Golden... golden... Golden...

When it's fall and the leaves are bright and yellow, we all want to spend some time walking and enjoying these vibrant colors and the feeling of fall... Especially when the days are still warm and the sky is blue :)

 

Marble sky

The Castlewood Canyon is a stunning place to spend a few hours. And fall is definitely the best time to do it ;) All the trails in the park are easy (except the longest one, but who takes it, right?) and the weather is... um... the weather is actually challenging. On the flatlands it is often windy, which makes you think about more clothes to wear, but in the inner canyon it's windless and hot, and you immediately start peeling all the clothes you just put on... But... this is a small inconvenience, other than that this park is absolutely beautiful and popular... Especially in fall time... click here to see what you can find there, if you start from the less crowded side - Castlewood Canyon park again, but from another angle.

Today we started from the main parking lot and quickly figured out that today was special... special because of the sky that was looking absolutely amazing...

 

Beautiful day...

This morning we headed to the Botanic Garden, where we planned to spend a couple of hours enjoying the quiet morning and vibrant fall colors... And we weren't disappointed a bit...

 

Fall gems...

The days are shorter and the nights are cooler... I guess that's what they call Fall... And everything is slowly changing... the leaves are changing their colors... the trees are losing the leaves... the birds are flying somewhere south... It's a time when you feel sad... but also a time when you can find some gems everywhere. Small gems for sure... but they are beautiful nonetheless...

 

Bright colors of Fall

This fall is unusually warm. And it's late too. But... slowly the colors are changing, and we see more and more of them every day... And the nights are getting cooler and cooler... I guess we have just a few weeks left to enjoy the mild weather and nice bright colors before everything changes for good.

 

First signs...

Actually not the first. Fall is coming and we've known it for a while now. The leaves have started turning yellow (or red), the nights have gotten colder... And it's been happening for a couple of weeks. But... this is the first time I've tried to capture these beautiful colors so... I guess you can say these are the first signs of fall...

 

Sparks of color...

Another Saturday morning in the Denver Botanic Garden. Just bright sparks of color... Just some flowers and damselflies... Just some morning dew and natural beauty...

 

It is coming...

I don't know how to explain it... but... fall is coming and I can feel it. Even though there are still plenty of flowers still in bloom, but... they are not the same as before, and somehow they tell you that this is their last chance before fall fades them away...

 

Mountains or flowers?

What do you think is the best way to spend a weekend? Heading to the mountains for some wide vistas and fresh air or stopping by the Botanic Garden for some colorful beauties? And... please don't ask me, cuz I can't give you a simple answer... I like both options and often can't decide between them... And sometimes, like last weekend, I go to the mountains... Where I can stop at my favorite openings and enjoy a wide view of the valley down below...

 

Big mountains and small flowers

It's nothing as good as spending time in the mountains... Especially when the temperatures in Denver are really high and you want to be in a cooler place. Central City is one of the closest options to enjoy some fresh air. Especially if you get there early...

 

All the bright colors...

...and the shapes that vary... Last Saturday my plans had changed and I ended up wandering around the Botanic Garden instead of the mountains... But... I had no regrets ;) Yeah, even in the morning it was a bit toasty, but the flowers made this walk worth it. I found such intricate shapes of colorful beauties... Like this one, for example...

 

Sunrise from Mount Sniktau

I didn't sleep well last night. Well, I slept well, but I was wide awake around half past three and decided to go out instead of trying to fall back asleep. So I gobbled a sandwich and left the house just before 4am. I headed towards Loveland Pass and hoped to make it in time for sunrise. When an hour later I started on my way up to the mountain ridge, it was still pitch dark with the sky just beginning to lighten up... Half an hour later, as I walked along the ridge, I enjoyed the first signs that the sun was about to rise above the mountains...

 

Golden leaves and old mines...

One day in late September I found myself hiking near the old ghost town of Nevadaville (Old town... ghost town...). Aspens had turned yellow and lit the surrounding area with bright colors...

