Sprague Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park

In the summer time, the Rocky Mountain National Park gets really congested with folks trying to have the experiences available there when the roads are cleared and open; and they are seeking relief from the heat of the lower elevations. The Bear Lake area is extremely popular, partially because it is so close to Estes Park. It is so popular that the parking lots are full fairly early each morning and all other visitors must use the shuttle  bus to travel within the area. We like to be able to stop when we want and take pictures, etc., so we were hoping to avoid this.

So with this in mind, we were in the parking lot when the YMCA dining hall opened for dinner at five o'clock. When we had eaten, we headed for the  park entrance. The days are really long, and we were hoping to be able to see wildlife out in the evening like we do here, as well as avoiding the crowds of people.

We stopped in the visitors' center and got our map and instructions of where to go. It was a good plan and we enjoyed having the roads almost to ourselves.

Sprague Lake, within the Bear Lake area, was our first stop. There is a little trail that encircles the lake.

We counted fourteen fly fisherman in the shallow lake. (We heard later that a moose had joined them the night before!)

Among the fishermen was this young boy, standing on a rock. I thought he was just too charming.

We passed the sign below along our trail that advised hikers beginning another trail to go a different way as an "aggressive Raptor" was in the area.

Interesting.