One of the benefits to being a real estate agent in Estes Park, Colorado is the opportunity I get to drive around in my area and enjoy the amazing views. This week I had the pleasure of showing property to a prospective buyer near Allenspark along the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway on a gorgeous early summer day in the Rocky Mountains. While the picture quality may not be the best since I took it with my Blackberry while driving, it does give you a an idea of how gorgeous the drive is. The tall mountain on the right is Mount Meeker with the Continental Divide to the left.

If you live in the Denver area and haven’t taken the opportunity to drive this stretch of road yet, I would highly recommend it. To get to the byway head west of Golden to Blackhawk and follow highway 72 north to connect with Highway 7. Eventually, after 55 miles, you will end up in Estes Park. The snow capped mountain views are simply spectacular the entire way.

Soon, these little flowers will be popping up all over the trails in Rocky Mountain National Park. Aspen Asters are some of the most common flowers you’ll find.

Wild flowers are found all over the national park just about every where you look. The can range in size from the size to your pinky fingernail to the size of you hand or even larger. The peak season for wildflowers is between June and late July. I hope to take more pictures of some other wildflowers in the park this summer. Stay tuned to future Saturday Snapshots

This Aspen Aster was taken on a hike in the Wild Basin Area south of Estes Park just before you reach Allenspark. This hike is one of my favorite Hikes in the Park passing Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascades, and eventually Ouzel Falls.

Next time you are on the trail keep your eyes open for flowers. I think you’ll be amazed at the variety.

Yesterday was a beautiful early summer day in the Estes Park area. On a trip to Glen Haven to refill some flyer boxes , I couldn’t pass up a short little walk along the Miller Fork Creek at the back side of the Retreat. There is a hiking path that leads along this creek into the National Park and it is quite popular with the local residents. The sun was hitting the creek just right and I was actually pretty impressed at the picture my Blackberry was able to take so I thought I would share.

My listing at 2339 Miller Fork Road borders this hiking trail and creek along the south side of the lot. If you like being surrounded by the Colorado rockies with hiking trails at your front door, then you need to check out this lot.

Longs Peak and Mount Meeker are two of the most recognizable mountains in the Estes Park area. They also happen to be the biggest mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This picture was taken from the north shore of Lily Lake which is located adjacent to Highway 7 roughly 5 miles south of Estes Park. There is a very gentle walking path all the way around the lake with views in all directions. Lily lake is also known for having large amounts of wild flowers throughout the summer.

This cabin is one of my favorite mountain cabins in the Estes Park area because of how Mount Meeker, Longs Peak, and Mount Lady Washington tower above the cabin in the background. It is so perfect, it almost seems too good to be true. If you would like to drive by and see it for yourself, it is visible from Highway 7 just south of Estes Park. The area between Estes Park and Allenspark (also known as the Tahosa Valley) is known for its many classic mountain cabins and great views of the peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This picture was taken at the same time one of my other Saturday Snapshots was taken. I made my way to the North East Corner of Sprague Lake to capture the first rays of sunlight on the Continental Divide views Sprague Lake is known for (Erik Stensland of Morning Light Photography has a good example of what I was hoping to capture). As the light started to get brighter, I took a look to the east and was amazed at what I saw so I decided to take a picture and share. This is one of my favorite sunrise pictures in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Sprague Lake is a very easy lake to get to. The walking path around the entire lake is not very long and its even handicap accessible. The kids like it too. Sprague Lake parking lot is located along Bear Lake Road 9 miles from the main Beaver Meadows Entrance station or roughly 1 mile past the park and ride parking lot.

Spruce Lake is a gorgeous small lake that is not visited by many people. It is very near Fern Lake and is accessed via an unimproved trail leading .8 miles away from Fern Lake.

This shot was taken in the very early morning soon after the sun came up. This photo carries many memories and stories. The day before, my brother and I got a late start leaving the trailhead. Regretably, I had forgotten the camera and had to return to the car to get it while my brother waited for me. We eventually made it to the Spruce Lake trail where it meets the Fern Lake Trail at dusk but to make matters worse, it had started to rain. We ended up using a flash light to search for the cairns that marked the unimproved trail leading to the lake. By some miracle, we eventually found our way, but not before second guessing ourselves and doubling back multiple times. Once we made it to the lake, we had to find our backcountry site we had reserved by locating the little red arrowheads on the trees pointing to the big silver arrowhead marking the site. Since the rules dictate you are only allowed to pitch your tent within 15 feet of these silver arrowheads, we had no choice but to keep searching until we found it. After what seemed like hours in the rain at night searching via flashlight, we finally found that silly arrowhead and were able to pitch our tent and cook up some food. Next time my brother and I go out backpacking, you can be sure we will get an early start and won’t forget our camera.

The Estes Park Duck Race was another huge success today. Thousands of Ducks floated down the river toward the finish line with people congregating on the riverbanks to watch them go by. The Duck Race is one of my favorite events in the spring time in Estes Park.

You can find more information about the Estes Park Duck Race on my recent blog post announcing the event.

If you bought a duck and are looking to see if you won a prize, you can head over to the Estes Park Rotary’s Duck Race page where they will be posting the winners soon.

Fern Lake is a popular hiking destination in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is accessible via the Fern Lake Trail Head to the west of Moraine Park. Parking fills up in the trailhead pretty quick so get there early or expect to walk a little further than expected. The trail is moderately strenuous but features hiking near water most of the way which tends to make the hike seem easier. The trailhead to the Lake is 3.8 miles one way and gains 1,375 feet in elevation. Getting to Fern Lake via Fern Lake Trailhead also takes you by Fern Falls.

With all the fluffy white stuff lately, I thought we were due for a good summer picture.

Estes Park was hammered with more than 2 feet of snow within the last couple of days. Late Spring snows like this are fairly typical in March and April. This just happened to be a bit bigger than normal! The snow fell thick and heavy with rates of accumulation as much as 1 to 2 inches per hour. One nice thing about heavy spring snow storms in Estes Park is the snow doesn’t last long. We are predicted to be in the 60s next week! Now that we had fun in the snow for hopefully one last time, I’m ready to enjoy Estes Park’s spectacular summers!

Pine Tree Loaded with Snow

Overloaded fence posts. No wind and LOTS of snow