Estes Park

Matt and I left Saturday morning for a day trip to Estes Park. Our plan was to check out the views and go hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. We left with our car loaded with snacks, water, extra clothes and sleeping bag just in case we were too tired to drive the 3 hours home and would want to sleep in the car! We've never tried it before, but we figured the seats fold down...it has to be safer than sleeping in a tent!

It was a beautiful drive all of the way there with great views of the snow capped mountains and the city of Denver.




As we were nearing our destination, we had to stop because we saw this "BUFFALO JERKY 99 cents" sign. Matt wouldn't miss that! The jerky didn't disappoint!



Once we arrived in Estes Park (the name of the town) we stopped at the visitor's center for information because we really had no idea what we were doing. We thought we would just figure it out as we went! Anyway, we got some good information and were pointed in the right direction of some great hiking trails.

But...before getting back in the car at the visitor center we notice all of these elk just traipsing around a golf course. So we figured we would check it out! Apparently, I found it kind of funny.





It was kind of crazy how close we could get to them! They didn't even seem bothered by us. They certainly weren't penned in. This one here just kept staring at me as I crept up on her. She gave us great pictures because she looked right at the camera!

Look how close Matt is to this this guy! He could go after him two flat seconds with his antlers! But instead he just sits there, seemingly
unaffected.

Here we are together with the male elk and the amazing mountains that we love in the background!

Our first hike in Rocky Mountain National Park led to Bear Lake. It was beautiful with sunshine glistening on the water...our pictures never capture the incredible beauty of God's creation. Yet, we continue to try anyway!

This couple sitting by the lake was so cute! I hope we are like that at their age...just enjoying life together, still active but taking the time to enjoy God's nature together!







Here we are by Bear Lake!







The love of my life checking out the view on our way to another lake.

Here it is! Dream Lake! Also, very beautiful.

Matt playing in the water at Dream Lake. He wanted to know how cold it was. He thinks we should come back next summer and go swimming! I'm not sure if that is allowed or not.















Matt and I at Dream Lake before heading to the next lake on our hike!











Emerald Lake! The third and final lake on our hike. It was also pretty but the sun was beginning to go down and the sun was not shining on the water as much. It was definitely getting more chilly so I grabbed another layer and got closer to my husband!









It was a very fun hike and we were looking forward to our downhill descent. It is SO much faster going down than up. It's not just that it's so much easier going downhill, but we weren't stopping as often going down. I was getting cold and it was beginning to get dark!

Once we arrived at the beginning of the hike, we jumped in our car to head out of Rocky Mountain National Park. On the way out, we see more elk! So we drive over to check them out. Even these elk, out in the wild, seem unaffected by the cameras and tourists! A coyote even walked up among them and while all of the onlookers were enthralled,
neither the coyote or the elks bothered with each other. It was crazy.

When we went back into Estes Park that night, looking for a place to eat, we saw a herd of elk prancing through town! I am not kidding. There were probably about 7-10 of them walking right by people on the streets. We followed them...it was too dark to get a good picture, but we watched them go into another field like they knew exactly where they were heading. Maybe this is all normal out here. We are just amazed by it because it is not normal to us!I know this is not a good shot because the mountains are completely blacked out, but the sky was gorgeous as we were leaving the park at sunset. So I tried to capture what I new my photography skills could not handle. ha ha. But trust me, it was beautiful!

We were not all that tired after we had finished our dinner at a local pizzeria (I had Mt. Dew so I was REALLY good to go!) so we decided to head on home...especially as it was getting quite cold outside. So the camping out in our car will have to wait for another excursion. Maybe we can just wait until next summer and really camp out!