A few weekends ago the Hubs & I took short vaca sans kiddos! (No, we didn't leave them alone at home, we swap childcare w/friends!) Our adventure took us to Glenwood Springs, CO. This scenic location is close to the famous ski resorts (Aspen, Vail, ect) and known for it's therapeutic hotsprings (truth be told, I think just about every town in CO has a hotsprings location). It is also known for this supposedly magical "Hanging Lake" which is tauted as being "suspended on the edge of a cliff".
Sounds awesome, right?? I asked the hubs how this lake could be just "hanging off a mountain side" and his answer entailed the bottom of the lake being "held up" by this infrastructure of moss. Well, obviously my mind envisioned this magical body of water, hanging off of a cliff with a moss underside. I vainly tried to find pictures of this exquisite site, but only view of the top of the lake were available.
Due to the delicate ecosystem surrounding the lake, no one is allowed to touch the water (let alone swim in it) because the tiniest amount of oil from human skin can destroy parts of this ecosystem (not to mention the delicate moss underside which I imagine would just crumble at the weight of human bones). My goal for this trip was to capture the side view of the lake so there would be a pictorial reference of what this marvelous site looked like "suspended on the edge of a cliff".
I leaned over the edge of the boardwalk (there's a man-made boardwalk around half the circumference of the lake so folks can walk around it) only to discover that I had been mislead. Lied to. Whammy-ed. This little reservoir was not "magically suspended". It was indeed on the edge of a cliff, but held in by the cliff itself-not just moss or air. There was rockage underneath.
Sure, the sight was pretty, but all my prior visions of this lake were dashed. Sooooooo not worth the strenuous climb to see it. I tried to make the best of it, however, and wandered around the side all the way to the back where you could see the waterfall! That was pretty, and then we were told about another trail that goes higher up to "Spouting Rock". This trek was super-short and the waterfalls *ah-mazing*! I went behind the waterfall and was immediately reminded of the waterfall scene from George of the Jungle (one of my fav movies). We got some great pics from it, and I was able to justify the long trek up the mountain ;)
Here is a photodump for your enjoyment!
This is the famed Hanging Lake. It sure is pretty! This is a stick sticking out of the lake.
This is some gross brown stuff floating on top of the lake. I'm sure it has something to do with nature & the ecosystem & all, but it looks yucky.
This is the disappointing side-view of the cliff the lake is supposedly suspended on. I had to lean over the wooden walkway to get this shot ;)
Behind the waterfall-
See how cool it looks??
We found someone to take a pic of us behind the waterfall! Granted, we don't have a super-fancy camera, but I think it looks amazing!
This is a random cabin thingie on the trail
Sounds awesome, right?? I asked the hubs how this lake could be just "hanging off a mountain side" and his answer entailed the bottom of the lake being "held up" by this infrastructure of moss. Well, obviously my mind envisioned this magical body of water, hanging off of a cliff with a moss underside. I vainly tried to find pictures of this exquisite site, but only view of the top of the lake were available.
Due to the delicate ecosystem surrounding the lake, no one is allowed to touch the water (let alone swim in it) because the tiniest amount of oil from human skin can destroy parts of this ecosystem (not to mention the delicate moss underside which I imagine would just crumble at the weight of human bones). My goal for this trip was to capture the side view of the lake so there would be a pictorial reference of what this marvelous site looked like "suspended on the edge of a cliff".
I leaned over the edge of the boardwalk (there's a man-made boardwalk around half the circumference of the lake so folks can walk around it) only to discover that I had been mislead. Lied to. Whammy-ed. This little reservoir was not "magically suspended". It was indeed on the edge of a cliff, but held in by the cliff itself-not just moss or air. There was rockage underneath.
Sure, the sight was pretty, but all my prior visions of this lake were dashed. Sooooooo not worth the strenuous climb to see it. I tried to make the best of it, however, and wandered around the side all the way to the back where you could see the waterfall! That was pretty, and then we were told about another trail that goes higher up to "Spouting Rock". This trek was super-short and the waterfalls *ah-mazing*! I went behind the waterfall and was immediately reminded of the waterfall scene from George of the Jungle (one of my fav movies). We got some great pics from it, and I was able to justify the long trek up the mountain ;)
Here is a photodump for your enjoyment!
This is the famed Hanging Lake. It sure is pretty! This is a stick sticking out of the lake.
This is some gross brown stuff floating on top of the lake. I'm sure it has something to do with nature & the ecosystem & all, but it looks yucky.
This is the disappointing side-view of the cliff the lake is supposedly suspended on. I had to lean over the wooden walkway to get this shot ;)
This is the Spouting Rock waterfall-it's located above Hanging Lake
Behind the waterfall-
See how cool it looks??
We found someone to take a pic of us behind the waterfall! Granted, we don't have a super-fancy camera, but I think it looks amazing!
I think we had a bit too much fun!
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