BLISSFULLY, GORGEOUSLY FALL!

In the blink of an eye, the terrible hot summer died and a glorious autumn was our reward!  The nights turned cool and then downright cold, with the days sunny and just-right-warm.  I made two trips to see the Rocky Mountain foliage display, even though my own back yard was putting on a small personal show for me.  Here are some shots of early September in my Timnath house.  Note the new patio room and Timmy and Aidan guarding the house against the finches.



The first big foliage trip was a long adventure from Timnath to Grand Lake over Trail Ridge Road, a fabulous drive through Rocky Mountain National Park beginning in Estes Park and ending at Grand Lake.  The pinnacle is at 12,000+ feet and is above the timberline at alpine tundra level.  My sister Susie and her husband Nick (aka Skipper) and I set out early on September 16 for what would be a wonderful day full of wildlife and aspens in their full glory.

Shortly after departing Estes Park, we spotted this young Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.  He studied us intently and was happy to pose until his family beckoned him back into the brush. 

We started gaining elevation and soon came upon view after view of autumn foliage.  The aspens were in every stage of fall colors, depending on their genes and their exposure.   Note the extent of beetle kill in the pines.

While the beetle kill has ravaged the lodgepole pines throughout the Rocky Mountains, a significant industry has developed around harvesting and using the wood from the dead trees.  Additionally, we saw so much new growth of various spruce trees which the beetles do not care for.  In a few generations, the Rockies will have a beautiful display of spruces and the stands of dead lodgepoles will be forgotten.

Here are the requisite personal shots that prove we were actually there:

The high point of the day for wildlife was getting these photos of a female moose and her juvenile daughter.  Moose are very shy and not often seen, though they are reported as plentiful in our mountains.  These two were grazing and although mama moose was alert, she seemed neither frightened nor aggressive.  Here are a few more of these two:

We shot photos until the park rangers came and waved us away.  Their concerns are for human safety as well as prevention of the animals growing too accustomed to interaction with people.

As we continued the forest changed and grew increasingly barren. 

The Alpine Visitor Center is almost at the highest point of Trail Ridge Road and was nearly ready to close for the winter the day we visited.  It was cold and windy up there and all of us felt the altitude.  There are fascinating presentations and photos of life at that rarefied level.  Of course, the usual tee shirts and espressos are also available.

As we summited and started down into stands of trees again, we were lucky enough to see a group of white tail does and their yearlings.  We got a couple of nice photos of these sweet creatures.

From there is was down to Milner Pass and the Continental Divide at 10,000+ feet. 

 

We headed into Grand Lake Lodge for a late lunch and more beautiful vistas.

 



What a piece of heaven this place was!  Just idyllic.  We ate a great lunch of steak and brie paninis and plotted our trip back home, ultimately deciding not to take the short way down and into Denver, but to retrace our steps.  We figured it would be a different view on the way back and so it was. 

Here are some photos of a bull elk and his harem.  He was magnificent with so many points on his antler rack.  The ladies were chatting among themselves and he sat apart from them, with a sort of insouciant attitude.

In all, a wonderful day in the Rockies!