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...

 

Small bird flies fast

I woke up in the morning and decided I needed to do something different. Not that different, but still. Probably go and check out some small birds ;) So I went to Central City to see if I could find some. And it didn't take long to spot one, resting on the fence and waiting for the sun to warm everything up...

 

Loveland Pass - snow in June

The snow in the mountains stays longer than downhills... So if you miss it and want to refresh your memory... just go up to the mountains and you will definitely find some ;) Loveland Pass is one of the best destinations for such an escape from the heat of a big city. Can you imagine this tall wall of snow along the highway at the end of June? And yeah... I was unable to park closer to the summit and needed to walk uphill to the trailhead.

 

In the kingdom of sand...

We crossed the bridge (click here to refresh the memory - Crossing the bridge...), returned to the trailhead and soon found ourselves on Highway 163, heading towards Monument Valley. Everything around us looked quite unusual. The colors faded and the sky took on a grayish hue. The haze had hidden many details and we couldn't see very far.

 

A sad day for merganser family

Last Friday I stopped by the small pond in City Park to check on the merganser family. If you remember, just a week ago (six days to be exact :) ) I discovered that the merganser momma had returned and had 10 (!) ducklings (click here to read this story - They are back!). So I wanted to see if the small ones had grown and how the whole family was doing. But the family was still sleeping at the far end of the pond... so I watched them for a couple of minutes before heading towards the big lake in hopes of finding some more waterfowls...

 

Crossing the bridge...

The Dead Horse Lookout was our first stop on this trip (click here to see - Late evening in Canyonland...) but not the only one on our plans. The next morning we continued towards Natural Bridges National Park. We've been to Utah before, but this park escaped our attention, so we decided to fix this and take a look. We started on the trail that runs along the edge of the canyon and just look at this view!