MORNING SPLENDOR AT BIERSTADT LAKE FLOWER Morning views of a young

Morning views of a young box elder tree

A gorgeous sunset with spectacular soft lighting along the South Fork Kishwaukee River right after the snow storm at Wildflower Park in Northern Illinois- USA

composed and focused on the rosinweed flowers and began photographing

other trees and bushes in the area are engulfed in crystals from the freezing rain at Wildflower Park

MORNING SPLENDOR AT BIERSTADT LAKE FLOWER Morning views of a youngIt was a cool August summer morning when I arrived at the trailhead to Bierstadt Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. I started up the steep trail at 5: 15 am to catch the sunrise at the lake and the Continental Divide. It would take me just under an hour to reach the lake. There are numerous switchbacks leading up the mountain through some stands of aspen trees. After about 20 minutes, I no longer needed my headlamp to guide my way up the mountain.