By JACKIE TAYLOR | July 29, 2026

Modern technology

No one will argue that our world is one built on modern technology; we have some that live very well without computers, cars, etc. – but most of us are not in that category. As a matter of fact, if we leave to go somewhere without our phone, it feels like we left an appendage.

Such was my recent foray into Rocky Mountain National Park with my granddaughter. 

I’d traded phones a couple of weeks before; US Cellular was purchased by T-Mobile leaving me, and millions of others, with sub-par phone service, so I moved to Verizon after 32 years with what became US Cellular then T-Mobile.

When we hit Loveland, Colo. last Sunday, my phone had no idea where it was and, unbeknownst to me, would not search Google for anything.

Sounds like no big deal until I realized that the whole of Estes Park is run off of an app. You do not park in any lot within walking distance unless you check in on ParkMobile, easily downloadable on Play Store -unless your phone is acting up…

I do not gest when I say parking is controlled. The app was in use from the dam where we fly fished to the tram where we got a birds-eye view of Estes Park.

A trip to Verizon to reset my phone and I was off and running – able to download ParkMobile so my truck wouldn’t get ticketed or towed and I could park in one of the myriad of parking lots in town.

I’m a Colorado native; I remember many times driving to Rocky Mountain Park from Loveland to spend the day at Bear Lake or just driving around the park – no big deal, I don’t remember the cost to get into the park but it had to be reasonable for a high school/college student.

Now, we loaded up in the truck Sunday afternoon to go look at the park; and, after showing my digital National Senior Parks Pass to the ranger, I was thwarted by the new “timed entry” the park has instituted. 

Timed entry refers to reservations visitors must make to get into the park, via the Recreation.gov app that is available on Play Store, that allows approximately 2,300 visitors to go in at a particular block of time. Those blocks are, for example, from noon to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., etc. If you miss your block of time, you wait for the next time you have a timed entry pass. 

To make it more complicated, you must sign up for timed entry, via the app, at 7 p.m. sharp to ensure you get an entry pass for the next day. Easily said unless you’re in the middle of the mountains with spotty cell service and you have 15 minutes to sign up for entry.

And, passes are not one-for-all, you must know where you are going and get the correct pass for that area. My granddaughter and I wanted to hike around Bear Lake; nice, but that timed entry was different than the park pass to get over Trail Ridge Road, etc.

That is all good, but we happened to enter the park at 6 p.m., after timed entry, and were at 10,000 feet in the middle of the mountains when I had to sign up for entry into the park the next day. I felt like I did when riding Southwest Airlines and I tried to upgrade seating – call at 7 p.m. or sit by the latrine. 

After walking around Bear Lake, that is very accessible, I very much understand why national parks are instituting timed entry after I encountered tons of people, and some very rude people at that from India, on the trail.

One park worker told me that some of the parks that didn’t do timed entry saw much damage due to the huge influx of visitors to their park. Rocky Mountain Park warded that off using the controlled timed entry approach.

People love the outdoors; and more and more people are discovering the getaway the outdoors provides. With that, the inability to get a camping spot at Roaring River unless you do so one year in advance, timed entry into our national parks, etc. Control is the only key to maintaining the beautiful parks we have; without it, people are pigs and nothing would be left to enjoy.

The thought in my head was that modern technology is actually cutting out many of our senior citizens that enjoy nature. Many seniors don’t have a good command of apps, phones, etc. and would be very disheartened with parking, tickets, etc. that have to be purchased online. Sometimes technology, that seeks to be inclusive for everyone, ends up cutting out an entire population.

The trip was great – but very eye-opening in how technology marched forward into our national park system.