Labor Day Lift Off

Sometimes you have to wake up really early if you want to see something interesting. Like 3 AM early :) And then you need to drive for over an hour to get there... And all you can see at this point is complete darkness... And, surprisingly, you will be surrounded by hundreds of people waiting for something to take off. What am I talking about? Colorado Springs Hot Air Balloon Festival - Labor Day Lift Off!

 

Burning Bear Trail

This hike had been on my list to do for quite a while. So that morning I woke up and knew I wanted to do it now. I didn't think twice, grabbed my backpack, threw it in the trunk, and headed toward Grant. It was a beautiful morning with almost no traffic, so after an hour or so I turned onto Guanella Pass Road and soon pulled into the parking lot near the trailhead. Well... 8 a.m. in the mountains meant 49°F and... it was chilly! But the views of the distant ridges were simply outstanding! So I didn't think about the temperature for long, grabbed my gear, and headed toward the trail.

 

Easy morning

The heat dome that brought us days of toasty temperatures finally gave us a break this Tuesday. The morning temperature was just below 60°F, and the forecast promised a pleasant, even cool, day ahead. In fact, the overnight low was well below average and even set a record low for the date. It was a welcome change, even if it would last only a couple of days. And I knew the perfect place to spend a few hours outdoors - wandering along the creek at Lair O' the Bear Park.

 

Chalk Lake and Salida - Labor Day weekend. Part 4

We left the Leadville National Fish Hatchery (click here to refresh your memory - Unexpected adventure - Labor Day weekend. Part 3) and headed toward a ghost town. We’ve been to St. Elmo before and simply wanted to see this abandoned settlement again. Well… an unpleasant surprise awaited us. The dirt road to the town has become nearly impassable. It was rough the last time we drove it, but now it’s basically an off-road trail. So, after talking to people in a well-dusted car who were coming back from there, we made a U-turn and continued toward Salida instead.
But before getting there, we made a short stop at Chalk Lake, a small body of water surrounded by rugged cliffs.

 

Rain and gold leaves

We really enjoyed the foggy landscapes along the road (click here to see where it all started - On the Way...). The rain had returned, low clouds, golden leaves... everything looked simply beautiful!

 

On the Way...

Someone once asked me what’s the best time to visit New Mexico. Well… it depends. I guess any time is good, but fall is twice as good as any other season. It’s not as hot as summer, and if you time your visit right, you can enjoy the beautiful and vibrant fall colors.

So, we planned carefully, hoping to catch that perfect moment when the Colorado mountains had already shed their golden beauty, but the colors were just beginning farther south. On October 11th, we jumped in the car and headed toward New Mexico. The forecast didn’t look too bad, but once we passed Walsenburg, the clear blue sky began to change. We were stunned to see a cloud shaped like a tornado stretching across the horizon. Well… this trip was already promising a bit of adventure.

 

Beautiful Morning, Reflections, and Fall Colors

Another Saturday, another trip to Pine Valley Ranch Park. The night before was windy, so I didn’t expect to see any reflections in the lake, but to my surprise, the air was still and all the beauty was perfectly doubled. No complaints here! I grabbed a few shots, trying to capture the mountain slopes, evergreens, blue sky, and those stunning clouds.

 

Unexpected adventure - Labor Day weekend. Part 3

Our first day on the road was full of travel and experiences, and everything went exactly how we'd like it to... Click here to find out how it all ended - Buena Vista and hummingbirds. The next morning, we decided to return to Leadville to visit the museums and stroll the streets of old mining town. Then we drove a few miles off the main road to visit the Leadville National Fish Hatchery, which we'd never been to before...

 

Beautiful morning... fall morning...

Fall is here! Not just because it’s September 27th and the season officially started a week ago… but because the Colorado colors have finally arrived. It was a bit late this year, and for a while it felt like we wouldn’t see much of those bright hues. But we were wrong and now they’re HERE! 

Early Saturday morning, I headed out… though I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going :) I took I-70, turned toward Evergreen, and before reaching the town I veered off onto one of my favorite mountain highways - Squaw Pass Road. Soon I pulled into a small parking lot and decided to hike up to Beaver Brook Reservoir, a little man-made lake not far from the road. The sun was just peeking over the tree line, and as I was getting ready to start, the first rays lit up an aspen across the lot. I took it as a good sign ;)

 

Buena Vista and hummingbirds - Labor Day weekend. Part 2

After leaving the Red Cliff Bridge (click here to refresh your memory - Labor day weekend - the beginning), we drove down the road and spent most of the day in Leadville. We visited a couple of museums and strolled along the main street. But let’s skip that part for now and jump to our next stop: the town of Buena Vista.

