High in the Rocky Mountains

John Denver made a career out of being associated with the Rocky Mountains, and this picture helps explain why. People just seem fascinated by the backbone of the continent and its high country. This photo is of Thunder Lake in the aptly named Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park.

There's no road to Thunder Lake, so if you want to snare your own photo it'll take a bit of walking on the appropriately named Thunder Lake Trail. The lake is framed by two main peaks -- 12,434-foot Tanima to the southwest, and 12,200-foot Pilot Mountain to the northwest. Just about due west is the Boulder-Grand Pass. From the trailhead, the lake is about 9 miles. One way.