A Beautiful Bluebird Day

A little bit of color still in the Aspens

snowy peaks

the remains of the beautiful flowers we had this summer

these horses greeted us at the gate that opens onto the trail

East River Valley with Teocalli mountain in the background

finally made it across the daunting bit of water crossing the road. I had my water shoes and pole this time! This picture makes it look like a mud hole, but the water was rushing and too deep for just tennis shoes.

White Mountain in the background

The trail literally ended right here at this fence.

my sweetie

Whetstone Mountain in the background

my favorite coffee place here with a little fall color in the background

A snow plug this summer kept us from going this far

Emerald Lake

We scared up a few deer on the way home

the back side of Crested Butte with snow already filling the runs

A little snow dust on the mountain

We arrived here late yesterday afternoon to a beautiful blue sky. We had no idea that it had been snowing just that morning. We had some repair work done since I left in August and needed to check on it before guests began arriving soon. Today we slept a little later than usual as we had a very early morning yesterday. We decided to hike the Brush Creek trail simply because it's a fairly easy trail for a first day at high altitude and because Danny had never walked it before. In the summer, this trail is gorgeous with tons of flowers. In the fall, well, there isn't so much to look at besides the East River Valley. It was a good walk though and we managed to wade through the washout on the road that Hallie and I had not been able to do. The water was down some from this summer, but recent snows weren't helping much. Danny actually jumped the water and barely got his shoes wet. I had to put on my water shoes and wade across. I'm not fond of jumping over water. I usually land in it! After our approximately 8 mile walk, we drove around to the other side of the valley and located a trail head that Danny wants to try on Thursday. We spent a little time in town at my favorite coffee shop, Camp4Coffee and met a delightful lady that gives private ski lessons. We got her number in case we need it in the future. She's from Houston so I felt like I had something in common with her, if that really matters. Danny found out that the neighborhood dogs think that anyone who sits down with a cup of coffee outside of Camp4 is free game for playtime. He played "throw the stick" with some random golden retriever that took a liking to him. We drove some more after our little rest up Gothic Road to see if we could get past the "snow plug" that blocked Schofield Pass most of the summer. We succeeded and made it up to the pass as well as a side trip down to Emerald Lake. The light was fading and the color on the lake was not as pretty as the last time we went. We were surprised that a lot of work has been done on the road and it doesn't seem near as treacherous as the last time we drove it. We watched The Help at the local theater after supper and then came home to see a porcupine in the neighbor's yard!

Water, View and Waterfalls

Washington Gulch

This photo just screams "The Sound of Music" to me

Travis and Kids at Washington Gulch

Danny and I are going to come back and check out that trail to the left.

Hallie and Noah at Washington Gulch

Travis saw a cross pounded into the upper tree trunk

Travis and kids at the Upper Spillway Falls

Danny at Spillway Falls

Water shoes on and splashing at the Falls

Lower Spillway Falls. A LOT more water than last year.

Kings Crown

The view from the old Lake Irwin lodge

The old Lake Irwin Lodge

The wildflowers are still in bloom, but not as plentiful as early in the summer

Lake Irwin way down below

It may not look like it, but Noah is
actually sitting on a ledge down below.

Danny, Noah, Travis and his kids went white water rafting in the morning. When they came back, we packed sack lunches and set out for the day. First stop was lunch at Washington Gulch. This was the first time we had seen it on a sunny day. It was still just as beautiful. Next stop...Spillway Falls at Lake Irwin. This was a huge hit as everyone put on their water shows and played in the pool of the waterfall. Then we got a little adventurous and set out to find a new trail. After missing the trail head, then finding it, then hiking until we were tired, we decided to turn back and tackle that trail on another trip.

Judd Falls 2

The scenery is GORGEOUS out to the trail head

walking in and out of Aspens. The undergrowth has gotten very lush

Monkshead is everywhere, standing tall with their dark purple hoods

Mariposa Lily unfurling

Dwarf Blueberry putting on fruit

Crested Butte in the distance

Northern Bedstraw

Judd Falls

Silly pic for Travis's kids

and a cute one

Hallie and Noah at the Falls

and another one

another view of the Falls

Mariposa Lily

I think this is Golden Aster...a member of the Sunflower family

I love going back to trail where I have been before. There's something about knowing what's around the next corner that's comforting to me. Danny, his brother Travis, all three of Travis's kids, and Hallie's fiance Noah came in today. Travis is a pilot and flew them all in, bring Noah along as a surprise for Hallie. By the time we picked everyone up, had lunch at Garlic Mike's, went to the grocery store and Walmart, we only had a couple of hours before dinner. Danny knew we could make this trail pretty easy for first day altitude, so off we went. The Mariposa Lillies have come out on this trail since I walked it last so I was thrilled. Travis's kids a lot of pent up energy and Danny allowed them to go ahead of us at their pace as long as they could see us. This worked out really well and I was glad noone fell and hurt themselves along the way.