She and her husband, Larry Van Tuyl, of San Antonio, made the drive on a recent sunny, weekday morning. The traffic signal not the small group of elk splashing in a nearby pool of water caught them by surprise. The signal controls cars on the two-lane road, which winds 46 miles through Rocky Mountain National Park and reaches a peak elevation of 12,183 feet. Leons estimated that 1 million vehicles will have driven on Trail Ridge Road over the summer before snowfall shuts it down for the winter, probably some time in October. The lights change about every 4 minutes, though on busy days traffic has been backed up an estimated 60 to 70 cars.
Signs warn of possible half-hour delays.
Most visitors don't seem to mind. Some even see it as a chance to stop and absorb the view of snow-splotched peaks. But the couple he caught trespassing on his fields recently apparently weren't prepared. So the young man and woman doffed their shirts and began filling them with the ripe berries before Naesgaard chased them off. I want to maintain a wholesome family image for my operation.