In September, I made a 3300+ miles road trip through the southern Rockies. I've prepared a mini-trip report with photos and it is up at http://www.worldisround.com/articles/368016/index.html if you are interested.

My daughter and I camped at Morraine Park mid-August for a few days. Leaves certainly look different now from your pics. Quacking Aspens are pretty anytime though. You must be into trains.

Sounds and looks like a great trip. Thanks for sharing. The Rockies are awe inspiring.

Beautiful pictures, dwooddon! Thanks for sharing them.

Lee Ann

Great photos, thanks for sharing. Cool that you saw a Western Tanager. I love white crowned sparrows also - their song has accompanied me on many an early morning alpine hike. Guess you have a major zoom lens.

Thank you all for the kind comments.

Spiro: Yes, I'm a 100% died-in-the-wool train freak. I try to make at least one train trip of some kind every year and some of the other photo pieces on the same web site document some of those.

Nelson: Most of the large animal shots were using a Tamron 200-500mm zoom and most of the others were made using a Tamron 18-250mm. I shoot with Canon Rebel bodies that have ACS-C sensors so the 35mm equivalent for these lenses are 29-400mm and 320-800mm.

Great photos, we took a ride on the Royal Gorge RR a couple of years ago and I agree It is spectacular.

Thanks for posting.

Nice late summer trip report...which I will forward to our Wichita son who is a RR buff also and has been on some in the West. So you didn't bother with Grand Canyon or some other national parks?
Bill in Boston

Thanks all for the kind remarks.

Ozarksbill: I'm a certified old guy and almost a life-long westerner and over the years, I've visited every National Park and almost every National Monument in the west. I only live about 90 minutes from the west gate at Zion NP and my son lives at Bryce Canyon so I get pretty frequent exposure to those and visit mmany others periodically. On the same web site, you'll find other trip report/photo essays for some of those trips if you are interested.

Certified old guy...I like that. What does your certificate look like? Have lived in Middle West and now East but over past years we took family camping trips out West and have also returned. Last trip was Arizona 2006 incl. Zion Pk. coming home. I remember in March there was a little snow covering that added a nice touch.

I was checking my Golden Age passport used over the years for the Nat'l Parks and have kept a record...saved $424 using it! Last time at historic Hartwell Tavern in Concord. We do make donations though. I'll look up your photos.
Bill in Boston

It's an official certificate actually issued by the US government. It's red, white, and blue and has "Medicare" written across the top of it.