So THIS is Colorado in Autumn! Last week my friend shared over coffee that the leaves were in full color at her cabin near Golden Gate Canyon State Park, so this weekend my family and I drove up the long and winding mountain road to experience Fall for ourselves. From afar, the mountains were spotted with vibrant Aspens resembling feathery brushes dipped in bright yellow paint. It's late September, yet the air was already surprisingly crisp with the lightest of snow flurries as we walked through this magical grove of Aspen trees. This past Spring we came face to face with a menacingly large Moose and his lovely bride on this same path. No such luck this time, but we were far from disappointed. Like Bob Ross used to say in his soft, hypnotic voice, "Go outside and make friends with a tree." Well, today I met lots of "happy little trees" and I loved every one of them.
Rocky Mountain High
I can't believe it's been exactly one year since visiting Colorado for the first time. That visit in September led my family to trek across the country to call the foothills of the Rocky Mountains our home and to live lives we truly love.
We've been settled in Golden, Colorado for 8 months and have so far experienced 3 out of 4 seasons of sensory overload. Winter was airy with powder-like snow one day and sunny and dry the next. Spring brought mountains covered with a lush, mossy green blanket and rocky rivers rushing with water. Summer days are now surprisingly cool, with golden-colored mountains dappled in sunlight and wildflowers. I'm anxiously excited to see what Autumn promises.
We've lovingly embraced the western outdoors and have gone snow tubing, white water rafting, camping, biking, zip lining, and hiking in our short time here. Ski lessons are in our near future! < insert nervous squeal > Best of all, we can walk right outside our front door and explore dozens of trails with North Table Mountain in one direction, and the twinkling lights of downtown Denver in another.
It's impossible for me to look at my surroundings and not feel God's magnificent presence. If only I could lift up my family and friends and lay them smack in the middle of my new life here – I would truly know a Rocky Mountain High. Yes, that song keeps playing over and over in my mind – softer than a lullabye.
Below is just a small glimpse into some of the amazing memories we've made since living here. There were many more not shown, and many more to come.
Winter
For the first time in my life, I know what it means to actually LIKE Winter. There's so much to do! We went Snow Tubing in Frisco, an authentic, cozy Mountain town with breathtaking views.
Red Rocks is like stepping into a completely different part of the world with its jutting red rock formations. I can't think of a better place to see a concert than the Red Rocks Amphitheater. We are anxiously waiting to see Bastille perform next month.
Our neighborhood becomes a magical Christmas village when it snows. The boys sled to their hearts content, but I'm not sure how our Chihuahua, Pennie, feels about all of this snow yet!
Spring
We live directly next to North Table Mountain with its beautiful mesa panoramic views. You can see the unique shape of North and South Table Mountain, once formed by lava flows, from all over Golden and that's how we know we're close to home. It's a STEEP climb up (and took a while for us to accomplish with our altitude intolerance), but is so worth it once you reach the top.
Another trail connected to our neighborhood is perfect for biking and leads to the Golden Bike Park. Thank goodness there are some smaller jumps for novices, but I swear it felt like I caught air.
And of course, there's Rocky Mountain National Park! We've hiked a couple of times to Dream Lake and Emerald Lake, named for obvious reasons. Truly spectacular and was most likely the tipping point that convinced me to move to Colorado in the first place.
Summer
Summers in Colorado just can't be beat! There's plenty of sun with NO humidity whatsoever. We discovered that the ski resort in Breckenridge was a haven of summer activities – zip lining, rock climbing, biking, mountain sledding....you name it! The boys tried it all and then we headed into the charming downtown (on the FREE gondola) to shop and have cheese and chocolate fondue. We even brought home a famous Breck Bear who lovingly greets us everyday as we come and go from home.
Quite possibly the most beautiful experience we've had so far was camping near an area in Colorado known as Little Switzerland of America. The photo above is of our campsite site at Molas Lake in Silverton. What a view!! I'm not sure if I'll ever need to go back to Switzerland when this is only a 4 hour drive away! We saw a marmot, moose, beaver, rabbits, and elk on this one trip alone. Even though it was summer, the nights were CHILLY...well, down right COLD in all honesty. We may be trading in our tents for a pop-up in the near future.
And finally, there was class II and III White Water Rafting at Echo Canyon with my beautiful family visiting from Florida. We ALL had a blast and were ready to go again the second we were done.
If you've made it this far...I hope you're inspired to do some of the things your heart has been yearning for...even if it means a move halfway across the country!
Until next time, my Huckleberries!