 

Two hours in Staunton Park

It was Saturday again, and it was hard to stay home. But I didn't want to drive for hours. Staunton Park came to mind as a nice place to hike and not too far from Denver. Less than an hour later, I parked the car and started walking along the trail. We'd been to Staunton Park a few times before, but always took the easier Davis Ponds trail (Short hike in Staunton Park... Fall colors!). This time I drove to the Lazy V Trailhead parking lot and chose the Old Mill trail to start.

 

Angry birds ;)

Not exactly angry, maybe just crazy. Let's go back in time and look at some birds I met this Spring in City park. The most impressive (at least for me) were the cormorants. Big black birds flying like cruise missiles low over the water.

 

Lotus and some other flowers...

There wasn't much sunshine last Saturday and the temperatures remained relatively cool, so it was a good time to go look for more flowers. And the flowers in the Botanical Garden looked simply amazing (in fact, as usual).

 

Chief Mountain hike

What can be better than staying downhill when the temperature climbs up and hits 90 degrees? Going to the mountains and having a hike somewhere above 10,000 feet is definitely a better thing to do. That's what I did last Saturday ;) I chose a trail I've never hiked before - Chief Mountain. Relatively close to Denver, relatively short and at a high altitude, it ticks all the boxes :). The trail is quite steep at the beginning and climbs between the trees.

 

Close look

Another Saturday and another visit to the Denver Botanic Garden. Just to walk around before the heat becomes unbearable and to look around and see the beauty of flowers.

 

Square Top Lakes - surprisingly round ;)

Another Saturday and I couldn't stay put. I decided to take an easy hike and went to Guanella Pass to hike up to Square Top Lakes. I didn't expect them to be square (and I was right), but I did expect to have a good time far from the hot air of the city downhills. I dropped my car and started along the trail that weaves through the beautiful valley...

 

Colorful gems

Another Sunday and another morning at the Denver Botanic Garden. The flowers there are like little precious gems scattered on the ground...

 

Wandering in the fog...

I missed hiking in the high country, especially around Loveland Pass. Hiking there is unusual and amazing, and I've done it a few times (for example - Loveland Pass - snow in June). So last week I drove up there and... found myself completely lost in the fog. Honestly, I don't have any photos because there was nothing to take photos of...just a thick gray fog covering everything (I mean it). But I was there and I hoped that the sun would warm up the sky and the gray mantle of fog would disappear. So I climbed up to the top of the trail, seeing nothing but the ground just beneath my feet (yeah, it's a 1,000-foot climb and it took a while) and discovered that not only was the fog thicker there, but also the wind was stronger and temperature was below freezing point. So I turned around... and started walking down to my car. When I was almost back to the summit, the surroundings cleared up a bit and I had a glimpse of the mountains around me. The wind cleared away the clouds and fog, and I had a few minutes to enjoy the view.

 

Just beautiful

The summer is time for flowers. Flowers of all colors and shapes. And right now it's time for lilies... that's why they dominate the photos today ;)

 

Flamenco in Albuquerque

A few years ago we went to Albuquerque for the famous Balloon Fiesta (click here to see the event - Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta). But we planned to spend some time exploiting the city too. First we enjoyed the farmers market downtown (click here to check it out - Downtown Albuquerque). Next we moved to see the old town. The oldest part of Albuquerque and we discovered something unexpected there. Something we didn't even think we could find in New Mexico - flamenco dancers.

 

Colorful and beautiful

Flowers, flowers, flowers... aren't they the best subject to photograph? And in June there are so many of them that I couldn’t resist taking a couple of photos every time I go out with my camera.

 

An hour in the mountains

Last Sunday was hot. It was hard to breathe in Denver even in the morning, so I decided to  go somewhere... somewhere where the air would be cooler and not so stuffy. Mount Falcon was the first place that came to my mind and I didn't think long about it. This park is only 40 minutes away, and the high altitude helps keep temperature down too. So soon I started on the trail, which at first was wide and flat...