Today we hiked out to a place called Lulu City in RMNP. This was an old mining town from the 1800's. It had a population of 200 people at one point. Apparently the mining was unsuccessful. This was an old mine that we found.
These were two of the cabins that were nearby the old site of Lulu City. It is amazing that some of the structures still exist. From the valley we could see other mining sites along the surrounding mountains. The Colorado River ran along the valley floor.
On our hike back we passed all sorts of rivers flowing down the mountains. This one was particularly beautiful with all of the vibrant green moss.
On our drive back through the park we saw these three elk that were peacefully grazing along the roadside. The picture turned out looking better than I thought a shot out the window would!


Today was a long day. Aaron and I left the camp around 8am and headed into the park. It took awhile to get to our hiking trail, but it was still fairly early when we got there. The temperature was great, most of the trail was through the woods, and there was not a ton of other tourists!! Little did I know that our hike was going to go from around 7 miles of moderate hiking to a 14 mile trip with lots of uphill sections!! It was beautiful, but exhausting. We hiked past the city, up past some backcountry campsites, and up to an old stage road, and then back down another mountain trail. It was really hot walking along the road, but it was neat because they redirected the river so it ran along the whole length of the road. We saw some fish, lots of gorgeous wildflowers, and some great mountain views. Our hike back down the mountain went through boulder fields, and glacial debris, and was really green like the picture you see above. It was a fun day, I had no idea we would hike so far, but I am really glad that we did. ( I am just glad I finally got to take my hiking boots off!!!)