Wow, amazing photos, bozz!
It turns out to get into most of the National Parks in the area (like Rocky Mountain National Park), you either need to get there before 9AM or you need to have a "Timed Pass".
First time I've heard about this. Interesting. I wonder if Japan will implement something like this in the future for Mt Fuji. Traffic there is increasing a ton every year and it's getting to the point where the litter is overwhelming and it's becoming dangerous due to so many people.