The Loch



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In Rocky Mountain National Park, we hiked up to The Loch via the trail along the creek that comes down from the lake.  It is a beautiful ascent.  The photos unfortunately had to be taken in HDR mode on my phone because of how the clouds created trouble with my camera.
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A big waterfall almost directly over top of the water diversion tunnel (several hundred feet below) that brings water from the west side of the continental divide.

20160611_161915_Richtone(HDR)Big mountains in the distance.

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20160611_163552Heading up closer to The Loch.

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20160611_163735_Richtone(HDR)Heather on the hiking trail.

20160611_170327Proof that I was there.

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20160611_171000_Richtone(HDR)Crossing a snow field.

20160611_171240_Richtone(HDR)The Loch appears!



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A stormy lake with afternoon thunderstorms rolling in.

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It was a great hike and I look forward to exploring the higher lakes in this basin someday.

Colorado National Monument

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We went along the rimrock drive in the Colorado National Monument to check out the view.

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This park is gorgeous!  So many great canyons!

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Grand Junction out in the distance.

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Big views.
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A cactus blooming.

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Shadows creeping over the canyons.
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Monument Rock.

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An old tree standing guard on the rim.

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There are climbers on the rock in the middle of this picture up near the top.

Gateway

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The canyons that engulf Gateway are so impressive.  I can’t believe such beautiful places are only a few hours away from where I live.

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A big ship of rock rising out of the bottomland.

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What beauty!  It’s hard to believe that a destination resort found this place to set itself down.