Yarn at altitude ...

My husband and I just returned from our summer vacation. We drove for 16+ hours to Grand Lake, CO; which is located right next to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and 1 hour from Estes Park. As my first time west of Fargo, ND we made sure to take the scenic route through Colorado, along US-34 through Roosevelt National Park, into Estes and then along the Trail Ridge Pass through RMNP.
I give you these details because they bear upon yarn related topics.

Our entrance to the park began with the daily crossing of the bighorn sheep. They cross the highway every day at 4-4:30 pm. The park rangers are always there with their stop signs.
These will be my future heard.

My new bighorn flock.

View from Rainbow Pass.

To go along with my new flock, and all the yarn I will have to make from their fleeces - there were some really spectacular views ...

Of course little photos don't convey the full scale of these peaks, which aren't even the highest in the Rocky Mountain chain.

Elk in the tundra. A male is leading the herd.

We reached an altitude of approximately 12,000 ft. That altitude is the elk's living room. They were grazing on several slopes along the Alpine Pass.

After climbing the Alpine Trail to a peak - and drinking water and breathing - we gazed at the splendor of the mountains, seeing many trails calling our names. Next time.






 More photos:

Wildflowers of the tundra. Yellow is the common yellow monkey flower and blue is Mountain Fringed Gentian.

View from the peak of the Alpine Trail. Over 12,000 ft. Oh, and in case it seems too epic, you drive up to 11,500 feet and walk a short trail the rest of the way. You still breathe incredibly hard.

Baby marmot.

In the Kawuneeche Valley a cow and calf graze by a stream (which might be the beginnings of the Colorado River).

Elk grazing in the early morning light. There were larger males in the tundra lazing on the slopes.

Wildflowers by the beaver ponds, they are Little Elephant Head.

A little tired, and definitely feeling the altitude I spent my last day in Colorado relaxing. I worked on a Calypso sock being done in knitpicks chroma fingering - all done english style! It gave my poor trigger finger left index finger a much needed break.

While knitting the sock, ideas for new designs floated through my head - ideas like Monkey Flowers (yellow flower) and Little Elephant Heads (pink flower). A whole new set based on RMNP.
Plus, I'm learning how to use a knitting machine this week! After my three lessons and some assistance I hope to be churning out a few sweater designs!

Be excellent to each other!