Hiking in the Rocky Mountains

On Monday before the Pulsiphers left, we went up to Estes Park. Nick had student teaching. He's in the middle of band camp. I was sad he couldn't go, but I had a lot of fun. I tried going up to this same hiking area with my parents in May, but it was still covered in snow, and it made it hard to actually go anywhere. Now all the snow was melted, the day was very warm. We packed our lunches drove up and had to wait in line at one of the parking areas to actually get to the spot where you start the hike.

Once we got there it was very beautiful the whole way up. The hike wasn't bad at all, I did okay and I'm not in shape at all. Once we got to the top you could see the beautiful waterfall. It's called Alberta Falls. There were a surprising amount of people up there. It was very busy. We found a spot near the waterfall to sit and eat lunch. You could feel mist from the waterfall from where we were sitting. After going all the way to the top we decided to hike back down and then hike across(more like strait up) to bear lake. That one was a little harder for me. It was pretty much strait up hill the entire way! My legs were killing me, next time if I want to go to bear lake I will take the shuttle bus. Bear Lake was gorgeous though. Nick and I had been there before, but it was all frozen over. I can't wait to go again, and try different areas of the Forest. We came home relaxed, showered, and went out to eat. It was so great having family come to visit, I really wish it were possible to see them more often. I think someone needs to think of a faster way to get from long distance places, and less expensive!

Some edits I did in photoshop