Lucky for us it was a beautiful day. Coloradoans have a saying that "if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes, it will change". It seems to be a valid one too, so we took jackets and umbrellas, and we ended up needed both on and off! The only weather we didn't hit was snow(ing) and only saw small amounts of it at the top areas.
There were 11 different stops along the way up to the Summit where you could get out and park, take a break and snap some pictures. As you climbed the mountain, the terrain and the views changed beautifully. We started at the gateway at 7,8000 ft with a deep green forest. Around 8,600 we saw our first "warning sign"...to watch out for Big Foot!
From there we started the up hill climb and quickly left the trees behind! I caught a very quick glance at a herd of rams on the hillside while Rich was driving around one of the curves. I snapped as fast as I could, got a picture...you can (almost) see them if you look real hard (lower left of the picture...they are those white spots!).
A couple more stops for pictures before we reached the Summit...
Then...we made it! All 14,115 feet! Beautiful! (and a wee bit cold!) ;-)
With stunning views below...
Then we started back down the mountain...
That's a lone climber on top of that rock hill! Then back into the trees we went...
Last stop, at Crowe Gulch at 8,540 ft, for a quick bit to eat (not great, but something anyway), then back to camp for a rest before dinner. What a lovely day!
...kicking back in Colorado, Marie
If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my
Flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/
No comments:
Post a Comment