Rocky Mountain holiday

Herds of elk and deer are a common sight in the National Park, especially early in the mornings and in the evening before sunset.

We ventured into the National Park one morning just after 5am. Ice had formed on the car's windshield overnight - it was THAT cold - after spending weeks in triple digit temperatures in Oklahoma, this came as a severe shock.

The Rocky Mountains National Park was the highlight of our trip, of course. The mountain scenery and wildlife are breathtaking, and never twice the same. Time of day, amount of cloud cover, angle of sunlight or moonlight are all responsible for changing vistas which one might expect to remain always similar.
There are scenic lakes and many hiking trails for the more adventurous. We managed one uphill hike from Bear Lake to Nymph Lake, said to be no more than half a mile, but which seemed like 10 miles! On the way we encountered several chipmunks and squirrels hoarding their winter food, not afraid of us at all.