Around Bear Lake

After our day off in Estes Park, we had a gorgeous day to go back into Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and used the free shuttle service to go to Bear Lake and do some hiking.

First up was the half mile hike around Bear Lake itself. Yes, I now realize how truly hideous my outfit was. No, I don't know what I was thinking. Please ignore it. A fellow hiker took this picture of the three of us with the lake behind us.

Shortly after we started hiking, we encountered this little guy. He was a most adorable ground squirrel. The fact that he is not striped over his eyes is what lets us know that he is a ground squirrel rather than a chipmunk. Matt got mad at me because evidently after I'd taken this shot and another one, the ground squirrel was practically touching Matt's leg and I didn't get a picture of it.

After we'd finished hiking around Bear Lake, we headed the half mile to Nymph Lake. While it's only a half mile, it's entirely uphill to get there. Still, it was worth it once we'd arrived. The lake was full of lily pads with lots of blooms. I love this shot.

And here's a nice shot of my handsome husband, taken on the edge of Nymph Lake.


The nice thing about climbing a half mile up a mountain is that it's all downhill going back...There was a nice stream on the way down and Matt crossed using the rocks rather than the bridge provided. So naturally he stopped to pose.

After coming down from Nymph Lake, we headed out to hike the mile to Alberta Falls. That get's it's own post, though.