Rocky Mountain National Park 2011: Alpine & Tundra Views



 

Getting to the "top" of Rocky Mountain National Park is an easy drive using The Trail Ridge Road. This road is the highest major highway in North America and tops out at 12,183 feet above sea level.



 

Once arrived at the top of the park you can leave your car and take a walk in the alpine realm that hikers and backpackers elsewhere may labor thousands of feet uphill to experience.



Nearly one third of the park is above treeline-11,400 feet of elevation. This is the limit that prevents trees to grow because conditions are to harsh.

 



At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak is the highest peak in the park. Rocky Mountain National Park contains 72 peaks above 12,000 feet.

 



Photos taken August 28 - September 2, 2011

 

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Indian Horserace

Horsepower vs. manpower. Which way to the starting line?

Yah ~ She's a beauty eh?

Paul and Pete should keep their eyes off Black Betty...she's taken!

Canyonlands National Park 2011: Island In the Sky District

"All scenic features of this canyon land are on a giant scale, strange and weird". ~ John Wesley Powell

 

The first three photos of this post are of Shafer Road. Drive it if you dare! I did.

 Mesa Arch

Canyonlands National Park is the largest of Utah's national parks: 10 x larger than Bryce, 5 x larger than Arches, and 3 x larger than Zion. It receives the least amount of visitors.

Canyonlands National Park has 30 miles of paved roads, over 100 miles of established trails, and approximately 200 miles of 4-wheel dive roads.

 

above, Upheaval Dome

 





The final scene of Thelma & Louise was filmed just outside Island in the Sky.

Photos taken September 8, 2011

 

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Little Saint Germain Lake

Little Saint Germain Lake is located in Saint Germain, WI. The photos were taken from the shoreline of Black Bear Resort.

photos taken mid November 2011

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Rocky Mountain National Park 2011: Rainbow

Big rain, Big rainbow.

 

On Wednesday August 31, 2011 Liz and I were on day 3 of our week long Rocky Mountain National Park exploration. After touring Grand Lake, CO we began the trek back East across the Rocky Mountains to get back to our camp-site. As we drove up Trail Ridge Road nearing 14,000 feet in elevation we found ourselves in the middle of a driving rain storm. The wind was epic. Our vehicle shook and swayed as the rain pounded the mountainous landscape.

 

As the rain continued we noticed a sliver of blue sky to the east. We both mentioned that if the weather would break in our favor we could be witness to some awesome scenery. We were correct and fortunate, as five minutes later the weather broke. The sun began to shine and out came the most magnificent rainbow that Liz and I have ever seen. Bright colors arched across the sky to form a full rainbow. It was so close that if it wasn't a mirage we could have ran out to touch it.

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SPLASH

Black Betty - She makes a big splash wherever she goes!

Canyonlands National Park 2011: Needles District

Canyonlands National Park is divided into 3 distinct districts; The Maze, Island In the Sky, and The Needles District. The above road in The Needles District doesn't have a name. It follows Salt Creek deep into the park to an awesome overlook of The Colorado River. A couple miles past where the above photo was taken, the road became less of a road and became more of a path. I continued to the overlook on foot.

 

The next four photos were taken at The Overlook.

The next 3 photos were taken near The Needles District visitor center. The great aspect of Canyonlands national Park is that most of the views can be seen from your vehicle's window.

"Wherever we look, there is a wilderness of rocks, deep gorges where the rivers are lost below cliffs and towers and pinnacles, and 10,000 strangely carved forms in every direction, and beyond them mountains blending with the clouds".

Photos taken on August 31, 2011

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Pike's Peak & Cog Railway

Pike's Peak is a mountain in the front range of the Rocky Mountains west of Colorado Springs. It's elevation is 14115 feet and is named after Zebulon Pike who explored the area in the early 1800's. The Peak is a designated national landmark.

The first 3 photos of this post were taken on the way the mountain using the Manitou and Pike's Peak Cog Railway.


The remainder of the photos were taken on top of the Pike's Peak.

The Manitou and Pike's Peak Cog Railway is based in Manitou Springs, CO. It's the highest cog railway in North America by a considerable margin.

The day that we reached the top there was a foot that was just finishing. They began the 14 mile race in Manitou Springs. The race was all up hill...scratch that...all up mountain!

The song "America the Beautiful" was written by Katharine Lee Bates. She was inspired to write the song after she climbed Pike's Peak.

Photos taken Saturday, August 20, 2011

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