Flowers, etc. at RMNP

There was just so much beauty to be seen!  Capturing it is always the tricky part for me, but I love trying :)

Brown-Eyed Susan

Indian Paintbrush

Columbine on trail up to Lake Haiyaha

Common Fireweed at Sprague Lake

Cotton Grass

Mariposa Lily, one of my favorites

Just read that this is called Elephantella.  It looks a bit like an orchid to me.

Mountain Harebell

Lanceleaf Stonecrop

RMNP Wildlife :)

We actually saw a 12 point Elk on the way up to Bear Lake Saturday morning, but I did not get a picture of him.  There were plenty of deer to be seen and other elk as well, but these guys were Sam's favorite!

This little guy actually climbed into Sam's fanny pack looking for more treats :)

We actually saw a red hummingbird but I didn't get a photo of him.  These guys visited us daily at the cabin.

Emerald Lake

This was probably the prettiest lake of the day.  After visiting Lake Haiyaha, we came back down to Dream Lake and then hiked .7 miles to Emerald Lake.  Uphill all of the way of course, but well worth the effort.

 Waterfall along the way

Lake Haiyaha

Approximately 2 miles from the Bear Lake Trailhead we arrived at our destination.  The views along the way were fabulous.  We could look down and see Bear Lake and Nymph Lake from our trail.  Walking around Lake Haiyaha was a bit of a challenge as it was surrounded by boulders, and I am not much of a rock climber!

 The larger lake in the middle of the photo is Bear Lake.

 This photo shows how the lake is situated in the middle of Chaos Canyon.

Dream Lake

On Monday, Sam and I were at the Bear Lake Trailhead by 7 so that we could get a parking spot and an early start on our hike.  We were headed to Lake Haiyaha but knew that we would pass some other lakes on the way.  We first came to Nymph Lake, which we had visited when we were here before, so we but didn't take any photos.  Our next stop was Dream Lake.

Gem Lake RMNP

Gem Lake is located north of Estes and is unique in the fact that it is not a spring fed lake like the others.  Snowmelt and rain water collect in a basin carved in the granite surrounding the lake.  The rock formations on this hike reminded us of Wyoming.

The rock with the hole is called Paul Bunyan's boot.

Bierstadt Lake RMNP

Sam and I just got home from a wonderful few days in Estes Park.  We hiked up to Bierstadt Lake on Saturday with some friends that we had known while we were in Hong Kong.  I loved this lake!  The amazing thing about it is that you can walk all the way around it and it is beautiful from every angle.