Feeling the Love at Loveland Pass

Sunday was our last day in Lowry Campground, and we started it at church. We have found that some Colorado churches have begun having in-person services outside. A small church in Breckenridge has a nice wooded lot next to their building, and it makes a very nice sanctuary during a coronavirus pandemic. Everyone wore their masks the entire time, kept their 6-foot distance, and we had singing accompanied by a flute.

We have found so many things to do right in our own backyard, so we haven't driven far from our camp site in these 11 days. Our last day was cloudy, but we decided to make the 14-mile drive over Loveland Pass in spite of those clouds.

Our first stop was at the Loveland Lake trail head, and it is cool this afternoon. It was time to break out the jackets on this summer afternoon as we stood with the mountain tops all around us.

We got our first views of Loveland Lake as we started the loop hike. Here we met a couple enjoying a romantic picnic dinner. They had brought their folding table and chairs, and they had a lovely view of the lake and mountains during their meal. We can already feel the love on Loveland Pass!

Besides a lovely lake, we found abundant wildflowers blooming in the meadows.

We can't help but admire the massive mountains that line Loveland Pass, but we love to find that God decorated the tiniest of plants here as well. The tundra plant in the center is no bigger around than a quarter, but when we looked closely, we found it decorated in tiny bright red blooms.

We have discovered another plant this summer in our high altitude walks in the Rockies. When we looked it up, we found that this is a figwort plant. But the fun name that it also goes by is "Little Pink Elephant plant."

If we look carefully, we can see those bright pink elephants up and down the stalk. The big floppy ears and the pink trunks remind us that God has a sense of humor in designing these wonders.

We found these clusters of immature elephant plants just springing out of the moist soil close to the lake. When they begin to flower, this will be a whole herd of pachyderms!

From the tiny wonders at our feet, we look around to the majestic wonders of the mountains that surround us. We have certainly wandered into more of God's wonders this Sunday!

As we look across Loveland Lake, we see that a group is gathering.

They're taking pictures, and these people don't look like they are dressed for hiking.

We found out that they are gathered here for a wedding this Sunday afternoon. Sure enough, here comes the bride! Loveland Lake is a lovely place to pledge your love!

A drive just a half-mile further down the highway brought us to the summit of Loveland Pass. At 11,990 feet in elevation, we are once again on the Continental Divide. Speaking of love, this couple is celebrating a 39th anniversary this August!

The Continental Divide Trail takes us up steeply, for eye-level views of mountains with snow on them.

It's chilly up here on the ridge, and Denisa is glad to have a jacket for this summer hike!

Some of the areas on the top of the mountain were rocky, and we weren't surprised when we heard a high-pitched whistle that echoed through the rocks. It didn't take us long to find the source of that sound--a yellowed bellied marmot draped over a rock. He was sounding the alarm that he had spotted us approaching his domain.

We found another marmot sunning himself on the rocks. These guys are some of the most sociable wildlife we find, and they seem to be as curious about us as we are about them. They are often called "whistle pigs" because of that high-pitched whistle that first let us know they were near.

We spotted another rock-dweller on the ridge, and we are excited to get a clear picture. Pika aren't as social as marmots, and they are usually darting so fast among the rocks that it is hard to get them focused. Even though they look like mice, they are actually related to rabbits instead of rodents. That makes Denisa like them so much better!

Heading up a steep trail means that there are fewer people and more wildlife. We spotted several of these high-mountain birds on the trail today.

Perched on the top of trees and bushes for easy photography, these white-crowned sparrows must be related to the social marmots that call out when a visitor approaches.

We kept taking panorama pictures, because we couldn't get all the grand mountains around us to fit into one picture.

We finally made our way to the summit, and we were glad to find a rock shelter that offered protection from the cold winds that often blow at the top.

It's a nice place to sit for a snack and look out over the mountain peaks around and below us now.

It's also a nice place to raise our arms and play shadow puppets using the setting sun behind us. How lovely!

The setting sun was really lighting up the trail on the ridge that we will hike back towards the car.

Even though we are less than a mile from all the wildflowers at Loveland Lake, we saw very few flowers on the Continental Divide trail. Perhaps it's too windy and unprotected here on the top ridge. So when we found this group of mountain blue bells huddled behind a rock, we had to snap a picture.

As we walked down to the car, we met a group of 47 high-school runners walking up the trail. They were heading up the trail for sunset, to the peak we had just left. So our quiet little rock shelter wouldn't be quiet for long. We actually had time to drive all the way back to Keystone, and then Dillon Reservoir before the sun was setting over the water.

This has been a great last day in one of our favorite places in the mountains. It's so easy to find God's wonders and feel the love at Loveland Pass.