Leaving Cheyenne the weather was dreadful - cold and vey low cloud. This didn't bode well for going much higher back up into the Rocky Mountains. Arriving in Estes Park just on the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado we were shocked on 3 counts. Firstly how big it was, we expected a visitor centre, gift shop and some RV campgrounds but were confronted with a full on town - supermarkets, cinemas, masses of shops, hordes of tourists, so many traffic lights and lots of congestion. Secondly the weather was like a hot summers day even though we were at 7500 feet. Thirdly, how expensive the campgrounds are. The first one we tried was USD75 + tax for one night!! After checking out 4 campgrounds we headed to the KOA site. Eventually I persuaded them to let us have a tent site with electric - this would be home for 5 days at USD40 per day. There are so many peaks here to hike, I set my heart on Flattop mountain at 12324 feet. Upon acquiring trail maps at the visitor centre we were advised not to head up Flattop today as it was already 10.00am. Start around 7am we were advised so you can descend below treeline before the afternoon thunderstorms start! We settled on Deer mountain and at 9000 feet tall that was high enough with the thinner air. We were told about a guy who killed his wife on deer mountain. Donna checked this out on the internet and found it to be true, the guy also killed his first wife by dropping their car on her (it was jacked up to change a wheel). Worryingly Donna found out about several killings on or near Deer mountain. There are black bears here and Elk. No problem with Elk up on the mountains though as they have moved lower for rutting season. No kidding, we saw an elk in the campground, a couple crossing the road near the campground, a herd of them in the town centre and by the roadside in the National Park. We were advised to go to the golf course which was shut, we did - it was full of Elk, at least 50 of them. Snow was forecast especially up high for later in the week so on our second full day we drove up the Ridge Trail Road whilst it was open. The road reaches just over 12,000 feet! We did three mini hikes taking in 2 summits both around 12,000 feet tall - there is 30 to 40% less oxygen at that height and walking uphill is not easy. Glad we didn't attempt Flattop for our first peak here. Going back down to Estes we had a close up view with a Bull Elk standing in the road. The weather closed in around the high mountains, lots of rain and gusts so we headed to the Lumpy Ridge trail where the sky was blue. The scenery here is quite different, the rocks reminded us of the Roaches or some of Derbyshire edges but much taller. After walking nearly 12 miles and ascending 3700 feet we were glad to get our boots off. Even though we were not that far from the stormy conditions on the Ridge Trail road we had been baked by the sun most of the day. An early start for our last day and our last opportunity to summit Flattop mountain. We parked up at Bear Lake at 9400 feet and had breakfast before setting off on foot in thick cloud. The trail only went one way and that was up. We climbed out and above the clouds which slowly dissipated below us. The views got better until we got to around 11, 700 feet and then the clouds rolled in from the West. The summit was cold and viewless. After 3 hours of uphill we quickly descended a 1000 feet to have lunch with a view. This didn't last long as it started snowing. Quickly we packed up and hightailed it down the mountain. The snow turned to sleet then rain and it just got heavier and heavier. The camera was put away in a rucsac - no more pics today. We heard a rumble of thunder but we were well in the trees by now. Arriving at the carpark the water was running off us and our packs were soaked. We wanted to keep our camper dry, so we headed for the cab. Our dripping waterproof coats came of but we left our overtrousers on and sat on trail maps. Slowly we emptied our bags, spreading valuables onto the dash and the open glove box. Squeezing dry items behind the seats and hanging wet items any where we could. We started up the V8 put the heater on full and poured out the remaining hot tea. After a second but less hurried lunch we made tracks back to Estes Park where it was very windy but dry. By the time we had restocked our grocery supplies, filled up the gas tank, bought some wine and done some laundry almost everything was dry and we got back to normality in the cab. Leaving here tomorrow - snow forecast!