This is my first attempt to post photos, so no guarantee, but here are a couple of Rocky Mountain creeks flowing over rocks in the springtime.

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I've been using a 17-35 f2.8 for about 11 years. It's on its 5 generation of camera bodies and is going strong. It's sharp and does well with both crop and full sensors. I've used it while shooting weddings, events, and landscapes. It's a well built professional quality lens that I wouldn't want to be without. There was a 2008 rumor that it was discontinued, but it is still on the shelves and in the Nikon catalog so I suspect the statement of its demise was premature.

In the early 50's my father was shooting 16mm color movies of our family. In the early 70's I was the in-house photographer for a real estate company and was shooting a lot of color positive film. It was more available then than it is now.

The quote I just received to fix a different focus problem on a Nikon lens (the lens focused accurately but didn't signal the camera that it had focused) was $275.

The Nikon v Canon competition is great. It keeps both companies on their toes and brings us tech advances faster. That said, where's the update on the D810?! ;-)

You have received a lot of good advice from Colorado natives but there are a couple of ideas I'd like to add. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) runs between Estes Park and Grand Lake is the highest paved road in the State. Both Estes Park and Grand Lake are 'tourist' spots, but Grand Lake in particular is a good place to stop for a bit of walking and lunch. There are many trails in RMNP of various lengths and difficulty. Bear lake is right by the road and has a level hiking trail around it. Dream Lake is a little bit more of a hike, but well worth the effort if you have the time. RMNP is the closest 'real mountain' experience to Denver and I'd suggest you spend some time there. I like to look for back roads and particularly those that go over some of our high passes, but you need to be careful as some that are on the map aren't navigable in a family car and some of them aren't passable except by powerful, high clearance, 4x4 vehicles and then only when conditions allow. If the road you are thinking of driving isn't paved, inquire before you attempt it. Another spot worth a visit is Mt. Evans (one of Colorado's 14ers) off of I-70 near Idaho Springs. There is a road that takes you nearly to the top. As has been said previously and I repeat because it is important, watch for symptoms of altitude sickness and head to a lower elevation immediately if a member of your party starts to show symptoms. It will just get worse if you don't. Trail Ridge Road goes over a high pass and both Pikes Peak and Mt Evans are slightly more than 14,000 ft at the peaks. Bring your camera, some long lenses for critters, your tripod, and have fun.

I've been shooting with a D3, D300, & D300s for years and just bought a D500. There is an amazing difference in the image as well as usable ISO range. The D300s is a great camera, but cameras today seem to be like computers in that the newer models are showing definite technological improvements.

I've found that ISO 200, 1/125, @ f8 is about right for a full moon.
and
ISO 1,000, 1.6 seconds, @ f5.6 is about right for a total lunar eclipse.
As has been said, Manual exposure is what I use as a good part of the frame is going to be dark and your in camera meter is apt to over expose the moon.

I've been shooting a D3 and and a D300s and think the D500, by comparison, makes no sound at all. I guess it is what you are used to.

I have two D500 cameras that have received heavy professional use for a little more than a month with no error messages or other problems. So far the D500 seems to be a great camera and a worthy successor the D300S.

I think it is just much easier today to correct color balance or remove haze in Photoshop or Lightroom than it was years ago. If you were shooting slide film you couldn't adjust color balance in a projector and it wasn't easy to correct even if you were printing from the slides. I have new lens that I don't yet have a UV filter for that I used for a Pano of Castle Rock in the foreground with Pikes Peak in the distance. It has a pronounced blue tint even though the color balance was set "correctly." It took just a few seconds to correct in Lightroom, but I would have preferred to have just blocked the UV to begin with.

We all approach our art from our own perspective and filtered through the lens of our individual experience. Were it otherwise, all of out photographs would look alike.

WOW! When opportunity met preparation! Great shots.

I'm sorry to hear of your accident, but at least you were safe. Last summer I unexpectedly capsized in a canoe and spent better than a half hour trying to stay afloat before I could get back to shore. The good news was that the cameras were in a Pelican 1510 case and when I recovered the case that spent that half hour + in the river with me, everything in it was perfectly dry and safe. If I had drowned (it was a close thing) who ever recovered my cameras would have had a nice pair of Nikons in perfect condition. The lesson learned...keeping the equipment safe may be a good thing, but it is more important that the photographer remain safe.

Even at a lowly 7,000 feet it can make a noticeable difference.

Flat landers may not understand the benefit of a UV filter. SIGH! ;-)