The Elk.

Okay hang in there with me... we'll get to the Elk story in a minute.
Day 2 we drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park and, as always, it delivered. Pure stunning beauty. I want to BE it. We did a different drive from last year's visit... and it was incredible to see a different part of the park. I'll do a little picture re-cap for you... here it goes:

ready for fun adventures in the Tahoe! kids love renting this huge car... 

we decided to drive through the park on a road that's only open in the summer. we quickly realized this is because you could easily slip in the snow and immediately die. good times. 

serious views... seriously steep! 

we pulled over to hike here

after about a mile and a half, this is the valley we landed in... straight out of a fairy tale. Unbelievable! 

hiking back to our car for some lunch.

we kept driving to do a little hiking on the tundra at 11,000 ft.

we stopped to get out, and spied these guys! 

we went up this little trail. See our Elk friends? Down there in the water. 

While we were having fun taking pictures, our friends decided they wanted to come meet us. uh oh. 

Uhhhh, Pete? come here buddy. 

Zach? maybe you should stop taking pictures and run away with us! 

cute but... aggressive? we had no idea!!! 

we stood in that spot moments before he got there- scampered down a rock face due to the Elk blocking our only path up... 

Safely down below the Elk now... kids IN the car!!! 

our adventures continued without our Elk friends! 

we were high... very very high! 

we LOVE colorado! 

More fun adventures were had today... will share more tomorrow!