Mount Evans, CO Trip

On Saturday, we woke up at 5AM again and headed for Mount Evans, CO. Mount Evans is the highest paved road in North America. The drive starts in Idaho Springs at 8700 feet and ends at 14,240 feet although we could only go to 12,830 feet because the rest is closed after Labor Day. The first picture is Alexis and mommy on our way down the mountain, but it is my favorite picture with the scenic backdrop. The next two pictures are about the most wildlife we saw - several deer as we started to climb the mountain. The next 2 pictures are Echo Lake, which is just before the entrance to start climbing the mountain. It is really a beautiful lake. The next 2 pictures were taken at Mount Goliath Nature Area just part way up the mountain - as you can see it was just a bit too cold for Alexis - she is running for the car. It was extremely windy when we got out of the car and about 40 degrees at this point. The next picture is looking down on Echo Lake as we are climbing the mountain. The next 2 pictures are at Summit Lake at 12,830 feet - here it was extremely windy and 34 degrees. Alexis refused to get out of the car so mommy and daddy quick got out and we took a few quick pictures - you can see mommy looks freezing cold and has several layers on. The next 2 pictures are pictures on the way back down of the awesome clouds that day - I just thought their formations were amazing. The next picture is one other critter we did see on the way back down - a marmot - he just sat there and let us take pictures. And there is Alexis fooling around in the car under her blanket. The last picture is the beautiful pine trees we saw as we drove up another road when we got down to the bottom of the mountain. This was a great experience although we wish we had seen a few more critters.