An Afternoon of Wandering in Downtown Estes Park

Estes Park is a resort town and the gateway to
Rocky Mountain National Park.
What does every resort town in America have?
Great fudge shops! This window has caramel apples for fall.

And 27 T-shirts shops, all of which stay in business.

The hip thing to do in Colorado
is drive a Jeep and own a really big dog.

Typical Colorado architecture
Estes Park has 6,006 residents

A fun, tacky souvenir shop
that's been on this corner
longer than I've been alive -
if you're eight, you might want to go in
and get yourself a tomahawk.

If you're older, you might be interested in turquoise jewelry.

The Big Thompson River runs throughout downtown Estes.

This beautiful child was
enjoying the river with her grandparents.

Nothing roused this big elk,
not even a nearby skateboarder.
Notice that he's lost half his rack in a fight.

Elk are everywhere in Estes Park.
Even downtown!
If Macinac Island calls their tourists
"fudgies" for their love of candy shops,
Estes Park calls their tourists "elkaholics."