Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park. February 27, 2008.

Today was half Rocky Mountain National Park and half travel. It was a beautiful blue sky with clouds kind of morning.

Moraine Park Rocky Mountain National Park. February 27, 2008.

Moraine Park was a good place to go. I chose boulders, trees, and a dead tree to frame my photos.

Tree Shadows, Rocky Mountain National Park. February 27, 2008.

Tree shadows usually aren’t impressive from spring through fall, but on snow the shadows really pop.

Bear Lake Road and Hallett Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park February 27, 2008.

I left Moraine Park and drove Bear Lake Road to my next destination. Hallett Peak stands dramatically above the road.

Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. February 27, 2008.

Before heading south I had to get one last photo of Sprague Lake.  In the summer and fall this is one of my favorite sunrise locations.

U.S. 285, South Park, Colorado. February 27, 2008.

U.S. 285 is one of my favorite highways and my road of choice from Denver to the Great Sand Dunes. But it wasn’t much fun in South Park (a large valley surrounded by mountains). It was was snow and ice covered, and a bit slippery. A ground blizzard was going on. At times there was so much snow blowing across the highway that was hard to see anything. Everyone was being careful. Progress was slower than I had planned.

Millonzi’s, Fairplay Colorado. February 27, 2008.

After fighting the wind-swept, icy highway, I stopped at Millonzi’s in Fairplay for dinner. The food was delicious.  A deputy sheriff that used to live and work in this area told me the chef at Millonzi’s inspired the cartoon chef in the TV cartoon series, South Park.

After dinner I drove on to Buena Vista for the night.