Snowy Range Mtns, WY - Jul 2006

Oh my gosh -- just when you think you've seen the most beautiful sights possible, along comes another gorgeous place that gives you goose-bumps. We took several drives up to the Snowy Range in the Medicine Bow National Forest and it was spectacular. My photos don't even do it justice and I wished I had a wide angle lens to capture the full effect.

On one of our day trips, we scouted out several national forest campgrounds for our next place to stay. We went to six different ones, but sadly, our favorite (Brooklyn Lake) was totally booked for the summer -- darn. The campground host said that we'd need to make reservations about six months in advance to secure a site at that particular lake. Sigh.....maybe next summer. Brooklyn Lake was our favorite because it was so very scenic with a lovely lake, grassy meadows, wild flowers galore and lots of pine trees. It also had several sites with great views of the lake and several trails that emanated from the campground. At 10,500' elevation it was breathtaking -- in more ways than one.

One day we packed a picnic lunch and drove up to an area called Sugarloaf. There was a campground there that we wanted to check out and, while the campground was nice, sadly it was set behind a small rise so that none of the sites had a view of the lake -- too bad as Libby Lake was gorgeous. Lewis Lake and Libby Lake (in this photo) were only separated by a narrow strip of land and it was there that we decided to sit and enjoy our picnic.

From our picnic perch vantage point atop a rock outcropping, we had a great view of both lakes. The smaller one behind us was Lewis Lake. The meadows surrounding the lakes were filled with wildflowers -- too many to even begin to identify. I was reduced just to gawking and relishing the wild riot of color. There were trails circling both lakes and more trails that continued further up into the mountains to yet even more lovely little alpine lakes. We added that to our list of things to do when we return someday to this lovely little spot of heaven.

The weather was gorgeous that day and we sat on rocks warmed by the sun and enjoyed the view. There were large patches of snow right next to our picnic spot -- how fun! We let the dogs run and play in the snow and they had a ball. To be able to enjoy snow in July is just a magical treat to these two Texans and we had to throw a couple of snowballs to celebrate the occasion.

There were two lakes that had developed day use areas. One was Mirror Lake and the other was Lake Marie. They were right next to each other and there was a paved path that wound around and connected them together. There were lots of folks who stopped here to enjoy the scenery and stretch their legs.

Above Mirror Lake was the most picturesque and developed picnic area that we've ever seen. The forest service had built at least a dozen paved spurs -- each one nestled into a nook of trees and each one having at least one picnic table, a standing grill, a water faucet and a wonderful view -- some were absolutely stunning. The area was clean and neat and had public restrooms. It also appeared that the picnic sites were reservable -- another first for us.

Of course, there were lovely wildflowers everywhere. For me, it's always a shock and a delight to see flowers in full bloom in July. Back in Texas, the wildflower season runs from mid-March to mid-April and after that, it's too darn hot and dry for anything to bloom.

After one of our day's excursions in the Snowy Range, we were headed back to Riverside and spotted several cars stopped alongside the road (looked just like another Yellowstone traffic jam.) We stopped and were thrilled to finally see some moose! There were three of them, but the crowds had spooked them and by the time I was able to get my camera out, there was only one left.