Small slide tour of our last vist a few weeks ago.

The kids love it. If you haven't taken the time to drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park lately you are missing the boat. You don't even need to go inside the Park to have a great time. There is almost always something fun going on in Estes Park, Colorado. Heck, just walking around town is fun. I will say for some of the best salsa and Mexican food in the state of Colorado try Chelitos Mexican Restaurant. It rocks and they make the salsa homemade and FRESH! Just the way I like it.

You may be too late this year to hear the Elk bugle and see the Aspen trees in their beautiful gold colors but there's always next year. We enjoy heading up there year round. There is always something to see, a trail to hike or even just hang out in the little town park and relax for a few hours. The point being ...get out and do something.

Head north out of Denver on I-25 and then take 36 up to and through Boulder. You can follow the signs to Lyons and then onto Estes Park. Takes about an hour and a half to get thee from Parker.

Pay or PASS? You can opt to pay for the day or buy a yearly National Park Pass. We ALWAYS opt for the yearly PASS. If you are going to visit two or more parks in a year it's well worth the $60 for a years pass. Two years ago we figured the pass saved us over $300 in park admissions and that was just for 2006.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a true treasure right in our back yard and I'm always surprised when talking to people living on the Front Range and finding out that they rarely ever go take a visit. They only go when friends or family come to visit from out of state. WHY? Go see it and have fun.

Steven Beam is a local Parker, Colorado real estate broker. 303-941-4663

You can find great local Parker, Colorado real estate information on Localism.com Steven Beam is a proud member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, a free online community to help real estate professionals grow their business.