Day to day life is quite similar in the fall as it is in the summer. The days are of course shorter and it can be quite chilly. The big excitement is that the fall colors come and the world turns a shimmering gold with deep blue skies and often white, snow-capped peaks.
During the fall we found out where the AMF2 site was going to move. It was down to 3 final candidates: Peruvian Amazon, Dolomites of Italy, and Tasmania in Australia. They ended up picking Tasmania in a place called Cape Grim (aptly named) near to Smithton. So this started what has been a prolonged stress of deciding whether we'd go to Tasmania or stay in CB or go to Antarctica or do something different. It's still very much up in the air as of this writing (5/31). It's too much for me to want to write about here, but anyone interested is welcome to contact me and I'm happy to tell you all about it, and we'd love to hear your thoughts. We have a long pros and cons list going for each place and each decision. But details of Tasmania keep changing, and we don't have the contract yet.
There's a beautiful mtn bike ride, Deer Creek, that connects Brush Creek area with Gothic, so I started getting up real early to commute from there from time to time (about 2-3 hours commute)
9/20-29
Leaves are starting to change to brilliant yellow! Lots of mountain biking. Attended the vinatook festival in CB where they burn the grump. It's an interesting passion style production and has to do with fall harvest and renewal. Wayne from the Oceanic Society visited.
9/30
First significant snow. So beautiful with the white mtns and yellow leaves!
10/2-10/6
Sue came out to visit (as were my parents briefly). We showed her a bit around Crested Butte. Then we did a road trip going over Ohio Pass to see the aspens, then through Montrose and Ouray up and over Red Mountain, Coal Bank, and Molas Passes to check out the aspens eventually arriving in Durango where we stayed at a budget hotel. We then road the Durango-Silverton steam train up to Silverton and back to enjoy the colors. In the evening Elisha and I had dinner with Amy Donahue and her husband (old EPHS and RMNP friend) Early the next morning I did a mtn bike ride in Durango before we headed out to Telluride via Lizard Head Pass. We road the gondolas and Elisha and Sue toured Telluride while I rode my mtn bike. We then managed to take the subie up and over Last Dollar pass and road and fairly rough dirt road between Telluride and Dallas Divide (near Ridgeway.
10/7-10/11
Fall continued with more biking and fall color adventures and a positive covid test
10/12
Frank took me flying in his little 2 person airplane thing! We flew from Gunnison towards CB, but didn't make it to Gothic b/c of some weird winds.
10/12-10/13
Drove over Kebler pass and it's amazing Aspen forests in Gunther. I did a mtn bike ride while Elisha took a walk in the aspens. We then camped over by the Crystal River. The next morning we soaked in Penny Hot Springs (a primitive hot springs) and then drove to Snowmass where I mtn biked. We finished the trip by taking Gunther over Independence Pass
10/18-10/20
We hiked to Conundrum hot springs, a primitive hot springs that is about an 11 mile hike from Gothic over 13,500 foot Triangle Pass. It was a tough hike with some snow over the pass. But totally worth it! We were basically the only ones at the hot springs area and always had the hot springs to ourselves! It's a beautiful setting with high mountains (and a 14er) as the backdrop to an alpine valley in this hot springs pool. Because the weather was rather chilly, we spent a lot of time in the hot springs. So amazing!
10/23
Pretty big snow in Gothic and I hiked up to Copper Lake
10/24-10/28
Some more big snow and we were starting to to xc ski!
1 comment:
Crested Butte in the fall is a mesmerizing canvas of nature's artistry. As the aspen leaves transition from vibrant green to a breathtaking tapestry of golds, reds, and oranges, the town becomes a haven for those seeking the quintessential fall experience.
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