Days 27 and 28--Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to Denver, CO with a stop at Rocky Mountain National Park

Yesterday, after having lunch in Glenwood Springs, I continued towards the Moraine Park Campground at Rocky Mountain National Park (conveniently located a few miles from Estes Park). Due to some delays, I didn't arrive at the campsite until shortly after 7:00pm. Once I arrived, I immediately set up my tent and then headed into Estes Park for dinner (albeit I was delayed by taking a wrong turn out of the campsite). I went to a barbecue place on the western edge of town where I had a delicious "Texas Brisket Sandwich." After dinner, I swung by the small grocery store to pick up a few things (including firewood and breakfast for the next morning) and then headed back to the campsite. At the campsite, I had a small campfire where I roasted several marshmallows.

This morning, I woke up around 6:15am (didn't know it was that early since my phone was buried under my air mattress). I cleaned up my campsite and then started touring the beautiful park. Rocky Mountain National Park has many beautiful overlooks and I stopped at most of them with the most memorable ones being "Many Rockies" and "Tundra Communities" (if I remember correctly), with "Tundra Communities"  requiring a bit of a walk in very windy conditions (it was only just over 50 degrees at that spot as well in comparison to the 95 it got to in Denver this afternoon).

After touring Rocky Mountain National Park, I headed towards Denver, which is about a 2 hour drive from the western edge of the park. On the way, I had planned to do the Mount Evans Scenic Byway and road but a sign indicated that the Mount Evans Road was closed, so I skipped it and headed towards Denver, arriving shortly after 1:00pm.

I'm staying at an Airbnb in the Capital Hill area of Denver, which is a nice walking distance from the downtown/16th Street Mall area.  Immediately after arriving, I took a shower then walked towards downtown. To celebrate National Hot Dog Day, I had a 7-11 Hot Dog and a Vanilla Coke for lunch (it's very good for a $2 meal). I took a leisurely pace around Denver, stopping at the Federal Reserve Bank's Money Museum, which isn't very good and requires intensive security (Photo ID  and Metal Detector) but gives out free bags of shredded money, so I grabbed one. I grabbed dinner at Chipotle and a slice of cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory for later.

I'm still contemplating my options in Denver tomorrow morning (thinking of doing the Zoo but may do something else) and then I'll do the 4-hour drive to Great Sand Dunes National Park, where I'll be camping.

Next Stop: Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO