rocky and rocks

Weather forecasts predicted strong winds, warm temps and no new snow.  The travel forecasts showed lighter than usual traffic up I-70. We weighed a bluebird day of skiing and not so bad traffic with not so good snow and two very burnt out kids.  Decision: stay home with a possibility of skiing tomorrow. 

Instead we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park for rock climbing and plain old sledding.  Turns out that Rocky wasn't snowy enough for sledding but still beautiful and fun.

The wind blew clouds across the sun, making for beautiful pictures of the Gore Range.

Fall River was icy but melting.  The cold wind kept us layered up with hats, gloves and coats.

Rock formations on the East side of Trail Ridge Road make Estes Park feel cozy and protected.  You can see those formations in the distance.

It wasn't too cold to climb up the rocky remnants of the 2009 Lawn Lake dam break. Though the higher we climbed, the less thrilled Tucker became.

And we wrapped up a short visit with some good, old-fashioned, teeter tottering. 

A very large moon rose over the hillside.  I played around with my camera's ISO, f-stop and aperture to faintly capture the experience.  Why do I forget how to do this so fast?