to the top!

I finally made it to Estes, on a gorgeous sunny day no less! We left Denver after yoga where it was 80 degrees and sunshine-y and pleasantly breezy. Strapped on my back were sandwiches, tootsie roll pops and some box wine for good measure. We blew through Boulder and stopped for a coffee in Estes, sneaking into the Mcdonald's to swipe some mayonnaise (take that establishment!). We took the requisite sign photo after snapping dozens for tourists in matching t-shirts:






We rode into Rocky Mountain National Park and tooled up the mountain taking in amazing views, trees starting to change their colors for fall, snow tipped peaks and even some Elk! I tried to take a picture from the motorcycle, but it maybe wasn't the brightest idea and I settled for shots while stationary.






At the top is was cold but gorgeous! JP made a few snowballs while I steered clear of the cold as best I could. Minnesota winter is just not a distant enough memory for me to be able to relish the idea of more snow just yet..














We had a picnic at the top which was delicious and not just because the altitude made a sip of wine feel like a bottle..




...and our trusty stead. Mmmm it was a great, great afternoon. The ride down was hurried partially because I was wearing girl shoes without socks and partially because we had dinner plans at my cousin's house that we were late for while still on the mountain.. we honked people out of our way when they paused to take in the magnificent elk that came right up to the road, choosing instead to view them at full speed with a nod of acknowledgment from my backseat perch.