The White River National Forest was the next stop...the popular Maroon Bells Recreation Area. We were thinking about the Buckskin Pass, but decided on just Crater Lake seeing we had some other stops in the afternoon.
Well, Aspen is called Aspen for a reason. And they were in full-fall color. So very beautiful. The Crater Lake trail took us through the heart of the Aspen groves.
The trail was maybe 3-1/2 miles round trip, and maybe 500' elevation gain. The lake was only a puddle, which was a disappointment...but, did it really matter? This hike was about the aspens.
Seas of gold... On the trail...on the highways...Beautiful Colorado...
We stopped a couple to take our picture with the famous Maroon Bells in the background. Turns out he was an Illinois Alumni now living in Colorado. We met A LOT of people that use to live in Illinois...HMMM...
After our morning hikes, we drove the Independence Pass Highway...walked the streets of Leadville (visited the official race store of the Leadville 100), and then walked the streets of Breckenridge. Really, we were quite happy everywhere we went.
2 comments:
Love walking thru the alleys of golden aspen.
Hope you're not surprised about meeting so many IL folks who got smart and moved west. ;)
It really is beautiful there at this time of year!!!
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