Here are the photos of our first official walk in Rocky Mountain National Park for 2009.  We took our favorite trail through a grove we call Lothlorien and were really surprised to find all the snow and most of the mud completely gone.  Last year we were tromping through mud well into the middle of June.  The clearcutting photo is of a campground in the middle of the park.  All the trees were dead from beetle-kill and a hazard to campers.  We were shocked when we drove past.
The elk herd stomped through our yard a couple of days ago.  They are pretty ragged looking and they all look really young to me. 
 lothlorien1 high-water
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