An Omen of Early Autumn - Colorado? - UPDATE 09/03/18

[Thom02099]

This weekend we went up CO 14 west of Fort Collins and stayed at Chambers Lake (USFS CG). Nearby is Larimer CR 103 AKA the Laramie River Road. Since it was a cool/rainy weekend, we decided to explore a bit, as it's been probably 20+ years since I've been on that road. If you have any knowledge of the area, it's quite remote, with access to the Rawah Wilderness Area, and some really huge ranches. Beautiful scenery.

What struck me though was, that on the weekend of August 17-19, there were Aspen already changing. And more than just a few here and there. Enough that they caught my attention as we were driving the valley. Elevation for that area ranges from ~9200 feet to 8,000 feet along the road, with mountains in the 10,000-12,000 feet range. Most of the gold we saw was along the roadway, though there were also some visible at higher elevations.

Heading back up to RMNP in 2 weeks, will be interesting to see if there's any colour change up there yet.

[fanrgs]

We spent the last 9 days in northern New Mexico. The aspen West of Antonito on La Manga Pass were absolutely gorgeous last week. But today we returned on I-25 in a cold rain and snow storm. A few more days like this and the leaves will be gone.

[Busskipper]

profdant139 wrote:
Just got back from a month in Nevada (Great Basin NP), Tetons, Crested Butte, Silverton, Taos, Santa Fe, and Sedona. Mostly boondocking. Lots of photos, lots of adventures, lots of fall color. The blog entries will follow asap, but it'll be a couple of weeks at least till we unpack and dig out from all of the real world stuff we should have been doing but didn't. 😉

If you have never spent September in the high country of the mountain west, you gotta go at least once.

:B - Can't Wait! - :B

[profdant139]

Just got back from a month in Nevada (Great Basin NP), Tetons, Crested Butte, Silverton, Taos, Santa Fe, and Sedona. Mostly boondocking. Lots of photos, lots of adventures, lots of fall color. The blog entries will follow asap, but it'll be a couple of weeks at least till we unpack and dig out from all of the real world stuff we should have been doing but didn't. 😉

If you have never spent September in the high country of the mountain west, you gotta go at least once.

[4runnerguy]

Here's my final report on Colorado color from this weekend. North of US 50 through Salida there are still a very few small patches of yellow down low. In the Sangre de Christo's there was quite a bit of color down in the lower groves. Last weekend was the peak in the Wet Mountains. Lots of families at Lake Isabel this weekend taking it all in. Quite gorgeous although the wind picked up Sunday afternoon so soon everything will be blown off. Now one has to look south to NM to find color.

[ORbiker]

Oregon Santiam Highway on Sunday. It's Fall for sure.



r

[4runnerguy]

Thunder Mountain wrote:
Here in Buena Vista the color is 80-90% gone. Nothing much left up high.

Drove up toward Aspen this weekend (where else to go to see Aspen?) Color up high above town but the trees down low were still green. Rode our bikes up to Maroon Bells. Peak there will probably be the middle of this week. Had heard from several people up there that had come over Independence Pass that most of the Arkansas Valley was already past prime with lots of bare trees.

[mittshel]

Been in the PNW all Summer and anxious to get back to the hot, dry Havasu air and blue sky. Betsy.

[Busskipper]

Rice wrote:

Busskipper wrote:
All this TALK - Could Someone post at least a few Actual IMAGES????

Crested Butte, Colorado, earlier this week:

They just look Magical - Always Yellow - Always Beautiful - Always want to be there :).

Thanks,

[Rice]

Busskipper wrote:
All this TALK - Could Someone post at least a few Actual IMAGES????

Crested Butte, Colorado, earlier this week:

[Busskipper]

Betting they are looking like this;

[Thunder_Mountai]

Here in Buena Vista the color is 80-90% gone. Nothing much left up high.

[fanrgs]

Just got back from a trip to Yellowstone-Cody via the Beartooths and Bighorns. Not much color yet in that area (fewer aspens where we were), but a lot of gorgeous trees along the Willow Creek Pass road (CO 125) between Walden and Granby.

Still too much smoke-haze in North Park to even see the mountains. And sorry, we already have too many photos of aspen-covered mountains, so we just took memories, not photos!

[Thom02099]

Another sign of an early Autumn, which officially started yesterday... Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort fired up their snow guns for the first time yesterday. 8 of them blasting snow on the runs as the temperature has been consistently below 32 degrees overnight. Loveland is reportedly not far behind. No word yet on projected opening day, but they (A-Basin and Loveland) both try for a mid- to late-October opening.

[Busskipper]

All this TALK - Could Someone post at least a few Actual IMAGES????

Not all of us are sitting in the Foothills or the Mountains. - 😞

I just did a WebCam search and there are many Places that still have Little Color, some that are getting Pretty Good but few that have Exploded with the Gold Colorado is Known for.

Something like THIS.

TIA,