Vacation Mini-Report

I don't know if this is saying much, but we had a really great time. My brother and I spent a number of days hiking, but with the others we also enjoyed an Independence Day parade and fireworks, a jeep tour to the top of a high altitude pass on extremely rough "roads," whitewater rafting, the town's hot springs pool, the town's ambiance, staying in a house on the side of the valley, and many, many beautiful vistas. I chronicled the trip with nearly 250 captioned pictures shared on Facebook, but below are a few highlights.

On the evening we arrived, we walked onto our balcony to see a complete double rainbow:



Looking east at a view of town and the "Amphitheater" after a short hike up to Henn's Overlook:



Looking west at a view of town during a hike around the Perimeter Trail:



Looking south(-southwest) with a peek of town during the hike up the Horsethief Trail:



The unofficially named Indiana Jones Gorge, viewed during the jeep tour:



Old mining activity at high altitude in the Imogene Basin on the jeep tour up to Imogene Pass:



Wildflowers at the top of Imogene Pass (altitude over 13,000 feet):



Wildflowers in the aspen woods while hiking the lower levels of the Horsethief Trail:



Looking along the "Bridge of Heaven" at the top of our hike up the Horsethief Trail:



Looking ahead as we hike back down the Horsethief Trail:



Driving up the valley from the north, both bicyclists and motorcyclists are welcomed into town with a view of the hot springs pool:



Looking up from the pool, a view enjoyed while backstroking:



Driving back through Kansas:



A video look around and down from the Bridge of Heaven, the 12,300 foot summit of our hike up the Horsethief Trail: