We woke up in dry, red Utah and hours later drove to this thirst-quenching turquoise gem, Hanging Lake, near the top of a mountain. T was worried we wouldn't make it in time to have a place to park, and she was right. We ended up having to backtrack on the highway to park at the exit before, and we walked through the Glenwood Canyon for three miles just to get to the trailhead to start the hike. It was actually more exciting that way; canyons are one of my favorite landscapes so it was so refreshing to walk alongside one for three miles before hiking up. The lake itself is so magnificent and extremely colorful. You're not allowed to swim in it in order to maintain the integrity of its rare properties which give it the vibrant color. It was so tempting though, I was salivating looking at it. On the way back in the canyon, we got caught in a crazy thunderstorm and sprinted through the rain and thunder to make it to cover, which wasn't all that close. It's ok, running through a storm happens to be one of my favorite things to do. After driving and seeing a full double rainbow, we drove to Loveland pass. It was so high that the air was a fresh, cold blast, chilling us into believing it was already fall.
