We drove across western Colorado into Rocky Mountain National Park. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this, but that was the first time that I had been in the park. I've been playing in these mountains all of my life, but I guess that I never made it out there.

These are beaver ponds... back in the day they would dynamite these things.

Elk everywhere...

... and a coyote from the car (he was too fast to photograph otherwise).

We camped somewhere (I forget now) and drove up the Fall River Road. It was beautiful.

At the top is a visitor center with a beautiful panoramic view. Alpine tundra paradise.

We decided to take a couple of small hikes that day - this is called Alberta Falls,

and this is called Mills' Lake.

The next day we decided to hike Hallett Peak. I don't remember the stats, but I think this is a peak under 13,000 feet. It seems to me that the hike was decently long, like 9 miles, and actually had some good elevation gain (like 4000 feet). In fact, I think that this peak is easily as difficult as many of the BIG Colorado Fourteeners, but that's just my impression.

Here is the cliff on the approach to the peak:

There it is in the background.

We encountered a small snowfield - good thing I was wearing my glacier sunglasses (good in BOTH the desert and the mountains, by the way!).

Here we are on Flattop Mountain - basically a false summit. Hallett springs out of this for a last 30-40 minute climb up a steeper rock field.

We summited! In the background you can view Long's Peak, a famous Colorado Fourteener (in this case I agree... Long's is much harder).

A marmot...

... and beautiful tundra flowers.

Here we are in a parking lot somewhere outside of the park. This is possibly the coolest car EVER, so I just HAD to snap a picture of it. Notice the old lady still sitting in it! I have no shame...

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