Colorado, Part 2

After driving all over the state of Colorado, Mark and I were quite tired of being in the car. We had intended to head up to Fort Collins but decided to cut that part out of our trip so that we could spend some more quality time in one location. After dropping off the rest of our crew at the Denver airport, we headed to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. We somehow managed to rent a quirky cabin in the area, after discovering that it was the area's busy season due to Elk rutting. We spent our time hiking, exploring, and checking out the elk in the area who were not phased by the crowds observing.

Here is a whole lot of photos...

The beginning of our hike!

We met up with Mark's cousin Ben and his wife, Valerie, for our hike!

The end of our hike, Emerald Lake!

We did not prepare well for the temperature change as we went up in elevation. I ended up wearing a scarf we still had in the car, and we joked that I did not look like I should be hiking...

Mark had to climb the boulders... we are those little specks on the rocks.

We had to continue our hike to see some waterfalls! We also managed to get rained on in the process.

We visited the tundra! 12,005 feet above sea level. At the visitors center, the temperature was in the thirties with windchills in the teens... Mark wore shorts.

BRRRRR!

I told you, we took a lot of photos together!

The views on the drive up to the tundra were amazing!

Postcard.

Watching one bull chase another off... apparently it was the second he had chased off that afternoon.

The elk were literally right beside the road. So cool!