Shallow Creek Trail

Hike along Shallow Creek on a picture-perfect day-off:

The water is so clear and the aspen bark so white against the blue sky.

The alpine views never disappoint.

 
Wildflowers are still in bloom along the trail...

... but here and there, aspens are beginning to turn as the weather gets colder. 

This morning, temps were in the high 30s. 

By the time we went out around 10 am, it was 57 degrees on the car thermometer, 

and by the time we finished hiking, we were stripping off our sweaty shirts in 75-degree sunshine.

Evidence of wildlife is abundant here. Giant beaver dams cause stream water to pool and quiet alongside picked-over elk carcasses.

 

With less than three weeks left before we head back to Laguna, we're already feeling a little nostalgic about having to leave behind all this beauty.