Contentment by design - Living

After hiking back down to Mills Junction, we turned to the southwest and hiked up to Mills Lake (9,940 feet). Once again, we enjoyed some splashes of sunshine as we sat quietly on a big, low rock outcropping that juts out into the eastern portion of the lake. Mills Lake is nestled between the flanks of Thatchtop Mountain to the north and Longs Peak to the south

We've sat on that outcropping many times in a variety of types of weather that reflect the volatility of the mountains, from brightly lit stillness to thundering downpours to bitter cold winds gusting across the ice (when we better understood the name Keyboard of the Winds). This time we enjoyed a gentle warmth as dappled light played across the water and mountain flanks, and a soft breeze etched patterns into the lake's surface.