Autumn 2012 in Summit County, Colorado

It has been a drop-dead gorgeous, bee-yoo-ti-ful, autumn this year. Summit County includes the towns or resorts of Silverthorne, Dillon, Keystone, Frisco, Breckenridge, and Copper Mountain. There’s a lot of hiking, biking, boating, et al in the summer. Winter there is skiing at Breck, Keystone, Copper, A-Basin, Loveland to the east, and Vail/Beaver Creek to the west.

Teaser

My faithful Westie by Lake Dillon, 10 Sep. 2012.

Teaser 2

I’ve been taking a SLEWWW of pictures since the colors on the aspens started turning in early September.  We have a short autumn in Colorado and as I write on 29 September the leaves are starting to fade and blow away as light snow appears above the treelines on the surrounding mountains.

I will try to put as many photos as I can on here, in gallery mode.  CLICK TO ENLARGE the photos that may intrigue you, scroll through for awhile using your left or right arrow cursor keys, then use your ESC key or click the X in the upper left corner to return to this page.

You will note that half way through the batch of pictures I discovered VIVID COLOR mode on my camera (Canon Elph 100HS).  I think you’ll be able to tell which photos have enhanced colors and which do not.

**Too pooped to make it up this time. A pic back near the start of the trail.

**Looking across Frisco toward Lake Dillon to the east.

**I can almost see Russia from my trail!

**The trail is about 1 1/4 miles and rises about 1300′. NOT enough switchbacks either.

**I haven’t hike much in awhile. The short but steep Mt. Royal trail behind Frisco is a good warmup.

**Autumn comes and goes fast in Colorado. 9 Sep. the leaves are just starting to turn.

Jumping to 17 September, a few evening shots.

** 17 Sep. now. Evening shots, a bit hazy.

** First snow on the Ten Mile Range near Breckenridge. It doesn’t last, but skiing soon!

** I’m a sucker for clouds. Still the eve of 17 Sep.

18 September, biking up Eagle’s Nest/Three Peaks in Silverthorne:

**1999 Specialized Stumpjumper Comp. In excellent condition due to LIGHT USE!

**Still lots of green but the yellow is coming on strong.

Teaser 2

**A large stand of aspens blanket the hillside across the valley.

Now THAT’S a golf course.

19 September.  Finally made it up the Mt. Royal Trail.  As I’ve noted it ascends from about 9100′ to 10,400′.  The trail is about 1.25 miles long according to my GPS and not nearly enough switchbacks!

**The highway below is I-70 leaving Frisco westward toward Officer’s Gulch and Copper Mountain.

**I left this picture in because I couldn’t believe how great the focus was on the ROCK!

20-21 September.  Dawn at the condo. Every morning I wakeup to this view of Buffalo and Red Mountain.  I never get tired of it.  “I can see my bicycle from my living room!”  (I can see Russia from my house.  Nevermind.)

25-30 September. Next are a zillion or so pictures, many of which I discovered VIVID COLOR mode on my camera. Highly unnatural, just like many photos I see at crafts fairs, but they’re fun. (Reminder: CLICK TO ENLARGE the photos that may intrigue you, scroll through for awhile using your left or right arrow cursor keys, then use your ESC key or click the X in the upper left corner to return to this page.)

**I read that Lake Dillon is down around 18 feet this autumn. That is a LOT of acre-feet of water.

Had enough?  I have.  What happens when the leaves blow off the aspens?  Christmas trees in the forest:

Thank you for viewing.