family time looking at fall colors…

If you have been following me here for a while, you know that our family loves to go riding and seeing all the sites and views that our area has to offer.   Being in the mountains, you can drive the same scenic route and see something differently every trip.  However, I think my all-time favorite time of the year going riding, is when the leaves are changing.  This is our 2nd fall in Colorado and I was so excited that we finally got to see the leaves this year, since we missed them last year.

We have driven the Guanella Pass before, and  have fallen in love with it.  It is a beautiful drive that has many trails that you can hike.  It also has camping sites all along the drive that you can use.  We are hoping to go back camping here, soon!

To get to Guanella Pass, we drive to the Georgetown, Colorado side and enter there.  It is an old mining town that has a beautiful historic Main Street that you can walk and look at.  You will drive right down Main Street to get to the road that takes you on Guanella Pass.

Before you do start driving on Guanella Pass, be sure to stop at the Georgetown Visitor Center. It is filled with a lot of history and some of the items that they have in there are amazing.

There is this park area, with a lake (I can not remember the name of it), that my kids love going to. They enjoy throwing rocks in the water and climbing on the rocks. There are picnic tables, grills and rock fire pits that you can use.

Up at the Guanella Pass Summit, there are a couple of different pull-offs that has trails you can hike in several different directions.  By the time we had made it to the summit, it was getting late, so we didn’t hike.

It was just so beautiful, standing there and looking all around at the gorgeous mountains and blue sky that God created.  It just takes my breath away.

I love that my kids enjoy taking trips like this with us.  I remember going on drives with my parents and it brings back such wonderful memories for me.  We leave the electronics off (phones and tablets), and take this time to just talk and be with each other.

The mountains have a little snow on top, from the previous evening.  While it rained in the valleys, there was snow at the top.  The white snow reminds me of white frosting just sitting on top.

While the higher you go, the less trees and shrubs you see, the mountains are still alive.

While we did see a lot of beautiful color and scenery, the one thing we didn’t see on this trip, was wildlife.  I am thinking they were off in the trees hiding, since there was a lot of traffic out at this time.

I think this was the last weekend that the leaves will have color for this year.  It is turning cooler and the leaves are slowly falling to the ground.  This pass will be closing in the next couple of weeks and won’t open until the last snow clears in the spring time.

While I will miss this place during the winter, I am excited about the other places that we will be able to visit.  The state of Colorado is full of so much history and has so many unique and beautiful places to visit.   The hard part will be choosing what area we will visit next.

Do you go on family trips?  What places bring back wonderful memories for you?  I would love for you to share them with me!