10K - Survey Trail Loop, Sandia Mountains, NM, 7/4/19

First Cohousing ABQ hike: eight of us hiked the 10K trail to the  Del Agua overlook and then took the Survey trail back to the 10K parking lot, just over five miles in all.  Beautiful day, chilly at first at this high altitude, then balmy warm with a welcomed breeze. Perfect opportunity to socialize. 

Very large wasp (over 1") on the trail. At least, the group consensus was that it was a wasp. It's behaviors caught our attention although none of us had enough insect behavior knowledge to figure out what it was up to. 

Bierstadt Lake trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, 6.26/19

Family hike today: we hiked to Bierstadt Lake inside the park with my daughter's family, my son-in-law's mother and his sister's family.  We rode to the trailhead in style! Yes, my son-in-law managed to rent a Tesla. This 6-mile loop started with a gradual but steady incline thru an evergreen forest,

and then, unexpectedly opened up to the lake rimmed by dense pines with the rockies in the background. This hike is known for it views of Long Peak (14,259 ft), the highest peak in the park. 

Bonus reward: ducks foraging along the marshy shores of the lake. 

Even spotted a mama duck followed by a long row of ducklings (not pictured.)

Jem Lake trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, 6/25/19

 We picked this hike, a 5-mile in-and-out hike, because if it is located outside of the park.  Given that parking spots and the parking lots for the park-and-ride shuttle inside the park fill up by 9 am, we figured we would find parking at this trailhead without difficulty.  How wrong we were!  It happened to be the day that the parking lot, and road leading to the parking, were being re-asphalted.  Ended up parking along the main road ~ 1 mile from the trailhead.  

This hike kept our interest all along the way:  

we had spectacular views of the snowy rockies, views of the city,  Estes Park, and

lots of fascinating rock formations.

The lake itself was a small jem indeed. 

As at Cub Lake, we were requested to share our lunch.

 The looming summer storm on our way down made the views even more spectacular. 

Cub Lake trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, 6/24/19

First of three hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. While my daughter and her family were off exploring the snowy higher elevations of the park, Jim and I set off for Cub Lake, a moderate 5-mile in-and-out hike. The trail started by crossing green wide open meadows and then became steeper, and narrowed into a wide canyon leading to the lake. 

Beautiful small lake covered in lilly pads.  The whole area is recovering from the Fern Lake fire that started in 2012 and lasted about 9 months. Would rate this hike as all right but not exceptional. Actually, the ride through the park to get to the trailhead with its stunning views of the Rockies in the background was more interesting.

We were in good company surrounded by hungry, not shy at all, chipmunks.  

This one is eating a cherry tomato from my lunch.