Leaf Peeping Near Evergreen Colorado

When I was young Texas girl, I would dream of visiting the East Coast to navigate the winding roads of the amber, canary, and crimson leaves as Fall kissed Summer farewell. By the time I was 31, my dreams came true. Shad and I were pregnant with our first child and the life that was growing in my belly paralleled the seed that began to grow in my heart for Fall.

My eyes filled with wonder and amazement as each turn of the road offered even more beauty than the last. It was breath taking. I wanted everyone I knew to experience this gift of Autumn, especially the family that Shad and I were creating . That trip to the East Coast left me with the thirst of more.

A few years and one more child later, Shad and I felt the pull to follow the thirst for more, and less. More of living in God’s country and less screen time. We wanted to change our family’s landscape and create a space for our children, and ourselves, to run, discover, and have opportunity to experience a native habitat like no other. We desired for our family to crave less “stuff” and embrace more life.

Since moving to Colorado, specifically Evergreen, our thirst was quenched. Every season offers special liberal gifts to store in the heart. Winter gives us a playground prime for local skiing, backyard snow shoeing, and ice skating on our sweet small town lake. Summer offers late nights over the camp fires, deck parties with neighbors, and hikes that take you to the top of the world. But Fall. Oh! Fall. You bring the greatest endowment to me all year.

We may not have the crimson leaves to ponder, but we are offered canary and amber that remind us of our brilliant summer sunsets and the spectacular morning sunrise that often wake us from the most sound sleep we have ever experienced.

This past leaf peeping trip delivered as usual. I surprised the kids on a Friday morning after their school work was complete and said we were headed to Georgetown to see the leaves shine. It was a perfect morning. There was a crispness in the air that nipped at our noses that drove us to bundle up in our fleece and light jackets.  We packed lunches and snacks, piled in the car, and headed straight to the golden hills of Colorado.

Georgetown is only about a 30 minute drive from Evergreen with views of the Rockies the entire way. Once in Georgetown, we stopped at my favorite coffee shop to warm my bones. The barista has a son the same age as our youngest and they love to play anytime we stop there. Gotta love small town living. The older two kiddos begged for an ice cream to “give them something to do’ while rolling over Guanella pass, so we walked over to the ice cream shop to fill up.

We piled back in the car and headed through town and up Guanella Pass. The windows were rolled down and the music was softly playing as we gazed at the beauty of the Aspen leaves at their peak. It dawned on me that we were witnessing the leaves’ death. That their death was so incredibly beautiful that it attracted so many of us to witness. To witness the end of their life. How they know that in order for new life to be created, they must die to make room. It was just so poetic. How death could be so life giving.

And just past that thought, one of the older kids pointed out the “rock”. This rock is more like a huge boulder the kids sit upon each year when we go camping every summer. On the early mornings, they would perch upon their pedestal and play games with each passing, and seldom, car headed to Bierstadt, an easy fourteener.  They reminisced of the games they would play…”Guess the next color of car, how many cars in one minute, and what type of car is coming according to the sound?”

Then they traveled further down memory lane and recalled how much they love hiking the nearby trails and seeing wildlife prints (aka bear prints). The retelling of funny stories of previous camping trips had all of us roll with laughter.  We jumped out of the car here and there when we just had to immerse ourselves in the color, sit to hear the river run,  and the leaves rustle in the wind. The gusts blew the canary leaves off their home branches and trickled down to the forest floor to create a rug of pure gold.

This trip reminded me of our ‘Why”. Why we moved here in the first place: less screen time and more nature. Our kids are creating a blueprint of life in their hearts as we live here. They are absorbing how to pace themselves, how to stop and watch the leaves fall, and how to appreciate what God has made for us to enjoy. We pray they never take God’s country for granted. We pray that they will continue to play, and hopefully, stay in Colorado. That they will raise their families in the same area and show their kids the backyard they grew up in.

Such peace overwhelmed me. A peace knowing they are living a life that is a bit slower paced and full of inspiration. It’s an answer to prayer.  The seed that began to grow those years ago on the East Coast led us to the most beautiful place on earth to live. We never have to leave our life for vacation. We simply embrace our life right where we are and its absolutely breathtaking.