Fall Foliage and Flowers

I love this photo with the soft focused edges. I feel like I'm peering through a hole in the forest and looking out over the evergreen slopes at Aspen gold.

A stand of Aspen along the 4WD route.

A beautiful flower being explored by ants. I seriously need to buy a wildflower book, because I love photographing them. I would also like to be able to identify my finds.

Another unknown flower. I didn't realize that flowers continued to blossom through late September in this area. I thought the wildflower season would be over.

Fall Colors

I took a 4WD ride with one of my friends up to Caribou Mine Site, which is kind of west of Nederland. We saw some amazing fall foliage. These Aspen were turning some amazing colors. I've never seen them turn orange before. Only yellow.

In the distance is a stand of Aspen in the full gold glory. They are easy to spy on the evergreen slopes.

Aspen leaves just beginning to show a blush of autumn color.

Meyer Ranch Park

Mulligan and I went for a hike up at Meyer Park Ranch. I managed to not find the trail head for the second time in 2 weeks. Ended up stopping at a gas station and asking the attendant. In my defense, I don't think the map was very clear. Here are some Aspen along the trail.

We hiked through Lodge Pole and Ponderosa Pine forests. In fact, one of the loops we hiked was called "Lodge Pole Loop". Aspen dotted the forest too. The Aspen were just starting to turn autumn colors at this altitude.

My good friend Mike enthusiastically points out the Bird Census Plot sign. We saw some birds down in the wetlands area at the trail head. In fact, I took Mike's bird identification book by mistake. I'll get it back to you Mike, I promise, before Trinity eats it. She ate "Our Daily Bread" a devotional given to me by the church I visited last week. I must say her choices in paper manuals and books are on point. Two weeks ago she ate a hand-out I'd been given called "Sanity". I think her gesture was symbolic in some ways:)

I think this is a Lodge Pole Pine. Not sure what the mountain is called, but highway 285 runs at its base.

Jack Kerouac 50th Anniversary at Tattered Cover

Mike Mulligan and I went down to the LoDo tattered cover to the Jack Kerouac lecture. I read one of Jack Kerouac's famous novels "On The Road" over the summer. This lecture really helped me make sense of some of the things that Kerouac was trying to convey. Also, Ed White, who is "Tim Gray" in the novel was at the lecture. I thought that was really cool.

Union Station in Denver, CO. We walked by the station on our way to and fro the car. I think Amtrak trains stop in Union Station, as well as the local commuter train. In the coming years, Union Station will be rennovated to serve as a hub for the ever expanding "Light Rail" commuter trains.

The finish line!

Here I am, blazing across the finish line! The last leg of the race was completely down-hill. Yeah! I'm not sure how long it took me, but I'm expecting a decent time. Just the feeling of finishing is good for me. I'm competing with myself in this series. When I'm in better shape, I can compete with others