The Goodrums

We've actually had a fall this year - such a welcome change. Love this season with all its brilliant colors. Our tree has lost nearly all its leaves by now - but it's so gorgeous when changing. A few snapshots of the brilliance...

I used to think we had the most boring bushes on the planet in our front yard until fall arrived. I don't know that I've ever seen so many simultaneous colors in a single plant.

We had a leisurely Saturday morning, rolling out of bed somewhat late and padding around the house in our pajamas for a while. About 10am, we starting discussing what we should do with the rest of the day. Michael suggested that we might take a drive out through the Rockies to see the changing leaves - a sight Colorado is famous for. We've been amazed at how many people we know that haven't even been out to see the leaves change, even after living here for many years. I had talked about wanting to see it this year, but figured it probably wouldn't happen given the chaos of our lives lately. I must say that I love having the flexibility (when we're not crazy busy) to decide at noon to go to the mountains and to be able to jump in the car at moment's notice and go. Both our stage of life and the place we live contribute. I sure can't argue.

So, we left shortly after noon, driving up I-70 a couple miles to Central City and heading north to Estes Park. We then drove through Rocky Mountain National Park and back through Winter Park. I think we managed to hit all the major Colorado "parks" in a single day. We were home in time to watch a movie before bed.

The scenery was incredible. We stopped and took pictures on a couple occasions. We were treated to some pretty incredible views of Long's Peak and got to check out the the hiking route from afar. The keyhole looks like it could be a bit intimidating (as it's rumored to be) but it's good to be able to prepare yourself mentally (as much as you can planted safely on the ground). I think we're inspired to tackle the peak next season or so.

Amazingly, the traffic wasn't too bad, aside from the "Elk Fest" that we happened upon in RMNP (at least admission to the park was free). People drive/act like idiots around animals (see also Yellowstone, Canadian Rockies, etc.). Again, at least we didn't pay $20 admission to sit in unmoving traffic.

Overall, well worth the trip.

A couple picture previews:




































View more here.

Stunning sunset this evening...

Having just returned from Houston, we have been enjoying phenomenal August weather. We turned off our a/c while out of town for 10 days and returned to a house that was 64 degrees - in August! If you were looking at the mountains, you would swear it was January by how much snow they have (meanwhile, Denver has gotten ridiculous amounts of rain for here - something like 2 1/2 inches in 3 days!). The highs here haven't exceeded 75 since we returned on Saturday evening. What a contrast from H-town!

More updates on those adventures to come (if I can pull myself away from the Olympics for a few minutes :)...

Another beautiful Colorado sunset.

In the month of August, we have had a rainbow essentially every other night. We have probably seen twenty rainbows. They are beautiful - bright and pronounced. Most are full semi-circles and many are double rainbows.

Michael took me on a downtown date not too long ago. Here is a rainbow over Denver's downtown.

Note: Sorry for the poor quality - all I had with me was the cell phone camera.















Rainbow over downtown















Rainbow over Union Station (with Michael)

From a few weeks back...

The pictures really don't do it justice. The colors were amazing and the way light was hitting the mountains was spectacular.

The view in the mornings

Looking SSW out of our bedroom window

The picture looks out over the bluffs and open space right by our house. Sunsets here are beautiful. The picture doesn't quite do them justice.