Vibrant colors of Highway of Legends

It's just unbelievable how the snowfall in October changes everything. Overnight, the colorful fall gave way to a peaceful and white winter. The temperature dropped and... immediately we realized how beautiful this fall was... with its warm days and vibrant colors... And although we only have to wait a couple of days before the warm weather returns, today I want to travel back in time (not very far) and refresh the memory with the bright colors of the Highway of Legends, along which we passed just a couple weeks ago.

 

Golden Gate Canyon - pure gold canyon ;)

That's what we all do in the fall time - chasing the fall colors. And the Golden Gate Canyon is a perfect place for it... There are a lot of aspen trees, and their foliage turns from green to pure gold in a matter of days, and if you find the right moment, you'll be rewarded with some gold...

 

Light morning hike

Last year I discovered a hidden gem for hiking, especially during the summer, but, regrettably,  didn't find a time to return there. And since last Saturday I was looking for something really light, I decided to revisit this enchanting place. I was also secretly hoping to catch some vibrant fall colors if I was lucky (uh... not really, but I did spot a few hints of color here and there).

The trail starts in a dense, shadowy forest and ascends rapidly from the very start.  It's a rather steep beginning, to be honest... 

 

Fall colors

Fall is an enchanting season in Colorado. The scorching summer heat has bid us farewell, but the biting winter cold hasn't yet arrived. In this transitional period, we are blessed with a few weeks of delightful mild weather, and an extra-special treat – the breathtaking Fall colors.

 

Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain

I was talking to a friend of mine one day and he said that I probably have pictures of flowers of all colors. I wasn't sure that I had them, so... I looked through my collection and found flowers, if not all colors, but at least all the colors of the rainbow;) Thus the idea for this post was born...

 

Trinidad, CO, still on the way to New Mexico ;)

It was a long day... We started it in Pueblo (click here to see - The most boring city in Colorado... Really?), continued along the Highway of Legends (click here to see - Highway of Legends - La Veta and Stonewall...) and an hour before sunset we were not only still on the road, but made one more stop. This time in Trinidad... Yeap, almost all day and we haven't even left Colorado yet!

 

Highway of Legends - La Veta and Stonewall...

We enjoyed wandering around Pueblo (click here to see - The most boring city in Colorado... Really?), but had many miles and hours ahead of us before we could call it a day and stay the night in Las Vegas, NM. So we turned back onto I-25 and headed into the sun...

 

The most boring city in Colorado... Really?

What is the best way to spend a warm and sunny weekend in October? Right! Visiting New Mexico! What can be better?

 

Mabel Dodge Luhan house, Taos

We had a really good time discovering the treasures of La Loma Plaza (click here to see - Taos, a place you will never forget ;)) but ended up going elsewhere to see another Taos landmark.

 

Taos, a place you will never forget ;)

As you may remember, we caught the very last shuttle bus at Bandelier National Monument (click here if you want to refresh your memory - Bandelier National Monument) and drove back to Taos, where we planned to spend the night. The next morning we woke up full of energy and ideas about what we wanted to see...

 

Rose day...

Right... this is a real one flower show, and feel free to skip it if you are not fond of roses...

 

Bandelier National Monument

There was a lot to see in Chimayo (click here if you are interested in - El Santuario de Chimayó) but in the end we left this beautiful town and continued on to Santa Fe. But... we couldn't go straight there (surprise-surprise) and made another turn... We turned towards the Bandelier National Monument to see the place where no one has lived for the last 500 years :-)

 

El Santuario de Chimayó

We said goodbye to Irwin (click here to meet him - Back to Golden Fall from snow...) and moved to the main attraction of Chimayo. This town is famous not only as a weaver's paradise, but also well known for its pilgrimage place - El Santuario de Chimayó. Many years ago I found a website where I learnt about the history of this place. The site no longer exists ;( But... thanks to the Wayback machine I was able to recover the content... So let me just paste it below so you can read it if you are interested ;)

 

Back to Golden Fall from snow...

