Estes Park (Mountain Views)

Time for the second installment of our latest Colorado trip!

Normally our trips to Colorado revolve around the mountains and adventure. This time, however, we were in Denver for the entire week, and only saw the mountains from a distance a few times (they were covered in clouds nearly the entire time as well). That Friday, the day before we had to head back to Kansas, Scott was finally done with all of his obligations (and relieved after having a successful interview), and we had no plans until that evening. Since we hadn't really seen the mountains yet, we spontaneously decided to at least drive to Estes Park to get some mountain air for one afternoon.

It had been rainy all week, and was forecasted to be cloudy and rainy on that day as well. The mountains on the drive to Estes were so incredibly green and magical with the clouds low and dense, swirling around with the breeze; it was like a dream. Despite the incredible beauty with the rain and fog, we were pretty excited when the clouds broke to show off some of the mountains surrounding Estes after we arrived. The sun warmed things up pleasantly as well, making for a perfect afternoon. 

We grabbed lunch at one of our favorite Estes spots, and then wandered around some of the shops, trying to decide what to do with the rest of our day. Scott has a minor obsession with Longs Peak, so we decided to drive up to a lookout area to check it out before heading to Boulder for dinner. 

Unfortunately there was a patch of clouds that was hovering around the peak, never breaking up enough to allow us to catch a glimpse. We stood and watched for a while as they moved past, but the clouds were dense over the mountain and the Diamond and summit area never were visible. I took a few pictures, but then mostly photographed Scott as he looked on. (I think he looks like he belongs in a Barbour add in these images.) 

We then headed back to Boulder, via a bit of a random, backroads way. It brought us down some narrow, windy roads past some tiny little towns, all through dense fog and rain. It was beautiful and dreamy, though admittedly I wasn't the one driving, which was probably fairly stressful. 

This fall I will be moving to the Denver area, and am so very excited to be only a short drive from sites like these. Now to find a job and place to live (does anyone out there need a photographer or live-in nanny??).

Happy Monday all!