We tried our hand at night photography last night in preparation for the many dark sky parks we will be visiting on the trip. Even with the light pollution from Denver, we got a few nice shots of the Milky Way. It was really cold out - about 5 degrees C. I bundled up to venture outside for the photos; meanwhile we ran a space heater in the trailer to keep all the sleepers toasty warm.
Our adventure today was hard but rewarding. We hiked a 10 km out-and-back trail from Bear Lake to an alpine lake full of trout called the Loch in Rocky Mountain National Park. The hike was difficult - entirely uphill for the first half - but with a beautiful pay off. We decided not to hike to the two lakes further on the trail since they were past the snow line which would have meant using cleats on a snowy trail. Besides, the lakes themselves were still frozen, so no fishing. The return trip down the mountain was lovely - all downhill.
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| All smiles starting out. |
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| We arrived at our destination! |
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| Made it down. Woot! Woot! |
We saw many wild animals up close today: mule deer, elk, red fox, settler’s jay, America pika, black-billed magpie, chipmunk, and greenback cutthroat trout.
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| Elk - note the white rump. |
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| American pika. Not bothered by our presence at all. |
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| Mule deer. |
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| Settler’s jay. He is our new favourite bird. So pretty. |
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| More elk. Munch. Munch. |
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| Our campsite’s resident chipmunk. |
This afternoon was a quiet one, hanging out at the campsite. The boys completed their Junior Ranger activities and Ali was pledged in by the ranger on duty and received his badge. The big boys are still working on theirs. Some of the boys got DIY haircuts in anticipation of hotter weather as we leave tomorrow for the Black Hills.
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