Two Days, Two Weathers…

It was a surprisingly warm Thursday, so I drove up to the mountains to spend some time in the woods. Before starting my hike, I stopped at the Buffalo Overlook to see if the bison were around. And they were :)

 

Slow morning, snow morning...

Sometimes you wake up in the morning, open the curtains, and are surprised to see that everything around you is covered in fresh snow... And you quickly get dressed and go outside to take a walk, breathe in the frosty air, and enjoy the untouched white snow before it's spoiled by the footprints of people and animals...

 

First snow...

Well... you get me... technically it was the second snow of the winter. But... the first one covered ground more than a month ago and... felt more like fall snow than a winter one ;) This morning, though, a light snowfall blanketed the ground and finally created that real winter feeling...

 

The last day of the year...

Snow is covering mountain slopes and making everything look wintery. White and blue, isn't it an amazing combination, huh? December 31, I drove to Red Rocks Amphitheater, but didn't plan to go there. I wanted to have a light hike on the trail started at Red Rocks Park Geologic Marker.

 

What can I tell you about Winter? It is made from silver and copper...

To read the previous part click here - Gray mantle of fog...

We left Canyonlands and drove a couple of dozen miles to Arches. Another place where the weather and centuries created a nature masterpiece. Time carved the figures and arches from the dark red rocks and today thousands of people are coming here to see it. This time we were there in a very interesting moment... Unimaginable time when the red and white created something different. Magical and mystical, attractive and magnificent...

But before we got there we had some peculiar experiences because of the weather. The road dove to the fog and surfaced back all the time. Mostly we had some sense of direction, but often just hoped the road brings us there and we don't get lost...

 

Gray mantle of fog...

To read the previous part click here - A 1000 miles is not a detour for the mad dog... 

As I told you before, we left the Dead Horse viewpoint and dove into the thick fog. The windy road ran between the cliffs and on an open space. Sometimes we barely could see the road and sometimes we had a nice and good view of where we were going. No one can even forget the road like this... no one...

 

A 1000 miles is not a detour for the mad dog...

Now no one can remember who was the first to see the pictures of Bryce Canyon hoodos covered with white snow. But once you see this beauty all you can think about is to go there and see it yourself... So we planned the trip for the end of February (2010) and were waiting for the day to come. We were really nervous the week before because of the forecast. Weather in February is unpredictable all the time but this time Mother Nature has outdone itself - the light snow every day and heavy snowfall over the weekend. But we decided to go just weren't sure about our destination. The car was booked and Friday around 8PM we started on I-70...

We expected the hardest part would be driving to Gleenwood Springs, going up and down on the mountain highway. And we were right. During five and a half hours (compare to regular four!) we saw a lot of snow, ice and wind. And it was dark... Finally we got there, filled the tank with gas and changed the driver. While waiting at the gas station we looked around and were mesmerized by an amazing picture of the night and snow covering everything...

 

Red and white. Sleepy Morrison...

One cold winter morning we woke up and looked out of the window... And everything around was white and puffy. It was a winter morning after all ;) And we thought it was a good time to explore some places. We decided to go to Red Rocks Amphitheater to see if the snow could discolor all the brightness of the Morrison Formation red rocks...

 

Snow, snow, snow...

Winter in Colorado... It is not like Winter in other places. Isn't it cold? It is... Isn't it snowy? It is... but... I mean BUT ;)

Right, it is cold during the Winter time, but also most of the time it is just chilly or even warm. It is snowing, but only for a couple of days following with quick melting. This is really rare if the snow is falling for more than two-three days in a row. But sometimes even one day of snowfall can bring a lot of snow. So that happened a few years ago when about two feet of snow fell overnight and transformed the city from boring to Winter fairy tale.

Next morning after the snowfall everything looked just amazing. Thick puffy snow and bright sun. What can be better to see? So we drove around, stopping here and there, taking pictures and having a good time. So let's bring the memories back and travel in the past to see the sunny snowy day in Denver...