Gear, Lodging, Eats

Lodging: We stayed again at Riverwood on Fall River. There is no other place we would stay when visiting Estes Park and RMNP. The condos have great layouts, the location is perfect for easy access to Estes Park and RMNP. Cheryl and Bonnie always make you feel welcome and the units are always clean and comfortable. We definitely give this a 5-Monkey rating. ;-)

Gear: We purchased new light weight day packs this year from GoLite. The model we picked is the VO24. We liked that it accommodated our CamelBak bladders and we especially liked the pockets on the waist straps. The pack is designed to not interfere with your arms -- complete freedom of movement. Well worth the investment.

The other new gear we had this year was YakTrax. These fit over your hiking boots and allow you to walk on hard packed snow and ice! You still want to use caution, but WOW - no slipping at all. They were easy to use and came in extremely handy during our trip to the Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls. Definitely worth the money and something we would definitely recommend.

Eats: We tried a new restaurant here that had opened since our last visit. Smokin' Dave's BBQ and Tap House. This was some of the best BBQ I've ever had. We ended up eating here twice on this trip. For the first visit, I ordered 6 ribs. Excellent flavor, no sauce needed. The next trip I tried the pulled pork sandwich. The pork is served dry and I added cheddar cheese and the sweet and tangy sauce. Both meals were outstanding. Definitely try this one when you're in Estes Park. (Thanks to Bonnie for recommending this one!)