Une Belle Randonnée dans la Gorge de Tyndall

Earlier this week we had the opportunity to meet two very friendly women from Paris and Provence. Language was no barrier to the smiles and laughter, which came easily to Rosie and Monique, who were happy to be visiting Colorado and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The hike we chose is the classic Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake route through Tyndall Gorge. Although Rosie initially said she would be up for just 3 hours of hiking, after bagging Emerald, she insisted we add Lake Haiyaha to the list. I think there was also a French joke somewhere in that Native American name, which perhaps someday we'll understand.

We got a late start on the hike, which may have worked out to our advantage because the parking lot was not full and the lakes were not crowded. The weather - superbe! (A word we heard many times from the non-English speaking Monique.)

After the hike, we had just enough time before dusk to take in a very active evening at the Fish Creek beaver pond. The highlight was watching an adult reach up and snag a branch from a freshly felled tree, then swim across the pond with it for four small kits to munch on.

We hope to visit France before too long, and a new hike has been added to our ever-growing list. Rosie told us about the Tour du Mont Blanc or TMB, a trail which goes around Mont Blanc through France, Switzerland and Italy. It looks fantastic: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Tour+du+Mont+Blanc

As I write this post, Rosie and Monique are flying home to France. Au revoir et à bientôt, nos amies!