Rocky Mountain High

Had a day off today before the conference starts in earnest and a group of us hired cars and drove into the Rocky Mountains. The weather was amazing - bright sunshine, clear skies, and snow. We went for a walk and climbed to over 7000 feet - walking through snow but wearing only light clothes because of the sun. the air was very thin and we were soon out of breath - but it was worth it for the views. We were also lucky enough to call at the Stanley Hotel - Stephen King's inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in the Shining. When Stanley Kubrick made it into a film he used a different hotel for the filming which didn't go down too well with Stephen King who commissioned a TV version which was filmed here. I'm a great fan of the book (but not the film) and bought a REDRUM mug.

After the walk we drove up to over 9000 feet which is where the air feels very thin, and we got out of breath just walking up the road to take photos. On the way back down we saw a group of male Elk. Obviously we had to stop to take pictures and managed to get quite close to them, without even wondering if they were dangerous. It was interesting though that the Americans stayed in their car to take pictures - only the Brits got out and walked up to them.!