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We spent another beautiful day in RMNP. We’ve definitely decided, though, that it’s later in the season than we prefer. Our previous visits included the colorful aspens of fall, but temperatures just warm enough to be comfortable. Today, it was cold and windy, and we decided not to take any extended hikes at high altitude.
At Endovalley, we did find a nice spot with enough sunshine to enjoy a picnic. We were almost immediately joined there by some cheeky creatures. First came the Steller’s Jays…

followed quickly by a chipmunk…

and then finally by a black squirrel who appeared at first to be shy. After he decided that we weren’t dangerous, he warmed up quickly, taking almonds from Richard.

We spent the remainder of the day in downtown Estes Park, enjoying the shops and then a terrific dinner at Nicky’s. We’re leaving tomorrow, but we’re reluctant to go.

(Click the squirrel pic to see him munch!)

Ahhh…we’ve been here for just at a day, and already we’re more relaxed than we’ve been in about a year and a half.

We started our afternoon at Rocky Mountain National Park, and were joined for lunch by some black-billed magpies, who were shameless about trying to steal our sandwiches and apples. Seems theft is a popular survival technique, because one of them flew off with a largely uneaten apple, only to have it stolen by a large hawk.

Mood: Happy! It must be catching, because even the animals here are smiling: