Bill's Views on Most Everything

The seasons they are a-changing.  Back when I was a hunter, dove season started on the first of September.  Here in eastern Colorado, the first cold front of the fall happens about that time.  Hunters hope it comes after the first, because the cool down sends the resident doves south.  The birds available are migratory birds, with different behavior and less numbers.   The Japanese Beetles also  burrow into the lawn.

I no longer hunt, but I miss our neighbor city doves and their calls as soon as they leave.  It’s harvest time as well.  We didn’t do well with squash this year, but the kitchen is full of tomatoes.  Tomato salads, tomato sauce, and tomato soup.  Tomato soup is the easiest, throw some tomato sin the Vita-Mix, add whatever zip you want, put the milk in, and whomp it up.  The Vita-Mix has enough power to heat the soup.  Carol makes a great baked frittata with sliced tomatoes on top.  .  

The other  wonderful thing about fall is the color.  Our maple tree leaves are getting a fringe here in mid-September.  In some parts of the high country, the Quakies are reaching their peak about now.  Peak season for the yellow and gold display varies around the state, so there are several weeks of viewing available. 

My favorite area near Denver is Squaw (The USGS needs to rename this pass) Pass between Evergreen and Echo Lake on the Mt. Evans road.  From the summit the view to the north is spectacular.  One can get a feeling for the sheer expanse of the Rocky Mountains.  Probably the most intense area for yellow trees is Kebler Pass from Crested Butte to Somerset, near Paonia.  There is good camping in the area, and fewer people. 

Probably the most popular color viewing drive from Denver is the Peak-to-Peak highway from Clear Creek Canyon to Estes Park.  I make the trip every year, usually coming up one of the canyons and back down BigThompson Canyon.  I drove it over the weekend.  There are some aspens, but not a lot.  I think there were more people in Estes Park than quakies along the Peak to Peak.   

I am so lucky to be a Colorado native.  The Colorado Plateau, with the red oak brush (Gambel Oak) to the cottonwoods in the canyons and the hardwoods in the towns, you go east into the mountains with more brush and those quakies.  Out on the plains, the creek and river bottoms have a display, a relief from the relentless tan of the prairie. 

I plan a prairie trip soon to go to the North Platte, Chimney Rock, Scott’s Bluff, and Fort Laramie, important spots on the Oregon Trail.  Our history is more recent compared to the old country, but there is a lot of it, much of it tragic.   

Fall is, to me, the best time for travel.  Last year it was I-80 from New York to Denver with all that eastern hardwood color, this year it is running around my home country, bounded by Ely, Nevada; Winslow, Arizona; Albuquerque; Springfield, Colorado; North Platte, Nebraska; Ten Sleep, Wyoming; and Vernal, Utah.  More or less.

Next week we are headed to New York for a visit.  Central Park will be pretty.