I miss summer...

January is never warm (and who expects warm weather in the winter, right?)... But this January feels especially hard. The cold bites deeper, and even more frigid air is forecasted for the coming weekend. It's sunny here in Colorado, but I am weary of this endless frost and the monotony of a landscape drained of color.

 

Silhouettes and clouds...

Another Saturday and another wilderness call... when you can't stay home but need to go somewhere and get some fresh cold air to recharge your batteries in anticipation of the week ahead. And Denver is a great place to do that because here you don't have to go very far. You can find what you need just in the middle of the city... All you need is to stop by some state park... Barr Lake park for example. In winter time you won't be able to enjoy the green lush trees surrounding the lake, but you can find something that you won't find in the summer - amazing tree silhouettes. Usually they are accompanied by some incredible reflections (click here to check it out - Spring Close-ups and reflections)... But not now... The water level is still surprisingly low (not as low as a couple months ago - Beautiful Saturday morning, but still low).

 

Chilly day...

Saturday morning was chilly... Hmm.. I guess it was even cold, with about 20F and fog, covering some streets and disappearing from others. Despite the forecast, there was no snow on the ground, but there was a lot of frost on the grass and trees. So I went to the Botanic Garden in hope to find some frost there. But to my surprise, there was none. But the road and trails were dusted with a light layer of snow...

 

All possible colors

Sometimes when summer comes, we are surrounded by flowers and look at them without even noticing them... They just become a part of everyday landscape and... our minds miss registering these bright creatures... But when it's cold outside (that's right, I am talking about winter time) and most of the colors are gone (yeap, winter again) we miss these colorful and beautiful flowers...

 

Nice and short hike

Last Saturday a friend of mine and I decided that we needed some fresh air and a bit of exercise... And what could be better for it than a nice and short hike? Preferably somewhere nearby ;) And we knew the place that would be just perfect - Alderfer / Three Sisters Park near Evergreen. Just over 30 minutes of driving and we crossed the meadow and entered the woods...

 

Adobe churches in Colorado and New Mexico... Part 1

We really enjoy our short stop in La Veta (Short stop in La Veta, a cute little town...), but we still had something else to explore. We planned our first stop at Fort Garland, where we planned to turn onto Highway 159... It would have been easy to just drive straight to Taos, but... it wasn't what we wanted to do this time. This time we wanted to take some backroads and to see something that usually escapes the attention of travelers - some old adobe churches. And the first one was at Fort Garland.

Holy Family Catholic Church - 626 Beaubien Avenue Fort Garland, CO 81133

Set against the picturesque backdrop of Fort Garland, Colorado, the Holy Family Catholic Mission stands as a serene beacon of faith. This cherished landmark is noted for its stunning structure that exudes a sense of tranquility and a welcoming atmosphere. Though some travelers might find the doors closed past the usual visiting hours (sigh... yes... we also were unlucky ones), the mission's exterior beauty continues to garner admiration. 

 

Short stop in La Veta, a cute little town...

It was a real treat to spend an hour in Pueblo (click here to refresh your memory - A quick stop along the way... ) but we still have a lot of plans for this day, so we soon hit the road again. But we already knew our next stop ;) Even though it was a bit off the way, but we couldn't resist making a detour to have lunch in La Veta - a cute little town just off Highway 160. But it wasn't just the delicious burrito at Legends On Main that attracted us, it was the town itself. This small town not only marks the start of the Legends Highway (which is incredibly beautiful when the leaves turn yellow - Vibrant colors of Highway of Legends), but it also has quite a rich history in itself...

 

Bright colors of Pinery lights ;)

Yep, now is the right time to get out and admire some Christmas lights. And some neighborhoods are better than others :) A long time ago we explored Denver in hopes of finding the most decorated houses and we really enjoyed finding them. Click here if you want to see those - Sparkling glare of Christmas lights.

 

A quick stop along the way...

