Spring is the time when baby animals are born in the park. This newborn elk calf struggles to stand up on its wobbly legs while its mother rests. There are approximately 3,000 elk in the park. A wet spring storm leaves a glorious frosting of pristine snow on the rocks and trees near Bear Lake and Hallett Peak. The distinctive shape and central location of Hallett Peak make it a major landmark of the park.
Stars seem especially plentiful and conspicuous in the night sky above the park.
This photo is a seven-hour exposure, where the earth's rotation makes the stars appear to turn in the sky over the Mummy Range. A glorious winter sunset reflects on the frozen surface of Sprague Lake, silhouetting Mount Otis, Hallett Peak, and Flattop Mountain. Clouds billow over Specimen Mountain after an autumn snow. It is of volcanic origin and was named because of the mineral samples that were once collected there. The Cache la Poudre River meanders through the valley below.