 

Labor day weekend - the beginning. Part 1

That morning we found ourselves on the road... What a wonderful feeling - driving 70 miles per hour toward new discoveries and adventures... And the first adventure wasn't long in coming... Although we left behind beautiful sunny weather downhill, it started raining right after Idaho Springs... And it poured down hard, dramatically changing the landscape and making the drive along the winding I-70 less enjoyable than it should have been... But... we've lived in Colorado for quite some time, and this change didn't surprise us at all, except perhaps slowing us down a little... though not much ;)

 

It's here! Maybe fall is coming ;)

Today we woke up early and just couldn’t stay home. The foliage downhill is only starting to change… and we hoped to see more of it up in the mountains. So, without much thinking, we drove up to Central City to check if we were right... and… we were!

 

The City of Louisville - the town of miners

Louisville began as a mining community in 1877, experienced a period of labor violence early in the 20th century, and transitioned to a suburban residential community when the mines closed in the 1950s.

 

Pine Valley Ranch Park hike... the second part...

The first half of the hike was easy (you can check it out here to refresh your memory - Pine Valley Ranch Park hike... the beginning). Walking along a flat trail beside the stream was pure bliss. But soon I asked myself: Am I really ready to head back home? And the answer was simple - nope. So instead of returning to the trailhead, I turned right onto a winding trail that disappeared into the trees, luring me toward some kind of adventure. (Right - no, I didn’t look at the map and had no idea where this trail might lead me.)

 

Pine Valley Ranch Park hike... the beginning

I am always looking for some places to escape the summer heat, and sometimes I find some real gems... Like Pine Valley Ranch Park, which I found and explored last week. The trail starts with a crossing of the North Fork South Platte River, and the bridge doesn't make my heart beat faster...

 

Sunday, Mountains, Clouds, Sun, and Rain..

Saturday night, we checked the forecast for Sunday and quickly realized we had to go somewhere. The choice was clear, either stay in Denver and roast, or escape to the mountains and stay unroasted and (relatively) cool. Unsurprisingly, we were ready for a quick getaway. After all, who enjoys being seared by the blazing sun?

We considered a few spots and settled on a short hike at Kenosha Pass. Not too far, but far enough. Not too high, so we could stay below the tree line, but high enough to enjoy cooler temperatures. So the next morning, after an hour drive, we arrived, unloaded, and took in the scenery. The high-altitude meadows and mountain ranges looked amazing… but the sky stole the show - it was CLOUDY!

 

Two days in Pueblo, day 2

The first day of our trip was long and full of discoveries. We wandered through downtown, visited the Weisbrod Aviation Museum, dined at an Italian restaurant, and explored Neon Alley. It was a perfect day on the road, and we really enjoyed it - check it out - Two days in Pueblo, day 1! Tired but buzzing with impressions, we returned to our B&B and relaxed in the parlor, sipping a drink… So cozy :)

 

Two days in Pueblo, day 1

A few years ago we were driving to New Mexico and made a quick stop in Pueblo... I mean, we wanted to make it quick... but we ended up wandering around for a half a day instead of a planned couple of hours. You can find this story here - The most boring city in Colorado... Really?. We fell in love with this place and decided that one day we would be back for a whole weekend... It took us 7 years to find the time for a longer stay, but last week we finally did it ;)

 

Urban or wild...

As much as we enjoyed the morning stroll through the streets of Colorado Spring (click here to see - Sunday morning in Colorado Springs), we had something else on our minds, so we got in the car and headed to our next destination. Not really far from where we spent our morning, just a few miles away. We were moving from something old and traditional to something new and even exotic - the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. Even the building actually looked out of place - too modern and unusual for a relatively old city. But they placed it wisely... in an area where there aren't many other buildings that would cause much discomfort...

 

Sunday morning in Colorado Springs

What could be better than waking up early on a sunny Sunday morning and hitting the highway to go somewhere for breakfast... That's what we did one Sunday a couple of weeks ago... When we left the small neighborhood restaurant, we grabbed a cup of hot chocolate and wandered aimlessly through the streets of the still sleepy city...