Monday, August 26, 2013

Rocky Mountain National Park - Moose Hunting, Jun 2013


So let me begin this tale with a story that comes from my family.  We lived in Upstate NY about 200 miles from the Canadian border.  Every year we would take a few weeks in the summer to go on a vacation in the "local" area, and by local I mean within driving distance.  It almost always included camping at some big national park.  One year we decided to cross into foreign territory and visit Algonquin Canadian National Park.  For TWO WEEKS we camped, hiked, biked, swam, canoed, picniced, etc in a large national forest known for their abundance of Moose. We never saw even a glimpse.  We visited the Adirondacks dozens of times, we would hear tales of Moose that had just passed through - we still never saw one.  After years of chasing after this ellusive creature, our family concluded that there must have been a moose curse on our family.  All moose could smell and see us coming, and would dash away just in the nick of time to never been seen by us.

Fast forward about 10 years.  I'm living in Colorado, and I have many friends on facebook that are also living in Colorado, and also are photographers.  Year after year I put up with "Hey saw a moose in Grand Lake!  Here are the pictures!" or "Went to get ice cream, and ran into a moose.  Here are the pictures to prove it!"  I was determined to find a moose, someway, somehow....it was going to happen.

Years of searching on my own in Colorado ended up just like the vacations with my family; no moose.  This year, I tried once again, this time as a newly wed who had recently received a new last name, and wouldn't you know it....

Well, I won't give away the rest of the story.  Just scroll through to find out the ending :)

Day 1 - Camping on the Western slope of Rocky Mountain National Park

Josh and I wanted to go hiking on the continental divide.  Lucky us, it's started hailing..





Clearly I wore the correct shoes.


It may have been cold, but it was also beautiful.


Then we went onto the top of the park.  With all the rain passing through, it was breath taking.


Josh. :)



It was late June, and there was still snow.  He's 6'4", so that's over 7'.  Ah, Colorado.



The sun came out for a bit.  The difference in temperatures between clouds and sun is staggering.  One second you're bone chilled, and the next your sunburnt and fried.  Still beautiful, either way.



Wait, wait, wait....what is that?  Is that an elk??


I'm pretty sure that's not an elk!!!


We need to calorie up to go out and do some real hunting (with a camera).  By the way, if you've never thrown a husk of corn on a camp fire.....you've got to try it.  I don't even like corn that much, and that was delicious!  I don't think I can even eat corn any other way now.




This looked like the perfect place to spot moose.  I didn't see one (yet), but it was beautiful spot to watch the sun go down.








Not a moose.  Still gorgeous.


Again, not a moose.  Still beautiful.


So I went to bed, a little sad.  Yes, I had seen a moose, but it wasn't really enough.  It was so far away that I could only really see it through my long lens, and even then it was small.  I went to bed and planned to get up early early...ie before the sun.  Everyone "knows" moose don't like to be around lots of noise.  The quietest time of the day is the early morning....Fingers crossed.




Oh....


....my....


...gosh!

The curse is broken!!



Oh yeah, there were elk there too (yawn).

The rest of the morning was beautiful.  I walked around and got some amazing sunrise shots of wild life.  Being up early does have its pay off.  I need to take advantage of that more.  The rest of the day Josh and I went over the pass and ended up taking a small hike along a stream on the eastern side of the park nearer to Estes.  It was a cool rainy day - not like typical summer Colorado weather.  I had an amazing time.  Getting out of your comfort zone almost always pays off. I love my life!





Isn't he just adorable?  I love his tiny fuzzy antlers :)




There's so much more color in real life - mornings in the mountains are just magical.




Cute couple ;)








Saying goodbye to the continental divide.  It was so sad to see us go that it started crying....eh raining.



I can't pass up a cute bridge over a stream.



Gotta love Colorado and all the Aspens.  Until next time, keep adventuring!

April 2013 - Denver Botanic Gardens

 Since moving here in 2006, I have been a member at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  It is arguably my favorite place to spend time in Denver.  I think it helped me make the transition from Hawaii to the dry air of Colorado.  Whatever the reason, I am there a LOT taking pictures.  Here are some of the gems of the day of photographs. 

Close ups are fun










Zooming with the lens.  Totally trippy.  I want to try this again sometime.












Water on leaves is something that always gravitate towards.



And....my favorite photos possibly ever.  I love this SO much!  I'm getting these printed on canvas and hanging them in my apartment.


Steamboat Springs - Day 2

Day of snowshoeing...


Beautiful start to the hike!



Random Easter Bunny in the snow over the stream.




Bridge.



Soft pillows of snow hiding the big boulders underneath.



Log Bridge.  I tried to go over it, and then I realized I didn't want to die.



Random cool designs created naturally by bark.



Attempted a self portrait, and missed the timing a bit.



He finally caught up with me. (actually he had stayed back until he thought I might kill myself by falling into the melting stream).  Good guy, Josh.



I guess someone knew we were coming.  My favorite photo of the trip!