Kite Lake

With apologies to Ben and Myka (because weather and scheduling conflicts denied us the chance to take them to Kite Lake). Although a rougher than usual ride up and back, the rewards are spectacular scenery (including being surrounded by four fourteeners (Colorado holds the record for most peaks of 14,000+ altitude), opportunity for wildlife viewing, incredible alpine wildflowers, and fishing in a high-mountain lake at an altitude nearing 12,000 feet. Charlcie and Heather spent most of their time exploring and taking photographs (I got to do some), while Jaden spent her time exploring all over. Charlcie did find some time to read while Jeff and I fished. The cutthroat trout here are small but as you see, they are as deeply colored and pretty as any fish you will see - the thrill here was sight-fishing a dry-fly to a cruising fish and watching them approach and take the fly. And considering the environs,in my view, this is as much fun as any other fly-fishing experience. Did I mention wildflowers? Charlcie was able to locate an area of Columbine flowers, the official flower of Colorado, and special enough to warrant a separate display of them alone. Charlcie deserves credit for many of these and other photos - I wanted to make sure to get that in. So the Kite Lake series will be broken down into three segments: this one including fish/fishing/scenery, a separate one devoted to Columbine, and yet another featuring other wildflowers of this area.