october in colorado

Glenwood Canyon, CO

Autumn colors 

Aspens in the Rocky Mountains. Southern Colorado, 1979. Rolleiflex SL35-E with 50 mm Zeiss Planar on Fuji film.

Also available on Unsplash

Colorful Colorado 🇺🇸

📸 by Ryan Ditch @ryanditchphoto

Amidst all the busyness of life, make space for God.

Photo: Estes Park, Colorado

Nature, with its beauty and grace, taught me to embrace the stillness within and find peace amidst life's constant chaos. It shows me that sometimes the most profound conversations unfold in the gentle language of silence. I’m forever grateful every time I experience a tranquil moment that helps remind me of the delicate magic that exists all around us. 🌿✨

Colorado is so beautiful

Colorado. October 2022.

Sunset over the Gore Range

aspens and evergreens 🌲🍂

Had to fucking pull over bc I was driving holy shit,

The beauty of Colorado foothills storms

colorado, usa

Things You Can Do While Hiking To Help Upkeep Our Trails

At some point in our lives, we have gone outside to ride our bikes and play in the dirt or the mud. We pull the grass from its roots or we pull out weeds. That is part of being young. We take things for granted.

As we get older those outings with friends turn into hikes on major trails across our city or our state. We do it because we love nature. Being outside is relaxing and it can be peaceful.

But see there is a problem here in Colorado, and most likely in various other places across the nation and world. In Colorado, there are the go-to things for people. Everyone wants to climb a fourteener when they are here. If you are not up for a fourteener then you are still likely to gallivant around our trails.

I say you, and I say ours because Colorado is home. Unfortunately, there has been a rather large increase of tourism in our home. Whatever the reason, people still wish to have the Colorado experience, meaning going for a hike or mountain bike ride.

I personally have 110 percent no issue with people going out and being active in our mountains, and along our trails. What I do have an issue with is when people disregard that us Coloradoans thoroughly enjoy our trails. We want to keep them nice without destroying the nature around.

You see when people come to visit they go bike or walk. No problem but yet, what has happened is there are large groups of people - since no one likes to walk the path because they may be walking behind others this may cause them to go off the trail and destroy the plants near the trail. When bikes go off trial it impacts the dirt making the Earth unable to consume a seed to plant a new tree.

Trampling the plants could mean damaging root systems causing plants to die. So here is the thing. Colorado floods during spring run-off sometimes, and the plants, even small ones, still help prevent water flow. The plants will absorb water into the Earth taking some of it away. Our spring run-off can be intense sometimes. Nature helps protect the cities and towns.

It does not just stop with foot traffic, though. People litter and deface trails. If someone takes their dog(s) with him or her; they carry doggie poo bags. No, there are not trashes always available but that does not mean leave the bag sitting on the trail. The feces is biodegradable but could cause bacterial problems, thus the doggie poo bags. Do not leave them on the side of the trail. People will also leave their lunches in Wal-Mart bags, or broken glass just lying around.

It does not just stop with the trash to be left behind. The worst that I have seen is people who spray paint trees or rocks. The chemicals in the cans of paint could seep into the tree, or if left on the surface where it can poison an animal. I have also seen people use paintball guns and shoot the trees and rocks. And what for, fun? There are game places, specific places where you can play with paintball guns or spray paint. One of which is not on the trees along hiking trails.

A website called “Colorado Come To Life” has information for volunteer groups. These groups go out and help maintain trails for further use, and they all take on different places. Along with helping to clean up there is another website called “Back Country Attitude” which teaches people how to go out, and hike or bike and essentially not leave a trace. All by preserving, protecting, and abiding by the rules.

Next time you see a sign that says the path is not a trail. Do not go down it.

(originally written by me on June 27, 2016)

austinpedersen__

“Joyful are those who obey God with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil and they walk only in His paths.”-- Psalm 119: 2-3

Photo: Estes Park, Colorado

Some afternoons feel like a warm embrace from the past, like falling asleep on your grandmother’s couch during the lazy days of summer. You’re left with nothing but the comfort of the cushions beneath you and the gentle warmth of the sun on your skin as the world dissolves into a hazy dream. Caught in the sweet embrace of the past and the present these moments feel like they could stretch on forever, suspended in time like a drop of honey that refuses to fall. Even as you gently wake up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes, it’s hard to tell if you’ve been asleep for minutes or an entire lifetime. The memory of those sun-kissed afternoons always seem to linger, leaving you with such a sense of wonder, as if you’ve finally glimpsed a fragment of something eternal and infinite.