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estes park

Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park

by Kay~Kacey on 9/21/2012

We just got back from a very brief trip to Estes Park. Love it out there. While out there we took a short hike to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Such fun. The trails winds by three lakes.

Nymph Lake

Nymph Lake Rocky Mountain National Park

It was just gorgeous with all the lilies floating in the lake.

Emerald Lake hike

My sister and brother-in-law and my niece went with SuperGuy and I on the hike. I think they are all a bit tired of the bazillion times I stopped to take photos… This next one  is Dream Lake. (I think…my sister has me so confused on the order of the lakes on this hike…)

Dream Lake Rocky Mountain national park

This one is either looking down on Nymph Lake or Dream Lake (once again, blame my sister…)

Looking down at dream lake

It was perfect weather, and a not very long hike. My sister, brother-in-law, and niece are hard core hikers, so this was more of a stroll for them. My sister commented on how weird/strange/nice it was to actually stop and enjoy the views on a hike… :hysterical:

Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake…well, you can see where it got its name. Such a beautiful color. After reaching Emerald Lake…some of the hikers had to take a brief nap in the sun…

napping after a hike

Not to disappoint…of course I got a pointing photo. Oh…and a glamour shot of my sister… 😉

hiking in rocky mountain national park

My sister, my brother-in-law, my niece and I all went to Cheley Camp in Estes Park when we were kids. So Estes holds a special place for all of us. We had a fabulous time, and I’m ready to go back right now. Seriously! I need to go to the mountains every so often to recharge my soul.

Road Trip-Estes Park Version

by Kay~Kacey on 7/28/2009

So we got up early the first morning of our Colorado trip. You know, after the sunset competition the night before. We decided to head into the mountains. Gutsy move, considering the wedding was back in Denver that evening, but we were confident we could squeeze every fabulous moment out of the day.

rocky-mountains-colorado

We fought through the Denver rush hour traffic and headed off to Estes Park. Here we are just coming into Boulder. What a pretty place to go to college. All my nieces went to college there.

estes-park-kind-coffee

First stop is Kind Coffee in Estes Park. They have the best coffee there. You can go right out the back door and sit by the Big Thompson River and walk up the back of the town on the River Walk. It doesn’t get much better than that when you’re wanting to enjoy your coffee!

eds-cantina-estes-park

I love Estes Park. I grew up spending the summers there at Cheley Camp. So did my sister, her husband, and a handful of our boys. So we’re kind of an Estesy type family. I proceeded to take pictures with my iPhone and send them off to everyone in my family who is as addicted to Estes as I am. Take, for instance, Ed’s Cantina. My sister’s family’s favorite place to eat in Estes. They even made up an Ed’s Cantina song. Yes, my family is strange, why do you ask? So off this picture goes to my sister and bil.

rocky-mountains-longs-peak

Next up, a picture of Longs Peak. Off it goes to the Photography One. He’s made it almost to the top, but never all the way to the top. He keeps being turned back by electrical storms, or ice. He’ll make it up there one day. I’m sure.

After I sent the photos, the text messages kept rolling in. I got text-slapped all day long. :rofl:

Family was jealous, and not handling it well. Who knew they would call me such names?? :love:

the-taffy-shop-estes

Then there was the obligatory stop at The Taffy Shop. Best salt water taffy in the world. Honest. Had to pick up a box for my father. Don’t tell him! I haven’t given it to him yet. Then, we did some more shopping in Estes. Can’t tell you what we bought. Christmas is coming… Secrets! :secret:

rocky-mountains-colorado-longs

We then headed into Rocky Mountain National Park…for yet another photo shoot competition. I’ll have more up tomorrow. I have wedding photos to edit too. Busy week! Stay tuned!