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So, to continue our trip to RMNP. We hiked for four days and then decided to take a day off. I went into town and bought a couple of books from MacDonalds bookstore, including one with historic pictures of Estes Park. It is called "Estes Park Beginnings" and is by Kenneth Jessen. It includes historic pictures of Estes through about the 1920s. Last year I had bought the book "Rocky Mountain National Park Pictorial History" by the same author. I love looking at the old pictures and trying to compare those old views with the present. I had not realized until I read the book how many of the buildings downtown are close to 100 years old. I, like a lot of folks, had thought that all the old buildings were destroyed in the flood. One of the things I didn't know is that the current location of MacDonald's bookstore is the old MacDonald home itself. I also bought Curt Buchholtz's "Rocky Mountain National Park: A History" Curt is president of the Rocky Mountain Nature Association of which I've been a member for many years.
We also headed out to the Mountain Shop where I picked up a nice pair of Merrill hiking sandals. I had been looking for Keen's, but the Merrills were perfect. I also got a copy of Lisa Foster's book.
After resting for a day we decided to head to Bierstadt Lake. While not the prettiest of the lakes in and of itself, it does have some excellent views of the peaks. My mother (who volunteers at Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa that owns many Bierstadt paintings) thinks it strange that the lake named for Bierstadt is not the most picturesque, but I think Albert Bierstadt would be happy to have a lake with those views named after him.
Before starting out from the cabin that morning we were greeted by a pair of mule deer. One of the things I like about the isolation of Machins is the variety of animals you see. I have seen deer, elk, coyotes, raccoons, and even a bear while staying at Machins.
We start with that obligatory Longs Peak view again.
My dad is trying to get the perfect view of the Diamond. We even visited with Erik and went through all his pics of Longs to try to find one that shows Kieners route up the East Face which is the route he did. But we haven't found that perfect picture yet.
Bear Lake was perfectly calm that morning making for a great reflection shot.
We had a nice leisurely walk to the lake and (surprisingly for me) I didn't take many pictures along the way. Because this trail is in pretty deep shade there really aren't many wildflowers. When we got to the split in the trail where it goes around the lake, we did see this charming snowshoe hare. He seemed quite unperturbed by our presence.
We took the trail at the junction to the right rather than the left which is the route I normally take. We came to a spot where we got a couple of nice views across the lake. That's my dad looking at the peaks.
We were heading to another spot, though. Many of you probably know it. There are rocks placed just perfectly for sitting and admiring the peak view. I had worn my new Merrill sandals which are just made for standing in a cold mountain lake -- so that's just what I did.
Just look at that panoramic view!
I took this picture because, well, I just like old pieces of wood in the water.
And another attempt at the perfect Longs Peak view.
Than I kicked back and just enjoyed the view for a while. Check out those new sandals
