The angry moose at Long Lake

On Saturday we drove up into the Indian Peaks Wilderness to get in a fall day hike. The Aspen trees are now showing their varying autumn colors from bright yellow to deep orange. Rochelle was especially keen to check them out up close. We started at Brainard Lake and ascended via the trail to Long Lake. Xander was game and we made good time. Upon arrival, we pushed around the loop until we found a good access trail that led down to the water.

At the water we walked out onto a point and began scouting for a good fishing spot. After survyeing for a couple minutes Chelle informed me the trail died out and we'd have to back track. Not one for rewinding I decided to check it out myself... and that's when I noticed "it". I say "it" because I could not indentify what the mass of hair in the brush was. The animal's head and hind-quarters were obscured by thick foliage.

I reached for the camera in my backpack and just as I was pulling it out, the animal vanished into the brush. While I silently cursed the missed opportunity, the brush near us rustled and out came a moose... I kid you not (moose in Colorado?). He was young, probably a year or two old sporting a decent 3x4 rack and a mean disposition. He immediatley charged toward us on the shorline. Sadly I did not get this on video as I was too busy trying to get Chelle and Xander out of there! Anyhow, long story short, we vacated his space and watched from a distance. That's when we noticed his "big brother". Wow, this guy was a monster (glad he wasn't the one who bum-rushed us)! Fun times here in Colorado. =)

Pikes Peak

After visiting GoG, we took the train up to the top of Pikes Peak. That's a pretty cool way to catch all the scenery!

God's Garden

Today we drove down to Colorado Springs for some sight-seeing. Our first stop was Garden of the Gods. The weather was really great (mid 80's) and the park contained some outstanding rock formations. A few pics from GoG:

Elitch Gardens

Rochelle's work gave her some tickets to Elitch Gardens, so on Friday we went downtown to check it out. Overcrowded... check. Busted rides... check. Seedy peeps... check. The best way to describe Elitch would be if Disneyland replaced all their rides with the ones you see at the state fair. Ghetto. Anyhow, all was not lost as we got Xander a turn on the carousel.

Downtown Aquarium

Yesterday we took Xander to the Downtown Aquarium in (you guessed it) downtown Denver. It had some pretty decent exhibits including the random Bengal Tiger. What? Ok. Anyhow, it was cool but the Newport Aquarium still takes it. Also nearby was the largest REI I have ever seen. Wow! It was so big that it had an indoor climbing wall. Of course we had to check it out. =)

Media from the trip...

Steamboat Springs Part II

After a long and eventful evening with Xander, we needed some R&R. So we went hiking - to Fish Creek Falls. After that, we took the gondola up to the top of Mt. Werner for brunch. The food was excellent and the views were sweet. =)

Steamboat Springs Part I

We decided to head up to Steamboat Springs for Rochelle's birthday. I wanted to tweak the route in to include Rocky Mountain National Park, and I'm so glad we did! The park was absolutely beautiful. We stopped many times along the way to get some small hikes in when Xander was feeling up to it. He did really well and we eventually made it to our hotel and chilled. Here's some pictures from the first part of the trip:







As we approached the continental divide we encountered a large herd of Rocky Mountain elk. With so many people pulled over to watch them, all we could manage was this drive-by (shaky cam) capture: