Fall Colors in the Colorado Mountains

Most years we head to Arizona in early September.  Not this year, so yesterday we drove to the mountains to enjoy the fall colors of Colorado's aspen trees.

Any hillside where there are aspens, we saw the golden leaves.

They start turning from green to yellow and then sometimes to darker yellow and orange.

Our route took us over Kenosha Pass, elevation 9,997 ft.   Obviously, we weren't the only people out to see the colors.

Some areas of the Colorado mountains have been decimated by the bark beetle, leaving large stands of dead conifer trees.  But that obviously hasn't been a problem where we were traveling.  There is a healthy mix of green conifers and aspen trees.

Even above timberline, the mountains are beautiful.  We come from a beautiful state. 

Just look at these hillsides.

When we got to Breckenridge, we decided to get some exercise.  Flowers grow willingly in hanging baskets around the town.

We crossed this picturesque creek.

More flowers.

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These were in a flower box along the sidewalk, rather than in hanging baskets.

You can sit and rest a while in this area along the main street.

Breckenridge has a rich mining history. Here is a statue of a miner.

And another of a pair of donkeys carrying the miner's tools.

Any day now, Colorado  can be blanketed with snow.  Trail Ridge Pass road was partially closed overnight due to ice and snow.   Thankfully, we made our tour before we had to worry about that.