Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I Love Fall. I Just Really Do.

Last week The Brain, Mimi, and I took one of the most fantastic road trips I have ever done, to southern Colorado for a visit with our daughter Hannah! We wanted to get out and see her and Mesa Verde before most of the park shuts down for the season.

I seriously could not get over the spectacular beauty of the drive. I'm going to let you in on Colorado's best kept secret. The mountain aspens are only PART of the show. See, we've been conditioned to think that once the high altitude leaves have turned, the whole season is over. But here we are a month later, and seriously, I can not get over the colors we saw for hundreds of miles.


Cottonwoods have always been my favorite tree. But put them behind a train, and there you have my dream vacation idea!



Train ride in the fall.... doesn't that sound amazing!? (But not this train.  It would probably need to be a passenger train.  Just to clarify for any husbands of mine who might be looking for anniversary ideas...)





Are these amazing, or what?  I could NOT stop taking pictures of these trees.





My uberpatient husband even pulled over to let me take this picture!





I just find it amusing when these star-studded towns like Aspen and Telluride try to pretend that they're still unpretentious old mining towns.
They're all  - "See our welcome sign on the falling down shed?  (click to biggify) That's because we're just a little po-dunk town in the middle of nowhere.  Where Oprah lives sometimes.  And where Kate Hudsen regularly pays $12 for a sandwich. And a lift ticket is $75 per day.  Doesn't that happen in ALL old mining towns?"


But it's very pretty, so they get away with it.


Telluride - as seen through the windshield.  Oh, and if you're ever in Telluride, I know a place where you can get a killer Italian Sub, and a seriously good brownie.   (You should pass on the eclairs, though.)





Yes, we found it the park, and Hannah, too!  Though we almost didn't recognize her with her new dark hair!





Mimi and Hannah, and just a few thousand Anasazi spirits.  Except you're not supposed to call them Anasazi anymore.  Ancestral Puebloans is the PC term.




Ancestral Puebloan dwellings as seen from above before we hiked in.




Best picture we took all day.  And it was taken by some 15 year old kid on our tour.


Did I mention  that I could NOT STOP taking pictures of the leaves?
Even though I knew it wouldn't be as pretty through the windshield:





Even through the bugs:





Even with the sun glare spots:





Even out of focus:





Even with the reflection of my purse:




And even with more disgusting bugginess:



(sigh)

I love fall!




Oh, and PS - We actually had Glass Cups in our hotel room! (which you will understand if you follow Hannah's blog)



Oh, and PPS - I forgot to take a comb or brush with me.  So I styled my hair with the hotel blow dryer, a flat iron, and one hairclip.  I'm thinking of adopting this new styling method, though, because I really like the way it turned out.

24 comments:

Laura Lynn said...

Hi! I just ran into your blog. I'm a Fall gal too - love all of your pictures!

Barbaloot said...

Ancestral puebloans? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. There were millions of different Indians and tribes...why can't we distinguish between them?

Okay-now that I'm done with that: it looks like it was a gorgeous trip! I'm loving the fall leaves.

Dave said...

furst!!!! ahahahahahahahahahahahahah

Kristina P. said...

Poor Dave. I hope he doesn't come back and see his dream destroyed.

In other news, I would love to visit some Ancestral Pueblans.

Dave said...

awwwwwwww

/dreams crashing all around

mormonhermitmom said...

Awesome scenery!

Anonymous said...

You and your love of Fall definitely make you your mothers child. There are pages of stuff I love about fall. Love the new styling hair. Looks like you had a great time. Sorry Lizzy couldn't make the trip.

Dave said...

ok, all kidding aside, i am so totally jealous of the scenery on your trip.

it is so gorgeous out there. and the park looks awesome. wow

and congrats on your glass cups. did you have to yell at some deadbeat employee? (jk hannah. you know i was on your side for that one :-) )

CB said...

My brother lives near here but I have only seen this part of the country in summer or winter (Christmas) when we have visited him. I may have to try a fall visit sometime - Your pictures are so beautiful!!!
Glad you got a visit in with your daughter - So fun!

Yvonne said...

Glad you had such a wonderful trip. Amazing pictures. LOL at the comment about The Brain pulling over to let you take a picture. So many of mine are in a moving van.

The family picture is great!!!

Celeste said...

What a fun fall trip! And yes...it was gorgeous and I would have been taking a million pictures too! =)

Yvonne said...

BTW, I can't believe you looked like that without a comb or a brush--AMAZING ; )

Vern said...

one of the things that bugs me about where i live out here is that i completely miss the fall season because there are no mature trees. this year i was determined to get up in the mountains to get my fix, but then my doctor was all, "sorry, gotta make a seventeen foot incision in your gut instead." i'm so bitter!

Emmy said...

Yes, fall is Southern Colorado is something I miss so badly this time of year. We lived in Durango for a few years and there seriously cannot be a better place in the world for fall.
And you can take the train up to Silverton from Durango--so worth it in the fall!

Randi said...

Emmy - I have ALWAYS wanted to ride that train!!

Lee said...

I'm glad you enjoyed the scenery though! It's always nice to take a drive somewhere and actually enjoy the drive part.

Lee said...

I had a sentence before my first one.... seems if it had posted then that first sentence would have made more sense. hummmmmm

Glorious Thoughts said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one that loves to take pictures. I love pictures! Your fall pictures are fantastic. Your family is cute,too.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love those trees too.

What an amazing hike. I love visiting places where ancient people lived...no matter what you call them.

natalie said...

Love your pics. They are post card perfect! I am completely in awe of the trees here in KC. So amazing. Yay fall!!!!

Sue said...

Another amazing drive is the 6 hour two lane drive to Durango. We took Danny his left over tools and junk to clear out our garage and that was one of the most enjoyable trips we've taken. Even though we drove there and back in one day. It was so beautiful my eyes couldn't believe it.

beckers said...

You are making me crazy homesick!!!

And Hannah looks really stunning with the dark hair and the blue, blue eyes!

And you were definitely having a great hair day! (even if you don't consider the missing hair-styling equipment)

Heather said...

Your hair looks AWESOME. And for the record I was going to mention it before I even read your PPS. I want to go to Mesa Verde. Now that the folks have moved I'm sure I'll NEVER get back there.

rocslinger said...

I delivered to Teluride for a year. Picture a large truck parked in the middle of the street and a crazy man pushing a two wheeler (or is that a man pushing a two wheeler like crazy).

I also had a regular run to Durango.

Inspite of the hardships those were my favorite runs.

Ahhhhh. Good times.