What the East Troublesome Fire does on a Saturday...

The East Troublesome Fire started off innocuously on October 14th, 2020.  Then about a week later it burned over 100,000 acres in one day.  Strong winds pushed it over the continental divide and onto the eastern slopes of Rocky Mountain National Park. Now it is almost 200,000 acres. It is funny that I've been photographing the same view from the edge of our neighborhood for years now.  It is fun to walk the mile from our house and admire the mountains.  Here are some pictures from Octobers. I never realized that I would be cataloging what the Park looked like before the fire.  We're back in Estes Park now, but our bags are still packed.  While the fire looks calm beneath the snow, we know that it is still smoldering and is just a strong windstorm away from flaring up again.  Can you spot the differences? Dates are in the caption. Click on any image for a larger photo.