High country summer - Part IV

More from in and around Rocky Mountain National Park. 

At the edge of Dream Like, with Hallet Peak as a backdrop.

A cascade at the brink - just below Lake of Glass, on the way to Timberline Falls.  The Loch in the distance below. 

Looking West towards the Never Summer Mountains, from above tree line on Twin Sisters.

Looking West from the flank of Twin Sisters.

A cascade edges the tailings of the old Eugenia Mine.

A Lustrous Copper, Lycaena cupreus, a denizen of the Alpine Zone.

Whipple's Penstemon, Penstemon whippleanus.

Elkweed or Green Gentian, Frasera speciosa.

Elkweed or Green Gentian, Frasera speciosa.

Cinquefoil, Potentilla sp.

Close-up with a Sticky Geranium, Geranium viscoissimum.

Looking down Tyndall Gorge from just above Tyndall Glacier at around 12,000 ft.  The "glacier" is now reduced to a small dirty patch of snow by rising temperatures.  In the distance, Pool of Jade, then Dream Lake, and a glimpse of Bear Lake Road below.

Long's Peak and Glacier Gorge in the distance, and a glimpse of Dream Lake below, from the Flattop Mountain Trail.

A pair of bull elk, up high above the Summer heat.

Bull elk catch some early morning sun. 

The Continental Divide between Milner Pass and Mt. Ida.

Emerald Lake, with Hallet Peak and rocky spires rising above Tyndall Gorge.

Chaos Canyon below Lake Haiyaha.

Afternoon clouds fore-sage a thunderstorm as they gather above the helmet of Long's Peak.

Fallen tree.

High country summer - Part III

Only a few weeks left in summer. 

Insects & Plants

A member of the Copper family - perhaps Lycaena helloides, the Purplish Copper.

A Sphinx month, also called Hummingbird moth, hovers while feeding.

Mating Fritillaries.

Strymon melinus, the Gray Hairstreak.

Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, on a thistle blossom.

Not a bee, but a fly that mimics bumblebees.

Bumblebee at work.

Honeybees at work on sage blossoms.

Landscapes

The approach to Mills Lake in Glacier Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park.  Long's Peak is the squarish dome on the horizon at center, and beyond, Keyboard of the Winds and Pagoda Mountain. 

Dawn in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

A waterfall in Glacier Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Near Mills Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Glacier Creek, Rocky Mountain National Park.

View from the top of Mt. Ida [elevation 12,889 ft]: Azure Lake and Inkwell Lake, with Mt. Julian and Terra Tomah rising up behind, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Jewel Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Solitude Lake [elevation 11,400 ft], with Powell Peak in the background, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Looking across Glacier Gorge at Long's Peak, Keyboard of the Winds, and Pagoda Mountain, from near Shelf Lake.

Animals

Yellow-bellied Marmot.

Pica, or Rock Rabbit.

Ptarmigan in Summer plumage.

Bighorn Sheep.

Elk - they will be losing the velvet on their antlers, and moving lower as rutting season approaches.

High country summer - Part II

More photos from summer in the Rocky Mountains. 

The view back towards Forest Canyon and Trail Ridge Rd. from the summit of Mt. Ida.

Mills Lake, Glacier Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park.

A Bighorn ram forages above the tree line.

A creamy lump of quartz sits among the boulders near Mt. Ida.

Panorama from the top of Twin Sisters Peak.  Mt. Meeker and Long's Peak at left, Estes Park at right.

Equipment from the abandoned Eugenia Mine, on the way to Estes Cone.

An Elk bull looks down on the tree line.

Panoramic view from the top of Estes Cone.  Rt. 7 below left, and Mt. Meeker and Long's Peak at center.

Longhorn beetle.

Hatchling praying mantis on a young pine cone.

These cicadas use their wings to make a distinct snapping or clacking sound high in the trees.

Some moth species fake death by extending their abdominal segments and wings, revealing brightly-colored areas, and remaining motionless.

Looking west towards the Continental Divide from near the summit of Twin Sisters.

Wild rose in bloom.

Indian paintbrush.

The Colorado State Flower, Columbine.

New fruit on a conifer.

Painted sky at sunrise.

Young black bear on the trail.

Columbine blossoms in blue and white.

A glimpse of Emerald Lake from the Flattop Mountain trail.

Glacier Gorge

Glacier Creek runs down out of Glacier Gorge in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Its headwaters are high up in the Gorge, tucked below the western flanks of Long's Peak and the Continental Divide.  The Creek connects Frozen Lake, Black Lake, Jewell Lake and Mills Lake before leaving the Gorge and joining the Big Thompson River.

Here's a bit of video from one of my favorite spots along the Creek. 

High country summer - Part I

Some of my favorite photos from the first few weeks of summer in the Rocky Mountains. 

Mammals

The fox family [Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes] was back, with five kits.

"Silver fox" - an uncommon color variation of the Red Fox.

Young deer on the Black Canyon Trail. 

Tassel-Eared Squirrel [Abert's Squirrel, Ciurus aberti].  The C. aberti ferreus subspecies that lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains is all black - all of the other subspecies have a white belly.

American red squirrel [Tamiasciurus hudsonicus].

Chipmunk. 

Elk [Cervus canadensis] move through the neighborhood early in the summer before they head up to the higher elevations.

Birds

 Pygmy Nuthatch

Wild Turkey [Meleagris gallopavo].  This image was shot before dawn, and therefore the colors are very muted.

Plants and Flowers

Pasque flowers kicked it off as early Spring bloomers. 

Sticky cinquefoil, Potentilla glandulosa.

Sticky cinquefoil, Potentilla glandulosa.

Landscapes

Sticky Geranium, Geranium viscosissimum

Trees grow in a crack in Button Rock.

Looking west towards Mt. Meeker and Long's Peak from Button Rock.

Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Fern Lake.

Aspens at sunrise.

The Loch, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Loch Vale, with Timberline Falls in the distance, right of center.

Panorama with Lake of Glass at left, and The Loch down below at right.

Clouds over the Continental Divide from near the top of Twin Sisters.

A view of "The Keyhole" - on the route to the summit of Long's Peak -  from Estes Cone.