After awaking to hangovers and piles of dishes from last night’s feast, we decided a bit of exercise might not be a bad idea. So we headed to a hiking trail at Estes Park that would take us to Gem Lake. On the way there, we saw these beauties on the side of the road:

When I learned the trail was 1.7 miles, I was like: ‘Pah, that’ll take us 25 minutes.’ What I didn’t factor in was that 1. There would be snow, 2. It was very, very steep and 3. I had no idea what I was talking about.

As the trail became rockier and more demanding , we were boosted by each view being better than the last. At such high elevation, the views were breathtaking – teeny homes and evergreens against a backdrop of snow-topped mountains and a massive, cloudless blue sky.

Our prize was a hidden lake, protected by rocks and frequented by hungry chipmunks.

We stopped for sandwiches and photos before heading back down the mountainside, where our agility was tested again. With all those lunges, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a sore tusch tomorrow. (Better than a sore head, like today, I suppose.)

Then we drove to Rocky Mountain Park for some even more unbelievable views. Don’t make me go back to New York!