Blue Skies in Rocky Mountain National Park

My husband and I spent last weekend in Boulder, Colorado.  To get there we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park.  If you enlarge the first picture you will see a moose in the water.  The trees look sick because pine bark beetles have been feasting on them to the detriment of the trees.

There are many scenic views in the park.  From the website:

Trail Ridge Road spans the Park and connects Estes Park on the east side to the town of Grand Lake on the western slope. It's the highest continuous paved road in the United States, reaching an elevation of 12,183 feet. It follows a path that the Ute and other Native American peoples used for thousands of years.

The Trail Ridge road was closed due to snow the last time we visited (in September).  It's amazing to be able to drive above timberline.

There was a lot of road construction along the way.  The cars are stopped on the ridge.

Hiking on a trail in the tundra literally took our breath away!  The air is very thin at 12,000 feet (3657m)!

Visit SkyWatch Friday to admire views from many elevations.

A camp robber's song over pancakes

Searching for sky pictures, I found this from a trip to Silverton, Colorado.  For lots more sky pictures, check out SkyWatchFriday.

Attitude of Gratitude

A very dear friend of mine taught me how important gratitude is for dispelling fear and negative thinking.  It's an important practice.  

There are so many things that I am grateful for today:  my family, my friends, my health,  a wonderful place to live and a warm fire on this cold day.  There are small things I'm grateful for today as well:  the beautiful flowers my office mate received from her sister that brightened up our small, windowless room, picking up my cat Jack and listening to him purr, an internet connection with DSL and blogs! 

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice."

--Meister Eckhart

Trip to Breckenridge, CO

Gary, Alyson and Amber

We drove to Breckenridge, Colorado for the weekend to go to my niece's wedding.  First we played tourists and visited the shops and art fair.  

Our niece, Jamie and her daughter, Bella

The wedding party

Intermissions from Bhutan

Independence Pass

Susan and Selwyn in front of the Maroon Bells near Aspen.  

Susan has been my best friend since 7th grade!  It is so special to still be friends.  We are really lucky that our husbands like each other and are willing to get together for visits.  Their two daughters live in Aspen so we all met there for a great couple of days.