The Boys Are Back In Town

Seven mule deers visited our homestead this morning.

I've never seen this many together at once.

"How many are your works, Lord!
    In wisdom you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures."

Psalm 104:24

Sharing with Weekly Top Shot

Rocky Mountain High in Colorado

Loch Vale, RMNP

Today I'm joining Wanda Ann of "Memories By the Mile" and her "Tuesday Trivia - Colorado". 

It's been almost three years since I first moved to Estes Park, Colorado with my new husband, and I've been blogging about life at high altitude almost that long. One of the best things that has happened to me here is discovering the joy of photography. My husband gave me his spare camera after seeing the poor images I captured with my little cell phone (I didn't own an iphone), and I've been pointing and clicking ever since. Blogging gives me the opportunity to pair photography with my other creative outlet: writing. 

Since we live just 10 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park, I thought I'd give you a tour of this magnificent place through my camera lens.

Endo Valley

Rocky Mountain National Park is visited annually by over 3 million people. And it's no wonder, when you consider the natural beauty of its 415 square miles.

An abundance of wildflowers and native plants can be seen in the park from early spring to the first snow. 

Wild Rose

Choke Cherry

Indian Paint Brush

Fireweed

Bush Sunflower

RMNP boasts over 300 miles of hiking trails. I've only been on a few of them, but each one has left me in awe of what God has created.

Bear Lake

Moraine Park

Endo Valley Picnic Area

Hallett's Peak

Sprague Lake

Alberta Falls

Upper Beaver Meadows

Fern Lake Trailhead

Fire Trail to Loch Vale

Meadow just off Old Fall River Road

Glacier Creek

Upper Beaver Meadows (Longs Peak in the distance)

Chasm Falls

Longs Peak is a well-known landmark in RMNP.

At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak is the highest peak in Rocky Mountain National Park and Boulder County, and the 15th highest peak in Colorado. People from all over the world come to climb it.

I never tire of photographing the wildlife inhabitants of Rocky Mountain National Park.

From the large

Bull Elk

Elk Cows at the Watering Hole

Bull Elk Resting in the Tundra

Bull Elk in Sprague Lake

Bull Moose

Buck

to the small

Doe and Fawn - Endo Valley

Coyote

Myna Bird

to the tiny

"Chippy"

and the tiniest.

Hoary Comma

Because we live in a protected area, I'm blessed to have wildlife photo ops in town and our homestead. 

Yard Bunny

Chillin' downtown

Uh-oh, there she is with her camera again.

Lazin' on a sunny afternoon.

Baby Elk don't care where they nurse. This is near downtown Estes.

Twin Fawns in our side yard.

Mama Doe and her twins crossing the street in front of our homestead.

Bull Elk downtown Estes.

Elk Cow in our side yard.

A herd of deer in our yard.

Gentle bunny in our yard.

Doe seen from my kitchen window.

Nuthatch in one of our ponderosa pines.

A hummer stopping for a treat.

A sweet fawn peeks around the back of our barn studio.

These sweethearts hung around our homestead all summer.

The deer especially can be very tame and easy to capture with my camera. But there are some animals I prefer to photograph from a very safe distance.

Driving through the canyon we spotted this bear trying to get into a trash bin. We pulled over to get some photographs. No humans were harmed in capturing this image. (Translated to "I never got out of the car.')

Well, that's it. Too many photos, maybe? I hope I didn't bore you. 

Enjoy your Tuesday, and stop by Memories by the Mile to see Wanda Ann's post on Colorado. She's got some great shots.



Linking to:
Memories by the Mile