Snowy hike

Amy and I had an overnight getaway to Georgetown this weekend. After dropping the kids with Amy's parents on Friday evening, we spent the night at the charming Rose Street B & B in Georgetown. There was one other couple staying in the house that night, and we had some really engaging conversations with them Friday night and Saturday morning. We far prefer the B & B or hostel setting over the typical motel/hotel for this reason - you have the opportunity to meet great people that you just don't get at a hotel.

Saturday morning we were greeting by some unusually beautiful weather - bright sun shining through a light snowfall with golden aspen leaves and green conifers all around. After a relaxed morning and a fantastic breakfast, we drove up Guanella Pass for a hike to Silver Dollar Lake. Up at this high altitude, the snow was falling. Not the fluffy winter variety of snowflakes, but the autumn ice pellets, driven by the wind. I don't mind the cold and snow - in fact I really enjoy it - and it made for a great hike of a few miles to the lake. On the way down, we spotted a pair of ptarmigan with half summer and half winter plumage. They didn't mind us at all as they slowly hopped from rock to rock on a scree field just yards off the trail. Bring on the winter snows - I'm ready!