Tuesday morning Dia and Al rose early to drive over Trail Ridge Road to the Green Mountain trail Head for a hike into Big Meadow. We had heard there was a good chance of seeing moose.

It was still cool as we started up the two mile trail. Because the west side of the mountains receive more rain than the Estes side, the trees and undergrowth were much thicker and greener. (Green Mountain?)

We followed a trickling stream for a shallow altitude gain of around 600 feet to the meadow. It was a pleasant, quiet hike. We met only six or eight other hikers.

There were some smaller wet meadows in wide spots along the trail. They were no hint as to what we found at "BIG Meadow".



We sat on this rock on the edge of the meadow and just absorbed the solitude and quiet. Breezes played with the tall meadow grasses and cooled our arms. Between breezes, the sun would warm us.

There were no moose. We were not disappointed. Moments such as this in the wild can never disappoint.