Heading west from Denver, we stopped very briefly at the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, which is co-owned by the parents of a friend of ours.
Once we hit Estes Park, we followed a rigorous hiking schedule through the mountainous terrain...okay, not so rigorous every day, but there were some steep and windy hikes in there, mixed with beautiful views.
As always, we also did our fair share of critter watching. The deer were out on Deer Mountain...
and the elk were out in...Beaver Meadows?
We also got everyone picking berries -- huckleberries:
alpine wintergreen:
and mountain gooseberries:
