Saturday morning we woke up with the sun.  We drove I-70 west toward the Eisenhower Tunnel and turned off just before Loveland ski area at the Herman Gulch trail head.

We hiked strong.  Three and a half miles up a rocky, knotty pine trail above the treeline to Herman Lake.

It was exhausting but worth every sore muscle for the smells of the fresh pine and the heaven-quality mists rising above the valleys below.  We were touched by the scenery and cheered the fact that Colorado’s heat had finally broken.

We left Mile High early in the morning because we knew rains were coming our way later in the day.  Sure enough, we made it to the lake by 10:30 a.m. and back home to Denver by 3 p.m., when the rains started swelling the clouds.  Finally, low rumbles gave way to soaking sheets of water, extinguishing forest fires across the state.

Saturday was a day for celebrating.

The Columbine.  Colorado’s state flower.  There were loads of them up there.  Just delicate and unassuming.

As we picked up the trail on the way down, about a half-mile from the trailhead, we came across men panning for precious metals in the river.

Charmed.