Rocky Mountain National Park
Unlike the Grand Canyon, and also unlike Zion National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park is incredibly easy to photograph. Really, you could close your eyes and wave a $25 disposable camera randomly in the air and get good pictures. Everywhere you look there is some magnificent feature. So I put away my digital SLR and bought a $25 disposable camera, put on a blindfold…
Well, it looks like that, anyway. I just couldn’t stop snapping.
Trail Ridge Road runs through the park, across the Continental Divide, climbing to just over 12,000 feet. Although I have hiked at that altitude (lo, these many years ago), I have never been that high in a vehicle before. Needless to say, it was magnificent. Sub-alpine terrain is my very favorite, and the tundra above the tree line was stunning as well.
The main campground is at about 8100 feet, which is pretty much the lowest point in the park. After a night there, I drove to the Park and Ride and rode my trike up to Bear Lake, which is around 9500 feet. This is a new VT triking altitude record.
Climbing up the west side of the divide
View across the tundra near 12K feet
Tarns just east of the divide
Many places to break your leg or arm east of the divide
Campground. You can see the low-rent nature of our decorative paint job here.
Impossible light, beautiful creek on the way to Bear Lake
Biking to Bear Lake. The road looks so nice and flat here that you would never imagine how steep it really is.
On the way to Bear Lake, I stopped at Sprague Lake, a gentle walk and some gorgeous scenery
More Sprague Lake
This photo is duplicative and compositionally inferior, but it shows some of the golden aspens that are just everywhere this time of year.
Canada geese at Sprague Lake. Plus some fuzzy tourists in the background.
Aspens on the hillside
Bear Lake elevation 9475 ft.
Aspens in the sun, Bear Lake
Rocks and aspens, Bear Lake
The aspens are golden, but also can blush a delicate red, like these