49 degrees and 25 knot winds...

Spring may have come to the Rockies, but summer hasn't!  BURR!  On Friday, we took advantage of some down time from the family, and headed out to venture into the Rockies.

We were FINALLY treated to some sunshine!  It has rained everyday since we got here.  Sunshine in the RV park!

We are parked up against one of the several lakes in the campground.

We left Longmont early for our 1 hour trip to Brainard Lake Recreation Area.  Our goal was Long Lake. Even arriving before 8:30 on a Friday, all parking spaces were full.  We drove down to a picnic area on Brainard Lake and hiked the 1 1/2 miles through the woods ("mountain lions have been active in this area --- be aware..."  I was VERY aware!)

Our destination - Long Lake.

The temperature when we left Longmont at 7 a.m. was about 60 -   it was 49 when we arrived at Brainard Lake. Last night's cold frontal passage brought high winds with it.  They were literally about 25 knots, with gusts even higher.  Forget a hat!  The flowers in the high alpine fields were blown over.   Note the snow on the higher elevations in the background.

This field of pink flowers was somewhat  protected from the winds.

The views were magnificent.

Even at the relatively low elevation of Long Lake --- 10,000 ft! - there were a lot of piles of snow left, even in mid July. Yes, we had on all of the warm clothes that we brought.

The clear sky, at the high elevation, gave me a great shot of the moon at 11 a.m.

After a nice picnic lunch at the picnic area of Brainard Lake, we thought our adventure was over. No! Moose!!! Just off of the road (we knew something was around because of all of the stopped cars blocking the 2 lane road).  Grazing moose, neck high in the high grasses..

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Beautiful beasts with huge shovel shaped antlers.

And no, not one, but 5 of them, all grazing quietly and peacefully in the field by the road.

After we returned to Longmont, everyone took a walk from the daughters' homes to downtown - great to live so close!  We had dinner at a nice little pub and meandered back, carrying our leftovers.  Here are Luke, Lisa, and Erin.

And, finally, a good-night sunset treat from the campground.

This morning was spent at a birthday party for Evelyn at a very nice community swimming pool.  Maybe some pool pictures tomorrow. Luke and I wandered around town and Boulder for a few hours in the afternoon, then everyone went back to Erin's for the last dinner of this trip.   

It was a wonderful visit - can't believe how much the grandkids have grown...guess they do that when you see them only once every year.  We all plan to meet in Maine next summer.

Our trip will continue tomorrow - back to Ogallala, NE, to the MacConaughy Park for a couple of nights.  We will explore the area.  Unfortunately, along with the sun has come the usual summer warmth.  90's tomorrow!  oh, well, it IS July!