Colorado color tour

Ahh…fall. The perfect weekend for a driving tour. We had a gorgeous fall day on Saturday and our original plan was to drive up to Boulder for the Fall Fest that was going on and then take a little color tour around Evergreen. I really wanted to take the motorcycle, but we wanted to do a longer, more scenic route and Ryan knew I’d get a sore back shortly into our trip and it wouldn’t be as enjoyable for either of us. So we reluctantly got into the car. (side note: my back started hurting halfway into our car trip…yeah, my husband is a very smart man).

Our route started by taking the Lariat Loop – mentioned several times before – up through Morrison, Idledale, Kittredge and then into Evergreen. We didn’t see a whole lot of color yet, so once we got father into Evergreen and noted the Mt. Evans sign, we looked at each other and said “let’s do it!” – and took a little detour, making our way up the 14,240 mountain on “the highest paved road in North America.” Yes, it’s higher than Pikes Peak. And I think it may be even prettier. You’ll see what I mean from the photos.

Definitely the best decision of the day. What a gorgeous drive! Not only did we see the aspens in all their gold glory, but also in some rusty oranges and orange-reds which is uncommon. Those colors spattered among the deep greens of the evergreen trees made for a beautiful fall palette – surprising to see in Colorado. In fact, we were told by a local couple that the aspens were a special shade of oranges this year caused from the heat and they likely wouldn’t be this color again any time soon. So apparently we got a great year – and weekend (since fall lasts for about three weeks here) – for fall colors…nice!

And let’s not forget the colors mixed with the majestic mountain backdrop and the beautiful sights on our drive to [nearly] the summit (the 4-mile road to the top was closed for the season). In a word: God. I just don’t know how you can look at beauty like that and not see God’s hand in it.

Anyway, since words cannot adequately describe, I’ll try to give you a visual through some of our snapshots. Obviously these can’t give you the full effect, but I still think you’ll find them to be quite spectacular.

After our trip up Mt. Evans, we decided it was too late to go to Boulder, so we stopped in Idaho Springs for a late lunch at a good, but very slow-paced, restaurant called Mangia. While Ryan waited for the bill, I meandered around my new favorite boutique – The Wild Grape. It had really fun home decor items and gifts. And I love their tagline: Unique Gifts & Selfish Necessities. Aaand, I ended up buying a couple ceramic birds for the baby’s room. Even though we have nothing picked out yet and really don’t even know the theme, I couldn’t resist! Mama bird and baby bird were too cute.

After our little excursion, we headed back home so we could relax for a bit before our night out at the “Glitter in the Gardens” gala put on by the Foothills Art Center. I’d done some design work for one of the directors there and my compensation was four tickets to the gala, so we invited some new friends who are also art-minded – Nathan (illustrator & graphic designer) and Kelsey (Creative Memories queen). The center was decorated beautifully and we had a great time checking out the watermedia artwork and sampling the appetizers and desserts with them. There was also a silent auction, and Ryan and I were tempted to sign up for the Hawaiian Getaway for a babymoon treat, but thought better of it. We do have lots of miles to use though, hmm…

Anyway, after a great night of food and art appreciation, the four of us headed back to our place to get to know each other better before calling it a night.

So that’s all I’ll say about our weekend until my next post which will cover our Sunday activities and of course, my 16 week baby bump!

Falling into fall,
Laura