why is the place called Grand Lake??... why because there a lake there silly. we went to the lake that day and again the next morning with the whole group. and after, went to a waterfall nearby, i'm not sure of the name, Adam's Falls or John's Falls... something like that.
at this point, i should tell about chot and his facination with water. he will always be drawn to any body of water. waterfalls and stream and lakes... even chlorinated pool water is good enough for him. but no sea water though... so bear with all the pictures of waterfalls and streams and all of that nature. click here for pics.
we went over the mountains to get to Estes Park, that's where we stayed the second night. used the same route we took the day before.
on our way up, there were people slowing down and stopping by the side of the road. that could only mean that wildlife were spotted. and true enough, on the sheer rock face, there were a family of bighorn sheeps... i got this piece of info from a magnet i bought. it says...
the ones we saw with horns, didn't have a complete circle yet... click here for pics.
we stopped at the highest point on the route, the Alpine Tourist Center. it was really cold and windy, and then it started to rain. it was such an experience, how wonder and amazing, masyaallah ciptaan Allah.
now, there is a short hike of about 300 feet from the tourist center to a top of a hill. i wanted to climb up and be at the highest point on that route but i didn't. the dry, warmth and comfort of the van was more appealing. but chot and jept went all the way up. click here for pics.

the landscape is a flat one. but as we got closer to the rockies, mountains appear, saw mountains with snow caps. the road we took cuts through rocky hills... got into the national park and parked at the tourist center/ ranger office to register and get and pay for permit to camp at Fern Lake. Click 
leftover... chocolate stash for the coming week.
the chocolate ganache. it is essentially heavy cream and chocolate. the recipe asks for heavy cream but i can only find heavy whipping cream. i guess it's the same thing. and since i wanted to whip this chocolatey goodness up into a lighter texture, it didn't make me worry.
the end product. the writing on the cake... my 3rd try. all in all, boleh laaa... the taste??... i guess it could taste better, but it didn't taste bad... plus, we all ate it with vanilla ice cream... cake and ice cream, a combination that will always work... always... 

peerrrggghhhh...

