We hadn't been to New Mexico in a while and we missed it terribly... So... "easy to do" we thought, got in the car and just drove south. A couple hours later we felt like we needed a short break and the best place to stretch our legs on your way to Taos was... the city of Pueblo. It wasn't our first time there so we knew what to expect. In fact, we spent more time here last time we visited the city, so click here if you want to learn a history of the town and see more of the beautiful places one can find here - The most boring city in Colorado... Really?

 

Something colorful

It's December... The days are short and dark... and there aren't many colors to cheer us up. Surprisingly, there are still some leaves on the trees, but they are mostly faded. And we hardly see anything bright, blue, red or yellow. It's winter after all. So... let's jump back in time and look at some summer flowers... bright, fragrant and beautiful...

 

Escape the busy city

The Saturday right after Thanksgiving brings a lot of people to the streets of Denver. Everything seemed a bit overcrowded, and it looked like a good idea to escape from a bustling city and spend a couple of hours just walking up the slopes and enjoying the beautiful scenery. And... sometimes you are not up to spending too much time in the car to get there. If so... you can always just pass Golden and take a short (or longer) hike at Mount Galbraith.

 

Beautiful Saturday morning

I woke up early and couldn't fall back to sleep. My mind was wide awake and the idea of going out and maybe even seeing the sunrise seemed like a good idea :). I was still high from seeing bald eagles at Barr Lake park last week (Bald Eagles on Barr Lake), so I decided to give it another try. Even without bird watching, this park is a great place to spend a few hours and even see some amazing reflections (Spring Close-ups and reflections) even though now there are no reflections to see :(. It didn't take long to get to the park and I realized that I was just in time for the sun starting its journey around the world...

 

Bald Eagles on Barr Lake

Barr Lake State park is an amazing place to hike or bird watch. And while mid-November may not be the best time for birds, it is definitely a good time for a hike. An easy hike, or more challenging one. We weren't sure what we would find there on this chilly Sunday morning. But as soon as we got out of the car, we knew that we had come at the right time... Because high in the sky, a huge flock of birds were making some intricate patterns but we weren't sure what kind of the birds they were...

 

Day of roses

The storm that had broken so many trees was in the past (click here to see - After the storm) and the sun was working very hard to get the snow melted, disintegrated, evaporated... The roads and trails were clear, so we decided that the best way to spend a Sunday morning would be a walk in some beautiful place... And one of the most beautiful places we know is the City Park ;) It is magnificent in spring with flowering trees, beautiful in summer with its green leaves, stunning in fall with these leaves in yellow and red, a bit dull in winter with faded colors and cold... but today it promised a pleasant walk and some vibrant colors in a nice contrast with the white snow. And we weren't disappointed at all... despite the snow, everything was still breathing fall...

 

After the storm

A few days ago, after Before the storm... post, a friend of mine asked: "What about after the storm pictures?" At this point, no one knew how big the storm was coming and what we could expect from it... When it came, the soft  snow covered everything, and it was just beautiful First snow... So we relaxed and didn't expect the next part which came the day after. On Friday morning, it snowed again, and by the end of the day we had quite a lot of snow. But it also continued to snow all night, and when I looked out the window this morning, I realized that we had a really bad storm. The oak tree, which is usually towering and almost as tall as the building, was now dwarfed to half its usual size. The heavy snow bent the branches and it didn't look good.

 

First snow...

Yep, it happened again! The first snow fell unexpectedly ;) The forecast promised some snow on Monday, but it didn't happen... So we relaxed and weren’t too worried until Wednesday morning, when we found two inches of white and fluffy snow covering the ground all over the neighborhood.

 

Before the storm...

Fall is still here and the leaves are still colorful... But there are fewer and fewer of them still left on the branches. And the forecast promises some wind, rain, and, maybe, snow... so I guess today was our last chance to see some color in Denver before it finally disappears. So let's go outside and enjoy another day that is still warm and sunny (actually, it's unbelievable to see all of this in November, but I don't complain).

 

Yellow walk

Believe it or not, but the forecast promises some snow tomorrow... But today we still had a chance to walk along the trail and enjoy the rich and vibrant fall colors. Don't believe me? Let's walk along the Highline Canal together then...

 

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...