Rocky Mountain National Park 2

Hi Again Everyone

What a great weekend this has been.  Weather could not have cooperated any more than it has and it couldn't have been more beautiful.

We worked yesterday, Saturday, and trained in the afternoon.  We had a family reunion and shoot in the morning.  This family consisted of 37 members.  Great grandparents, grandparents, their spouses and children.  We had 2 studios setup and kept family members swapping sites where Wendy worked one site together with one owner and other volunteer and I, volunteer and owner's spouse worked the other.  After the family selected their favorite pictures and left the site, we discussed the event and critiqued it.  We continued the training process after lunch by going over the computer side of the process.  Unreal, challenging and fun event.

Here are some interesting sights around our campground, including this homemade RV.  (I know one person that might get some ideas after seeing it):

Yes, that is a PIG on a leash.  Neighbor from TX showed up with it

One of the many habitual things we have gotten into over the years, is walking around the campground every evening after dinner.  Saturday night was no different except we decided to go to Lily Lake.  It is only 7 miles away and we were glad we did.  It is a gorgeous place.  It had been recommended by some of our neighbors that return yearly here for the summer.  Although it is only a few miles away, it seemed it was all heading upwards.  The lake is 1300 feet higher than our campground in Estes Park.  The walk was great, but I surely felt every step.

 

One of the many critters in the lake.  There were dozens of these Water Rats in the lake

Today Sunday, we finally took the Trail Ridge Road in RMNP, that had been closed and opened earlier this week.  WOW!  What a drive.  We had been up here many years ago but I think we had forgotten how beautiful it was.  It was 69° F in town when we began the ascent.  When we reached the Alpine Visitor Center 11,796 ft. of elevation (the highest visitor center in the National Park Service) the temperature was 50° F.  As you all can see, there is still plenty of snow around in case some needs to be shipped elsewhere.

 

Yes, that is the road to summit and back to town

Lava Cliffs

By the time we got off the mountain and into town, it was lunch time.  We stopped at the YMCA and enjoyed a hot lunch.  Picked our bikes up and drove into town.  We finally biked the full trail around Estes Lake.  It turned out to be 8 miles total.  The surprise here was the fact that the trail is not all flat as we had thought.  We encountered a few hills on the south east side of the lake that were very challenging.  I'm still surprised I made it without having to dismount the bike.  You may get an idea of the height after seeing the pic taken on the summit where we stopped to catch our breaths.

We have seen elk around the campground this evening, and now, as it gets a little darker out, we are listening to the elk Bugling & coyotes howling!  We just had an elk visitor, eating in the dark, right outside our window.

We'll keep you posted!