Our Mountain Adventure

Yesterday we left Aurora with my friend Gynia and her mother, Virginia, for a day trip to the mountains, specifically Mount Evans in the Arapahoe National Forest. I thought Gynia had said 11,000n feet elevation the day before when she described the trip. I think she must have been talking about the restaurant/gift shop at Echo Lake. (photo above) We stopped here for a restroom break before continuing the drive up the mountain. Molly and Rhys enjoyed a brief walk in the cooler air. And Molly just could not identify that dog that kept barking back at her - the place IS called ECHO Lake. We all got a little chuckle out of her barking at herself. It was about 68 degrees there. Before leaving Echo Lake Lodge, I snapped a quick shot of the sign I noticed adjacent to the parking lot. (photo left) I was a bit surprised to see 14,130 feet. On the way up the mountain highway (okay, it was a narrow, winding asphalt road with occasional spots of crumbling edges followed by the perception that we were about to launch ourselves into wide open space! We stopped at Summit Lake at 12,000 feet and gave Rhys and Molly a real treat - snow in June. While showing off in the snow, several other park visitors asked about the Corgis, and insisted on petting them wet feet, wet bellies, snowy backs and all. I'm afraid we may have to temporarily suspend our membership in the LCS (Lesser Corgi Society) as they both displayed the most impeccable Corgi manners and could have won Mr. and Miss Congeniality awards.

Finally here we are at the end of the paved road just a few hundred feet below the summit. The sign says "elevation 14,130 feet" and the posed picture is proof that I stood at a "Fourteener" the local name for those few mountains that are over 14,000 feet. Rhys and Molly made more friends and so obviously enjoyed the 48 degree temperature! The photo on the left is from an observation point and the snow-capped peak in the very far distance is Pike's Peak! Yes, we could see that far!

I have several other good pictures from the day, but need to do some cropping and editing to make them meaningful.....K