informed by a deep and intimate understanding of the landscape, her Rocky Mountain journal is a lyrical distillation of experience and knowledge that shows us the century-old national park as a microcosm of the natural world in the thrall of time and humanity. Conducting readers through the park's seasons, Wohl describes the processes that unfold over the ages as continents drift and mountain ranges rise, as glaciers carve the land and profound changes in the atmosphere alter the environment. Working on the landscape in a humbler way are beavers and elk, beetles and, not so humbly, humans, who tinker with natural rhythms in ways big and small, as obvious as logging, road building, and feedlot run-off, and as subtle in the short run as climate change. Along the way, we observe the effects of nature's more violent moments: flash floods that wash out roads and inflict damage downstream, high winds that flatten whole hillsides in minutes, wildfires that strip the woods in an instant or smolder all winter long. A work of quiet power, Rhythms of Change in Rocky Mountain National Park traces Wohl's year-long journey, deftly guiding us through the changing seasons of one of America's most awe-inspiring natural places in all its curiosity and wonder—and in its exposure to the larger forces inexorably altering the natural world.

This book guides you to and along the best day and overnight hikes within Rocky Mountain National Park.

DREAM IT This guide features concise descriptions and maps for 50 beautiful hikes throughout Colorado. Hikers of all levels can enjoy beautiful views, get fit in the outdoors, and learn about the region’s history. PLAN IT Hiking Colorado provides the latest information to plan a customized trip: • Popular and lesser-known hikes • Full-color photos, maps, and trailhead GPS • Insightful hike overviews, details on distance, difficulty, accessibility, and more. DO IT This guide takes you from the trailhead to: • Find hikes suited to any ability • Experience the thrill of exploring new landscapes and viewing wildlife • Discover alpine lakes, spectacular mountain views, and much more.

Here are forty of the best hikes within an hour’s drive of the Denver-Boulder area—from open prairies in the plains and old ranches in the foothills to crystal clear mountain streams and lakes. Whether you’re in the mood for an easy nature walk, a day-long hike, or an overnighter, this guide offers plenty to choose from: • Devil’s Backbone Loops • Trails for Dinosaur Lovers • Cheyenne Mountain State Park • Hall Ranch • Eldorado Canyon State Park • Spruce Mountain Loop • Twin Sisters Peak • Ouzel Falls and Lake Each hike features full-color photos; a brief route description; thorough directions to the trailhead and beyond (GPS coordinates included); a detailed, accurate trail map; and at-a-glance information on distance and difficulty level, hiking time, canine compatibility, and fees and permits. Inside you’ll also find Green Tips and sidebars on local lore, points of interest, tips for hiking in bear country, and the area’s incredible array of wildlife.