There’s nothing like snow-covered peaks and clear mountain lakes to refresh the soul. And then there’s the sound of rushing water down rocky streams and the scent of green pines and furs in the crisp air. It’s no wonder that Mark and I wanted to sit at these scenic spots and just soak it all in. We began and ended our vacation in Boulder, but we left our miles-high spirits in Rocky Mountain National Park. The photos here chronicle the first three days, from our first culinary experience at The Kitchen (Boulder is a definite foodie town) to our first glimpse of the views from our deck to our hike in the park towards Emerald Lake. As you can see, Elizabeth never met a rock she couldn’t climb, and though the first hike left me breathless - from the altitude, not the scenery - I found we all acclimated pretty well to the 8-10,000 feet elevation. Anyway, who can complain about hiking in the 60’s and low 70’s, and walking through an occasional snow patch? Only one incident raised our adrenalin: the sighting of a brown bear on the path ahead of us, and about 20 yards from Matthew. (Mark and I had fallen behind.) A fellow hiker spotted the bear first, and after the rest of us scrambled onto a boulder, it climbed onto the rocks above the path and away into the pines. Andrew shot a short video that I include here. You can imagine the reaction from Matthew when he learned how close the bear had come to him. It’s probably best he didn’t know...
