The Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are where it got real.  All of Colorado up until this point – Crested Butte, Black Canyon, Hanging Lake, were stunning and beautiful, but Rocky Mountain National Park really showcased the variety Colorado has to offer.

Andy, Mike, and I arrived the night before, so seeing the mountains in the daylight was a pleasant surprise.

Mike was so brave, driving through the winding, car-cluttered roads.  Our intention for the day was to hike up to Emerald Lake – a suggestion my good friend Lana gave me.

Unfortunately, we saw a sign declaring the parking lot was “full”, so we needed to park at a separate one and take the shuttle bus.  When we were dropped off at the real parking lot, we discovered there were, in fact, parking spots.  Ugh.

Hiking Up to Emerald Lake

There were three lakes we would see along the way – Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and finally Emerald Lake.  Nymph Lake provided us with a view of our destination, though we didn’t know it at the time.  The fun thing about not researching destinations is that you’re always going to be surprised.

I had my eyes peeled for bears and moose the entire hike, two things I would love to see in forested areas like this… but I also wouldn’t want to see them that close.  Knowing me, I’d get eaten.

I think this hike was really the pinnacle of our trip – three best friends hiking the Rocky Mountains together.  It was visually stunning, with rugged mountaintops peaking over forested hills.

We stopped at a waterfall for a while, where Mike retreated in solace as Andrea and I photographed a cute little chipmunk.  Clearly we’re in different places in life.

We took our time getting to Emerald Lake, spending a long while at Dream Lake.

A lot of people ended up slipping through the snow, I fortunately was not one of them.  I did slip later at St. Mary’s glacier, though.  Hey, I’m not perfect.

Emerald Lake

Before long, we had arrived at Emerald Lake – the last destination of our hike.  We were approximately 10,000 feet up… that’s much higher than Chicago.

On the walk up, I was convinced I saw bear tracks on the side of a mountain but that’s probably just because I’m obsessed with seeing large creatures when traveling.

We did end up seeing a marmot, though!… at least, I think that’s what it was.

The animal grazed my leg as I was taking a picture of Andy who, at the time, was photographing a 360 view of Emerald Lake.  Andy owns her own all-encompassing digital content business – definitely check it out!  She’s extremely talented.

After spending some time lounging around Emerald Lake, we hiked down and began our trek home, marking the end of our road trip.  I’m so grateful to Andy & Mike for letting me visit them and for exploring Colorado with me, it’s a memory I’ll hold closely forever.

For a completely ridiculous bonus video highlighting our trip, click here!