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| Changing Colors |
Although it is just the last week in August, autumn is slowly
coming to the high country. Low bushes
and grasses have already begun their inexorable descent into winter hibernation. Even some of the lofty aspen near timberline
have shifted a shade or two. Certainly,
days are getting a little shorter and night-time temperatures are slipping
lower. Soon the forests here will be a
riot of color: orange, yellow, and many shades of red. Aspen, nearly everyone’s favorite in this
part of the country, will exhibit all of those ranges of color once they reach
their full bloom. Additionally, the
small rodents display behavior foreshadowing the coming of fall. The chipmunks and squirrels while normally…well…
squirrelly, are nearly frantically scurrying around making last minute collections
for their winter caches.
We will soon be leaving Colorado for New Mexico and then back home
to Texas. We have begun squeezing in as
many outings as possible since our time is so short. On Friday, we took a day trip into Durango,
fred’s boyhood home. The town has grown
significantly (some 16+%) in the last decade and now is close to 17,000. Of course, the county is much larger at
52,000+--Colorado’s fifteenth most populated county. Growth equals change and Durango has changed
significantly. Mostly, it has become a
mecca for touristas and rich folks who want a piece of the mountains all to
themselves. People always scoff when I
say that, but a quick perusal of Durango’s multi-list will show most houses
around a half million or more in a very down real estate market. Our home in Texas would cost more than twice
what it is worth (not necessarily what we would get in the present market) in
Durango and would have none of the amenities.
In any event, we walked Main Avenue which on Monday hosted Stage I
of the USA Pro Challenge bicycle race.
By the way, the final stage of that race will be in Denver today (Sunday).
Main is loaded with the usual tourista
curio and T-shirt shops. There are lots
of places selling turquoise jewelry, ostensibly made by Native Americans. Of course, the suburbs have all of the big
box stores where you can by the stuff you really need. We had an excellent lunch at Carvers Brewery,
one of the many such establishments occupying downtown.
Los Pinos River is one of the drainages that supplies Vallecito
Reservoir. It also has a great trail
that follows it north into the Weminuche Wilderness area. Saturday found us making our way up that gorgeous
valley for a pleasant day hike. Well, it
would have been more pleasant had it not been a favorite for day tripping
equestrians and overnight back-packing and horse-pack trips. We used to describe motorcycling as a
olfactory experience because you are in the open air and smell everything that
has an odor anywhere near your ride.
This hike was an olfactory experience, too. It was mostly like what we imagine living in
a stable must be like before you become accustomed to the aroma of hot horse pucky
and sweaty livestock.
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| Los Pinos Trailhead |
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| View Rom the Trail |
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| At the Wilderness Boundry |
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| Los Pinos River |
Aside from the fragrance of the trail, the forest was absolutely
stunning. It was an easy trail without
the normal high elevation gain one usually finds on these hikes. The Los Pinos River is a beauty and it is
still carrying quite a bit of water for this time of year. On a Saturday, it should have been crawling
with anglers, but we only saw two on our entire hike. There is high moisture along the trail and in
the surrounding forest due to heavy winter snows resulting in a wide variety of
fungi. They come in many shapes and
sizes; and, presumably, lethality. The
first few miles of the trail borders a ranch called Granite Peaks Ranch. This is a very beautiful 565-acre ranch that
has three miles of the Los Pinos running through it and the setting is to die
for. Curiosity, being what it is, took
us to Google and a quick search showed that the ranch in its entirety is for sale
for a mere $24,000,000. Wrap it up,
Jack; I want that place.
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| Part of Granite Peaks Ranch from the Trail |
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| Fungi |
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Mas Fungi
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