America The Beautiful

Our second day in Estes Park was as varied as the first.  It is still the scale of the landscape I love.  1200 ft above the town is Prospect Mt.  We took the aerial tramway to the summit.  The tramway was built in 1955 and  is red and like a European gondola.  The young attendant cheerfully said there had never been an accident.  Once at the top you are free to wander,  We were meant to be there for the panoramic views but it was the incredible]y cute ground squirrels that got the most photos.  We met a family from Texas and the young daughters liked our accents.   
On our list was  the Stanley Hotel because we are Stephen King fans and his book The Shining was inspired by the hotel.  It is splendid and evokes that glamour of past times.  When the Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915 and the roads were improved tourists began arriving in this beautiful valley. 
The food here is a daily delight as we discover yet more things we don't have at home.  In the afternoon I tasted Butter Pecan ice cream.  Very good indeed.  We sat outside and people watched.  Elaine and I both did a few shoot from the hip shots.
The afternoon was concluded with a drive out to Wild Basin and a gentle walk to the Copeland Falls.  Oh my how beautiful.  We both were pleased to get smooth water shots just handheld.  A bonus was a fisherman in the river who added foreground interest.  He had caught three trout but said the fishing was hard.
Driving to find a spot for dinner we were side tracked by a group of Rocky Mountain sheep.  Several other photographers pulled in to see them.  The sheep were very quiet and more good photos were taken.  Finally found our dinner spot and we sat with a view of McGregor Mountain 10,486 ft.  
A wonderful two days with Elaine and we can't thank her enough.  And thanks to Blip for bringing people from opposites sides of the world together.