Scenic Drive and Pole Canyon

Have I mentioned how pretty this place is? It is beautiful. The weather finally cooperated and was warm enough for this Texan to get out and explore the park on my day off. The first thing I wanted to do was drive up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive. There's still a lot of snow at the top. Here is a view of Wheeler Peak from the Mather Overlook. It is 13,063 feet. I'll summit it at some point this summer, stay tuned for that post!
Same overlook. The bench did fairly well snapping this picture. I really was there!

I left the scenic drive to hike Pole Canyon. Along the route, there are some pictographs. I call this The Original American Gothic.

I took this as a recommendation for a good place to eat lunch. I did. It was quite lovely. Thanks mountain lion!

The hike was up through a canyon. Every so often I'd come around a bend and this beautiful green meadow would open up in front of me.

Looking back toward the valley.

I hiked up the canyon, crossed a low ridge, and headed down the other side. About halfway down, I hit snow on the trail. There were also places where streams from snow melt had decided the trail was a great path of least resistance and took over. There was some bushwacking happening, but nothing too adventurous. It was a beautiful hike and it felt soo good to get out and explore.