Frosted Foothills

I planned a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park today, but ended up arriving much later than expected. Weather conditions overnight combined perfectly to frost the evergreens in the foothills west of State Highway 93, and the morning was cold enough to keep them that way well after the sun had risen. So I had to stop and shoot them!

The view was unlike anything I'd ever seen -- no snow to speak of on the hills or plains, but frost covering every tree.

The clouds were still low enough to contribute some additional interest to the scene.

I decided to drive into Eldorado Canyon to see how things looked there, stopping along the road to capture the view from a distance first.

I understand that when this look is done to an artificial tree, it's called "flocking."

It looks like the effect was more pronounced on trees higher up the canyon walls.  I wonder if the frost was from clouds that didn't drop enough to reach the lower trees, or if the temperature stayed warmer where things were less exposed.

I probably spent about 90 minutes between all the extra driving, stopping and walking to vantage points.  An unexpected but enjoyable diversion!