Flashback Friday
Time Passes Faster than Me
I can't believe it has already been more than a year ago we went to the beautiful (but crowded) state of Colorado. I have a collection of pictures, many many pictures that I want to share. I have been so busy lately and literally have no time left to write a blogpost. I feel like I want to write something about the pictures or memories I share, instead of just posting the pictures. So, here we are, and unfortunately the posts seem to come less and less frequent. I will try to do a better job, because i really want to share my travels and experiences with you guys.
Colorful Colorado
We arrived in Colorado at the end of a work week, to attend the wedding of our dear friends that weekend. We had about 3 days in Colorado (if I remember correctly). The day we arrived, the day of the wedding, and lastly the day after the wedding when we also left the state. A very busy schedule for sure. We picked up our rental car at the Denver airport and quickly left the city perimeter to drive north, towards Aspen. The landscape was unreal, these fall colors that reminded us about Alaska, but then out of the blue these crazy rock outcrops that reminded us about Carbon county and parts of Utah.
Exit 119, No Name
On the way to the wedding destination we decided to go for a short hike. W found a hike online somewhere, which was by the No Name rest stop...I think if I remember it correctly. It took a while before we actually found the trailhead, but a nice man that lives in that area pointed us to the correct route. It had been raining during our drive there, but miraculously the rain stopped about the time we arrived, and needless to say we were the only people there. We put on our rain pants, which was a great idea, considering all the brush we hiked through during this route. Instead of talking about how many miles we should walk, we usually set a time to turn back.
Dam and Mining Business
We followed the trail and the No Name Creek, past some old water dam along with the new water dam. I think this is also an area where part of the residents get their water supply, but I could be wrong of course. We also passed some old mining remnants, I don't know what they used to mine here, but it looks pretty cool now.
Hiking Through the Fall
I love the fall. Fall in Alaska is very brief and if you don't watch out, you'll miss it. I don't know how long fall stays in Colorado, but we managed to get there during peak color. I love hiking through the forest and tundra and mountains during fall season. You see such a wide array of fall colors, deep deep red, mixed with orange and yellow, and the endless green from the coniferous trees that are creating this beautiful color range and contrast.
It is in the Details
As I have mentioned earlier, I usually fall behind, I tend to see the small details. The spider climbing on the grass, or the bee trying to get the last drops of nectar from the flower, the remnants of cones, who ate that cone? The lichen on the stone, I think about the time it took for that lichen to colonize that rock. That is also the very true beginning of biology, primary succession, step one in the ecosystem. We start from nothing, just a bare rock. The colonization of lichen and fungi on rocks, that then create an ecosystem producing oxygen for other living matter. Lichen can also be seen hanging from old tree branches in an old growth forest. Did you know that many lichen species are indicator species for environmental monitoring. The lichen is the first to break and die when there is an increase in the pollution, just because they are so sensitive.
The Beauty of Fall
How beautiful is fall right after a rainstorm has passed, and left some frost/snow remnants on the top of the mountains? I can never ever get enough of this landscape. Endless walks through the forests, regardless if its 40 below or right after a rainstorm, during a rainstorm, or even when its close to the 90's...although, I take 40 below over of the 90's any day.
Do you love the fall as much as I do??
