Texas Roadtrip, part 1 (Colorado)

My good friend Lydia and I (Lydia is from Virginia!) are on a Moste Epic Road Trip from Hayden, Colorado, to Laredo, Texas!!!! Here are pics from our first few days.

My good friend Lydia and I embarked on a big ol' trip from Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park, after meeting at the airport. Here is a mountain outside of Estes Park (a town which is itself only a few miles from RMNP).

chipmunk friend eating someone's leftover chip-things!

View of the mountains, with one of my favorite trees, Ponderosa Pine, in the foreground.

so-so picture of a gorgeous bird: Steller's Jay. It's spelled Steller because the bird is named after William Steller, an explorer.

We spent the night in Estes Park and when we were driving along the road IN TOWN the next morning, we came across this fellow chowing down, with his harem nearby. Crazy! (Elk)

this was the 3rd time I had been there. :)

Elk.

their backdrop!

We had to completely change our plans, because part of the park road that we planned to drive through on our way back to Hayden was closed due to snow! So we ended up going to Fort Collins, north of RM N. Park. Here is a lovely, lovely park as we left Estes Park town. We were kinda bummed we didn't get to go up further into the park, look for Ptarmigan again :), and just see more mountains, but we certainly couldn't control the weather!!

lovely river on the way to Ft. Collins!!!

self-portrait :D

We had a great time dining and shopping in Fort Collins. After, on the drive back, we stopped to look for American Dipper, and we got it! This little dude was singing his heart out! It was a life bird for Lydia (bird she'd never before seen).

Gambel's Quail (not the best pic) at Colorado National Monument!

this was my 3rd time here, too!

So we're just driving along the road at CO. National Monument, and I see some animals crossing the road about 20 feet ahead of the car, with a car stopped in the opposite direction, waiting for the animals to cross. Deer,  I think. Then I realized THEY WERE BIGHORN SHEEP!!!!!!!!!! I have been WANTING to see Bighorn Sheep ever since I moved to CO, and twice when I've gone over to Denver I have stopped at the Bighorn Sheep viewing area and scoped and scoped the far hills...but to no avail. These dudes were SO close here at CO NM!!!!!

WOW!!!!!!

kinda sweet face. Kinda.

Lydia took this one and the one before it, since she was closer to the sheep. This is the Desert Bighorn, a different subspecies than the Rocky Mountain Bighorn.

Side-blotched Lizard, I believe. :) He was tiny!

perched!

Sunlight through the trees.

path!