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Oct 4

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Rocky Mountain High (October 2016)

Greetings all,

Though an entrance is located only 110 miles away from Laramie (approximately a two and a half hour drive) for years I have avoided Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Given its proximity to Colorado’s Front Range the primary reason for this was the anticipation I would confront hoards of people. (Stretching from Pueblo to Fort Collins the Front Range now is home to over 4 ½ million people.) Though my reasoning holds, and crowds can be overwhelming, I can no longer ignore this majestic place – arguably the very heart of the Rocky Mountains. Though just a bit smaller than Grand Teton National Park in acres (415 square miles to 480 square miles) it seems nearly every meadow, lake, glacier and peak (including Long’s Peak, the very sentinel of the Park) can be explored; RMNP has an extensive web of hiking trails. There is good reason this stunning place is home to an extremely popular National Park — within it the very essence of the Rocky Mountains resides. This past year I visited RMNP four times (all visits taking place in Fall) but fully expect to return more often to experience and savor its awesome natural beauty. Below are a few photos.

a-1dxb4974bullelkrmnpsept16h7-5x5300cpyrtBull elk – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado1-5diih3215dreamlkhikermnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtEmerald Lake trail – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

2-5diic3915arrowheadlkgorerangesept157-5x5300cpyrtArrowhead Lake, Gore Range – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

3-5diic3974hallettpkrmnp157-5x5300cpyrtHallett Peak & Tyndall Glacier – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

4-5diic3951fallcolorsrmnpsept157-5x5300cpyrtFall colors – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

5-5diih3138deerrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtYoung Mule deer – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

6-5diih2503bearlkrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtBear Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

7-5diih2773bearlksept167-5x5300cpyrtBear Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

8-5diih2462bierstadtlkhikermnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtBierstadt Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

9-5diih2530nymphlkrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtNymph Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

10-5diic3807longspktrailrrrdsept157-5x5300cpyrtLong’s Peak – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

11-5diih2969glaciercrkrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtGlacier Creek – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

14-5diih3030squirrelrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtGolden-mantled ground squirrel – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

15-5diih2545stellerjayrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtSteller’s jay – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

16-5diih3167dreamlkrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtGlacier Creek – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

17-5diih2916albertafallsrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtAlberta Falls- Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado5diih3169dreamlkrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtd Dream Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

5diic3857longspktrailrrrdsept157-5x5300cpyrtLong’s Peak – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

5diih3004millslkrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtMills Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

18-1dxb4891bullelkrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtBull elk – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

19-1dxb4946bullelkrmnpsept167-5x5300cpyrtBull elk bugling – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

20-elkbuglingcollage7-5x5300cpyrtBull elk bugling – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado