There is something so wonderful and refreshing about Rocky Mountain National Park.  The snow capped mountains, the cool air, the afternoon thunderstorms, and breath taking scenery.  All those things and more draw me back to Colorado time and time again.  The photo above is one we took while at RMNP last year and it does not do justice to how beautiful the mountains really are.     05/27/2012

Long’s Peak: On Top of the Summit These are the photos I took while on the summit of Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. All of the other photos I've posted before now were taken on the way up. In the photo of me the marker under my foot reads 14,255 feet above sea level. I stayed on the summit for a while and had a short but deeply fulfilling meditation while there. It was a feeling of pure elation with every breath. My ecstasy was tempered with a mild terror in knowing I would once again have to navigate the same cliffs and ledges I came up on...      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Bo... 09/30/2010

Long’s Peak: From the Key Hole to the Gulley This set of photos is from the Keyhole, up the gulley and around the East side of the peak. This was the final leg of my hike to the summit of Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. This was the most challenging part of the hike both going up and going down. I faced many fears during this part and at one point I almost turned around. There were many places along this part of the hike where I was just one step away from going over the side of the mountain.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County or anywhere in Denver Metro please call ... 09/29/2010

A Really Big Shoe… On the hike up to Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park I encountered an interesting natural artifact on top of one of the peaks. It sits on the south side of Long’s Peak about half way up the gulley that leads to the ledge along the east side. The rock looks like a giant shoe and it sits on top of a peak at an elevation of about 13,500 feet. It is amazingly balanced on top of the peak like a natural sculpture placed by a hand much larger than any human you could imagine. I am wondering what happens when the shoe drops?      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County ... 09/27/2010

Long’s Peak Hike: The Keyhole This is the second set of photos from my hike to the summit of Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. This set was taken just before and just after the Keyhole. The Keyhole is quite large and it's no small feat to climb up to it. Before the Keyhole it was a nice hike. After the Keyhole everything became serious: serious views, serious elevation change, and very serious danger. From the Keyhole onward you are literally one step away from falling over steep cliffs. The views after the Keyhole are breathtaking. The trail is marked by paint spots on the boulders. You have to take care to aim for the next marker or you'll end up off the trail like I did a couple of times. That's partly because the trail is not really a trail. It's just a bunch of boulders ... 09/23/2010

Long’s Peak Summit Hike: Approaching Boulder Field Here are some more photos from my hike to the summit of Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park last Friday. This set captures the approach to Boulder Field at 12,760 feet nearly 6 miles into the hike. As the name implies, Boulder Field is a massive field of giant size boulders. There is a base camp there so you can actually camp out and hike the summit the next morning instead of doing it all in one day as I did. Here we get the first good shots of the face of Long’s Peak known as the Diamond. You can still see a good amount of snow and ice in some of the large crevasses. To the right of the second and third photos you can see the Keyhole. This is where you pass through to the trail on the back side of the peak. It looks deceptivel... 09/20/2010

Long’s Peak Hike: Before Boulder Field Here are a few shots I took on my hike to Long’s Peak Summit. These photographs were taken before reaching the area known as Boulder Field, which, as the name implies is a massive field of huge boulders. I was about 3 hours into the hike when these pictures were taken. Everywhere you turn your head there were massive mountain ranges and huge piles of rocks. By this time I was beginning to feel very small. I got smaller as the day progressed.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County or anywhere in Denver Metro please call me. I can help you learn m... 09/19/2010

Long’s Peak Sunrise I hiked to the summit of Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park on Friday. I signed in at the trail head at 4:30 am. I was able to photograph the sunrise a little over two hours into the hike about 500 feet above the tree line. It was a beautiful beginning of an incredible day that I will never forget. The entire hike took me 14 hours to complete. I’ll be posting photos of the hike in coming blogs.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County or anywhere in Denver Metro please call me. I can help you learn more about the area, and I can assist with all types of rea... 09/19/2010

Long’s Peak Summit I hiked to the summit of Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday. It was an incredible experience…more than I can even put into words at the moment.  For now I’ll just say I am especially grateful to have made it back in one piece. I’ve got lots of photos which I’ll post later. In the photo shown here I’m standing on the highest point with the US Geological Survey marker under my left foot reading 14,255 feet above sea level.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County or anywhere in Denver Metro please call me. I can help you learn more about the area, an... 09/18/2010

Trail Ridge Road Bike Ride in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park (Part 3/3) This is the third set of photos on my ride up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. There was road work just before the Alpine Visitor Center which is where I turned around. There was about a 20 minute wait for construction equipment on arrival and about 5 minutes on departure. The ride down was quite dangerous at times as I picked up speed. The wind gusts made it challenging to keep control of the bike. . I had a couple of close calls but managed to keep it up on two wheels. This was truly one of the greatest rides of my life. I am thankful for the opportunity, strength, stamina and will to complete the ride and for a safe return home.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Informa... 09/03/2010

Trail Ridge Road Bike Ride in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park (Part 2/3) This is the second set of photos of my ride up Trail Ridge Road in Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. The total distance was just over 54 miles with nearly 5 hours of ride time. This photo set starts just above the tree line around 11,000 feet. After leaving the Rainbow Curve vista, the wind picked up. Within a few miles above the tree line, the wind was absolutely brutal. It was a combination head-wind and side-wind. The temperature was around 45 degrees so it was cold too. At the ranger station I was told the wind was blowing at 20-25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph. There were several times when the wind nearly brought me to a stand-still. It required fierce concentration to remain steady and avoid blown off the road a... 09/02/2010

Trail Ridge Road Bike Ride in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park (Part 1/3) Yesterday I rode my bicycle up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a 50 mile ride round trip that took me up above 12,000 feet. That’s a 5,000 foot climb from where I started at the Este’s Park visitor center. This is the first set of three sets of photos I will post. In this set I capture the climb up to the tree line which is around 11,000 feet. Some of the photos show the road I came up and the valley where I started. The scenery along Trail Ridge is extraordinary. It was quite cool but I was well prepared.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is inte... 09/02/2010

Trail Ridge Bicycle Ride Tomorrow morning I’ll head out to bicycle Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. I’ll start in Este’s Park so the distance round trip on the ride will only be about 50 miles, but the climb is intense. The peak elevation is about 12,000 feet and I’ll be starting around 7,000 so the altitude change on the ride will be about 5,000 feet.  The photos below were taken during an inspection of my route a couple of weeks ago. The weather is forecast to be clear and sunny tomorrow so I am looking forward to a nice ride. I am planning to take lots of photos so keep an eye out for another blog in coming days.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale... 08/31/2010

Este’s Cone in Rocky Mountain National Park Two weeks ago I hiked up to the top of Este’s Cone in Rocky Mountain National Park. A mountain peak that lives up to its name, Este’s cone is shaped like a near perfect cone. The trailhead, which splits off the Long’s Peak trail, is about 3.2 miles from the Long’s Peak Ranger Station. It took me two and a half hours to reach the top and another two hours to get back down. At the top there is a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. The photos are barely a hint of the majesty of what you can see. It was a wonderful experience and I look forward to going back again.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you... 08/31/2010

Chasm Lake Creatures Last week I hiked up to Chasm Lake near Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. After a four and a half hour hike to get to the lake, I decided to stay there for a while. While there I encountered a couple of interesting creatures. One is an obvious chipmunk but I am not sure what the other one is. I am curious if anyone has any idea what this creature is. It is quite large and almost looks like a beaver except for the tail. It seemed to be well fed too.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County or anywhere in Denver Metro please call me. I can help you learn m... 08/30/2010

Plants Along Long’s Peak Trail These are photos of some of the plants I encountered along the trail up to Chasm Lake near Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was surprised how much water there was along the trail. And at each place where there was water there was an assortment of plant life, some of which I had never seen before.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County or anywhere in Denver Metro please call me. I can help you learn more about the area, and I can assist with all types of real estate transactions. I am also a Certified EcoBroker specializing in energy-effici... 08/28/2010

Water Along Long’s Peak Trail I was really surprised how much water there was along the Long’s Peak Trai in Rocky Mountain National Park. Most of it was below the tree line which is around 11,000 feet. There was more water and even a water fall when we got closer to Chasm Lake but I’ll save those photos for another post. When you consider that the top of the mountain is mostly rock it’s hard to imagine where the water is actually coming from. I am guessing that the snow melts into the rocks and then runs off from the reservoirs below the surface.    Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County ... 08/27/2010

Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park I went for a hike yesterday to Chasm Lake which is just short of the summit of Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. The Long’s Peak summit is at 14,259 feet and Chasm Lake is at 11,800 feet. I went with my good friend Marty (Doc) Kellelhut. The views were extraordinary. Words cannot begin to express how incredible it was—the water falls, the lake, Chasm meadow, the sheer cliffs, and the clean mountain air. I was in complete awe. The hike took just over 8 hours roundtrip which included about a half hour at the lake. I took over 300 photos so it is hard to communicate everything in one post. In this post I’ll show some of the more majestic mountain views. Perhaps I’ll show some of the plants and waterfalls in other posts. Our plan is to ... 08/26/2010

Moonwalk... This past Saturday I went for a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. At the end of the hike it was near 8pm and the moon was just starting to rise. As I walked down the trail back toward the ranger station the moon got brighter and brighter while the trees got darker and darker. It made for an interesting contrast of light revealing the splendor of a genuine moonwalk. Here are some of the photos I took.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County or anywhere in Denver Metro please call me. I can help you learn more about the area, and I can assist with all types of real estat... 08/25/2010

Rocky Mountain Clouds During my drive to Trail Ridge Road in the Rocky Mountain National Park I saw some incredible cloud formations. I managed to photograph a few of them but it was hard to get the camera to focus. I took lots of photos but only a few of them came through. Here are a couple of the good ones.      Boulder Green Built Homes For Sale Contact Me Today For More Information Or Call Me @ 720-771-5594 Search More Denver and Boulder County Homes For Sale   If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling a home in Boulder County or anywhere in Denver Metro please call me. I can help you learn more about the area, and I can assist with all types of real estate transactions. I am also a Certified EcoBroker specializing in energy-efficient homes and environmental prac... 08/22/2010