Hiking in the snow!

Sunday morning Jon and I drove up to the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was "good weather" - but when we got out of the car, I was freezing! While we were driving through the park, we came across several cars pulled off to the side of the road. We quickly realized the reason - there were about 300-400 elk grazing right by the road! We stopped to take pictures with everyone else. Suddenly, something startled the elk and they decided to run across the road. The whole herd slowly made it across the road - in groups and singly, walking and sprinting, and one elk even turned backwards and recrossed the road! We took lots of pictures, and even a few short videos. We pressed on and ended up at the Bear Lake trailhead. We ate a quick lunch of turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches in the car. The trails were covered with snow and ice, and the lake was completely iced over. Lots of people were out - many with snoeshoes. We hiked about 2-3 miles, until the ice became too much for me and my running shoes. Next time I'm renting snowshoes! We drove into Estes Park, looked around at the shops, and bought yummy treats from one of the chocolate shops. It was a great trip!