You know how it is... The days get shorter, the leaves turn from green to yellow and then fly away... in a few days it snows and the temperature drops by a good 20 degrees... Yeah, we usually call it Fall ;) And that's exactly what happened in 2012, when we had snow most of the day on Friday, October the 5th. And (as you might have guessed) there were no leaves left on the trees by this moment. But we had some plans for that weekend, so we loaded up the car and headed down Highway 285 towards New Mexico. At first, we moved slowly, not only because of the snowy and slippery roads, but also because of the thick fog... But after about an hour... the clouds were left behind and we enjoyed a blue sky and nicer weather... The trees were mostly barren and looked miserable when we stopped for a second at Kenosha Pass...

 

Close look at flowers...

What are we going to see today... Not much, actually, but some nice varieties (I hope). And I think some of them are not uncommon, but we just don't look down on them and completely miss them as we pass by. Let's start with this red lily... Daylily, actually, but who cares!

 

A Gray Day's Charm

Amidst the relentless blaze of the sun, a welcome respite arrived in the form of a delightful gray-ish day last Saturday. Seeking refuge from the scorching heat, I embarked on a journey to Central City, a picturesque haven nestled in the mountains. The air felt fresher, the colors softer - nature's own canvas muted in soothing tones. As I ventured on a short hike, the atmosphere felt more tranquil, and I couldn't help but appreciate the change in scenery.

 

Beware of DRAGONfly!

DISCLAIMER - Don't even think of looking at these pictures if you don't like dragonflies! It's dangerous! They can change your mind ;)

 

Flowers, just flowers

Nothing special today... just a couple of Summer flowers...

 

Mountains...

What could be better than driving to the mountains and having a light hike there... I think this is the best way to spend Saturday morning, when it's toasting hot down in Denver and nice and breezy up in the mountains...

 

Deep in the Woods: A Summer Escape...

What could be more invigorating than a mountain retreat to escape the relentless summer heat? Well, I'll tell you - venturing into the woods with a camera in hand! That's precisely what I did last Saturday, as the mercury climbed relentlessly, attempting to beat the early morning chill. Stepping out of the car, my day was instantly graced by the delightful presence of a hummingbird - a truly blissful beginning to my mountain sojourn.

 

Breckenridge Snow Sculptures Festival 2015

Do you know what is the best day to visit Breckenridge to see the snow sculptures? I can say... Super Bowl Day ;) Why? Because most people sit at home watching TV and leave the roads empty... And at the Breckenridge Snow Sculpture Festival, it's not crowded at all and you can walk between huge snow sculptures and admire them ;)

 

Escaping the Heat

Disclaimer - the text below was generated by ChatGPT and... somehow the AI was able to capture my unspoken idea and verbalized it quite well ;) 

As the scorching sun beats down relentlessly, and temperatures soar past the 100°F mark, it's natural to yearn for relief from the exhausting and sweltering weather. Oh, how we long for a change, a respite from the relentless heat! Perhaps, just for a moment, we can transport ourselves to a world blanketed in pristine, glistening white, where the air is crisp and invigorating—a winter wonderland, if you will.

 

A few birds I found in the City Park

City Park is a cool place to walk in the morning. There are still not too many people on the trails and the birds are everywhere. Do you remember the Common Merganser family? Yep, the funny one ;) So, I was really interested to check on them and I found they still live in the same small lake and the Merganser-mom is still watching for any danger...

 

Some small gems...

A couple weeks ago I was hiking in the Central City area and found many small gems there. Not real gems but some colorful and beautiful flowers. Wildflowers... simple and nice...

 

Redstone, a small town in the middle of nowhere... Independence Day 2019 trip, part 13.

I know, the pictures of the road from Cedarage to Redstone are not as impressive as the road itself (but feel free to click here to see them - From Cedaredge to Redstone. Independence Day 2019 trip, part 12). You need to drive it to see all the beauty of this winding mountain road... But the town of Redstone. Oh, we fell in love with this place the first time we visited it in 2010. It lies off the beaten path and we don't have an option to get there often, but every time we do, love flares up and we don't want to leave this small and time-lost town.... The town, only 92 people call home...