Lichens

A few photos I took of lichens while out hiking this summer. I was pretty enthralled by all of their different colors, shapes and textures.

If you really want to see amazing lichen photos, check this out. I also love Diana Sudyka's idea of rendering lichens in watercolor.

Rocky Mountains

More photos from the Rocky Mountains! Maybe I took a few too many pictures?


Above is the view from atop Deer Mountain, a 4 hour roundtrip hike. It felt like we'd never reach the top, but we did and it was totally worth the effort.




I fell in love with aspen trees. Their pale milky greenish white trunks were so neat. These scars you see on the trunks are caused by elk eating the bark in the winter.






Me backing away from the edge while trying to keep my cool.

Tundra

Rocky Mountain National Park is breathtaking, for lack of a less generic word.

First, there are the terror-inspiring, sheer cliff drops that I tried not to see outside of the passenger side window. Seriously, I still can't believe they just let anybody and everybody drive up there.

Second, there's also the unbelievable views. Oh the views. Every time I looked through the camera lens, I thought for sure I'd seen that exact shot on a postcard somewhere. I kept taking photo after photo, despite knowing they could never capture the sense of being there.

Driving up over Trail Ridge Road to the top of the mountains you arrive at the tundra. The tundra is incredible, particularly in contrast to the lush green forested peaks on the way up. Its starkness was almost surreal. As was standing in snow a mere one hour after picnicking outside on a sunny 80 degree day. That right there is the magic of the Rockies.

Boulder Colorado

The roadtrip continues on into Boulder Colorado. My tour de ice cream also continued, this time with glorious mango gelato from Two Spoons.


A stop at the Boulder Bookstore.


A hike up on Bald Mountain.



And a nest of baby Robins! Look closely, you can see two little beaks sticking up to the left of the little bird.

Great Plains

The Great Plains of central/western Kansas and eastern Colorado.

I find the landscape of the plains to be breathtaking at times. There were a few spots on along the road where it really seemed like I could see to the edges of the Earth. It was almost surreal.

Thrush Vintage

Thrush Vintage definitely has an eye for timeless fashion. I am loving everything in this little shop full of cleverly named vintage finds. How fun is the pink "Loretta Lynn" dress?