My birthday party with chipmunks

img_6691Last Monday, October 8th, was not only my birthday, it was also Columbus Day, a holiday observed in most US states to commemorate the discovery of the continent. And we were determined to make full use of Hannah and Marie’s day off school.

Over the previous few days, most aspen patches on the distant slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains had turned from bright yellow to grey. Still we hoped to see some glorious fall colors.

So we set to hike on the Aspen Vista trail. It starts at approx. 10,000 ft (3300 m), is quite easy and very popular, i.e., quite crowded, but it offered better chances to still see glorious fall colors than the Nambé Lake Trail, where aspens are located at a higher elevation.img_6667

The trail in itself was indeed not very interesting, but the golden trees and the unnatural blue sky were well worth the trip. The cupcakes that Marie and I had bought as a surprise for Hannah and Matthias almost made it unharmed. I didn’t blow the candles though, the wind did. Never mind! I don’t often celebrate my birthday at 3500 m, with cute and bold chipmunk as uninvited guests!

Michèle

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