Color of Leaves

[Gilligan]

Hi MCL!  I'm actually from Rochester!

[joshblakebran]

Honestly....the pictures don't do them justice...but I thought you might enjoy them since you aren't seeing a lot of color yet...I was just chatting with Mary from the Wilderness and she said she didn't think there would be a lot of color down there this year...I think she said it was too dry (surprising as it seems like you get more rain than we do)...Anyway, glad you were able to enjoy the pictures...

[eagle1]

Being that I'm from Colorado, nothing like when the aspens change. It is so beautiful! Nothing better than a drive through the mountains in Colorado. I think it is one of the best places for leaf changes personally. Makes me miss it! Especially in Silverado/Durango on the train!

[Joy]

Oh the aspens in Colorado are brilliant. In those pics from Josh, you see the tree colors in clusters--that's 'cause an aspen grove grows from a single seedling; if you were to look at the earth in a cutaway, you'd see that all those trees share a root system, so what you see above-earth is more like visible branches than individual trees. An aspen grove "clonal colony" is considered a single living organism, so there is a grove in Utah called Pando that is considered the largest/heaviest single living organism on earth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree) It's all really quite interesting to learn about.

[rubedugans]

Where in CO was that Josh?
I spend a week in Breckenridge every year but it is in the summer, and unfortunately the colors are not that vibrant. DO not get me wrong, the colors are still beautiful with the green aspens with white trunks, but never that yellow, it is absolutely beautiful.

[cheesehead57]

Josh...your pictures are beautiful.Before we discovered SDC/Branson, we used to go camping up near Rocky MT. National Park in early Summer and in Fall when the trees were in color. We  always went horseback riding in Fall and could hear the elk bugle and if we were lucky ride into a herd... our friend from S.Dak. brought the horses, so it was easy to ride bareback into the elk herds or in with mule deer  just after the sun went down. Miss those days....but like SDC too.

[MCLFLN]

I am on 44 West now...heading your way SDC!

[joshblakebran]

Where in CO was that Josh?
I spend a week in Breckenridge every year but it is in the summer, and unfortunately the colors are not that vibrant. DO not get me wrong, the colors are still beautiful with the green aspens with white trunks, but never that yellow, it is absolutely beautiful.

Sorry it's taking me so long to get back to you...We took the pictures in the Cuchara area and in the Wet Mountain area. If you know where Trinidad, Walsenberg, Pueblo, Canon City, and Salida is, it's in that area. One of the prettier places in the state is in the Cottonwood Pass area between Buena Vista and Gunnison/Crested Butte...I'm sure the Breckenridge area is pretty this time of year as well (I have a conference in July in Breckenridge every year and love that area of Colorado)...Really anywhere in the mountains of Colorado is pretty this time of year...

[joshblakebran]

Josh...your pictures are beautiful.Before we discovered SDC/Branson, we used to go camping up near Rocky MT. National Park in early Summer and in Fall when the trees were in color. We  always went horseback riding in Fall and could hear the elk bugle and if we were lucky ride into a herd... our friend from S.Dak. brought the horses, so it was easy to ride bareback into the elk herds or in with mule deer  just after the sun went down. Miss those days....but like SDC too.

I got my Bachelor's at UNC in Greeley, Colorado which is just down the road from Rocky Mountain National Park...We loved driving Trail Ridge road and also going to hear the elk bugle...

[rubedugans]

I love Gunnison. I spent about a week at Western State CO College for a camp with my athletes and loved it there.  We went on many hikes there, and daily runs which showed much of the scenery. Crested Butte was enjoyable, and in a way similar to any ski town in the area in CO. Breck is a bit more touristy, but has some great hikes within about 20-30 minutes.

[joshblakebran]

Yeah the Gunnison area is neat...My son went to the Team Prep running camp there this summer...I think he eventually wants to attend Western State and be part of the cross country and track team...

[joshblakebran]

Being that I'm from Colorado, nothing like when the aspens change. It is so beautiful! Nothing better than a drive through the mountains in Colorado. I think it is one of the best places for leaf changes personally. Makes me miss it! Especially in Silverado/Durango on the train!

The Durango area is very pretty...Did you travel the million dollar highway?

[eagle1]

Sure did! I've been everywhere there (lived there 36 years). Now that I've been away for a few years, I now really want to come back to visit sometime soon. I was there so long and did everything/been every place that I was bored....I know, how could I get bored? Guess cause I was raised in Deer Creek Canyon in the mountains so seemed not such a big deal at the time.