Rocky Mountain National Park

If you had your heart set to travel Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park this Memorial Day Weekend, well, you'll have to visit the lower elevations of the park because there's too much snow up high to open the road.

Every year, Rocky Mountain National Park snowplow operators begin plowing Trail Ridge Road in mid-April. Crews from the west side of the park and crews from the east side of the park move along the road and eventually meet near the Alpine Visitor Center. The visitor center is the highest in the National Park Service, sitting at 11,796 feet above sea level. Spring storms often impact plowing activities. Plow operators normally encounter drifts from 18 to 22 feet tall.

Rising before the sun, I was out the cabin door not long after its rays started cascading on the Continental Divide. The early departure was necessary to catch the gentle morning light warming the landscape of Rocky Mountain National Park. I also wanted to snag a parking spot at Bear Lake and head up the trail.

One incident of vandalism in the National Park System has been resolved, agents continue to investigate a more high-profile, and wide-spread case in which a woman used acrylic paint to create images in parks across the West.