Rocky Mountain Park (1)

For sentimental reasons, the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park is one of my favorite places on earth.

The pine beetle infestation has changed the appearance of the park in the last couple of years. Dead lodgepole pines cover the hillsides.

Large areas of Colorado now look like this. I was told that it confuses the tourists ("Is there a new kind of tree here?") and it changes routines in subtle ways. When people go hunting, for instance, the animals sometimes don't appear in the usual places, because sunlight descends through bare tree branches to create new food opportunities for the wildlife.

Here, the epidemic appears to be spreading from the park entrance. It is less advanced farther down the road.