At Alamosa refuge on Sunday of our April trip, we saw the rubble of the old visitors center was almost all hauled away. The same dry conditions as in March were more of a concern a month later, but we did see some standing (maybe rain) water, and it was fun to spot a porcupine. This is a spring...

From my daily notebook: inspired by the Oscraps newsletter, where there was ET's Freebie and Jenn's ad for her Nevermore collection.

We got new yard lights and a couple days later, I found an image of a very young raccoon standing up to study the new lamp at his eye level. It was about then, that I had one of those creepy feelings, and thought about how often the raccoons would be our scary creatures of the night.

It was another gorgeous day on the last day of our trip to Estes Park. We met the alpenglow as it painted Longs Peak, when we reached Deer Junction. From there, we explored Upper Beaver Meadows and as always I loved the magpies. Later, we saw beautiful deer but no elk.

A great thing for me about Wow Wednesday, is that I always find things I've had for a while, not used, and would buy again if I didn't have them. This week it was Lynn's Type Box. Far exceeded my expectations, and also fun to use! I rediscovered it this week.

From my daily journal

The deer stood in sunlight, already the focus of other photographers who had stopped to watch. A beautiful buck, head down, foraging. I gave a soft whistle, and he lifted his head for me — a moment everyone shared. One older man smiled and said he’d forgotten how.

The forest creatures had gathered to talk about the government shutdown. They met at night, uneasy and careful not to say the wrong thing. It was an unsettled time, and none of them wanted trouble. Everyone had opinions, but in the end, no one had answers.

Of course it would’ve been nice if our October trip to the cabin on Fall River fit in one book, but I chose to go with the flow, let things happen, and trust the 50% sale would come when my book was done. It came sooner than last year, so it's off to print with one more day in RMNP.

We had planned to drive to Many Parks Curve, but we hadn't expected to meet the sun just peeking over the big rocks there. It was glorious, and the best part was that there was no wind for the first time I could remember, and the Mummy Range is sprawled out right there.

We expected overnight snow and by morning it had transformed everything. It wasn't much and was gone later in the day. There was a lot more snow when we explored in Rocky Mountain National Park, especially on Fall River Road.

When the elk herds grew too large, meadows thinned and smaller grazers vanished. Over time, careful management created balance in numbers, and open spaces healed. Now deer have room to browse and thrive. The park is shared again—still wild, with room for diversity.

You couldn’t see the big moon, so I explained that’s why the woman was standing on the road, taking her photo of it. We knew the trip to Bear Lake would be too much, but I was fine taking the long road back from Deer Junction. And it paid off when I spotted that big, lone elk.

Most of the snow had melted by Tuesday morning, with fog drifting over Fall River in the distance at the turnaround. Golden leaves still clung to the trees in full color, and though we heard elk bugles, none were in sight. The same old bull elk was at Sheep Lakes, all alone.

By the time we reached RMNP, the sky still held patches of blue, but heavy storm clouds were gathering. The golden aspens were at their peak, and it wouldn’t last much longer. It was windy and getting colder, and the park was filled with hikers and out-of-state visitors.