Holding on to Summer

Oh, Summer! Why do you leave me?

I love summer. I love the long days, the crisp Colorado nights, the barbeques, the vacations, and especially all of the outdoor activities our beautiful Rocky Mountains have to offer. Unfortunately, our ridiculous schedule of weddings, anniversaries, and tons of homework meant that our summer was over before I could even begin to enjoy it. But I'm not willing to let go just yet. With record-high temperatures this September, we actually took more hikes than we did in the months of June, July, and August combined. And I love enjoying every last opportunity for summer fun.

Our month of end-of-season hikes began with a nice walk around the Matthews/Winters Open Space in Jefferson County. My dad came along, and we got some nice views of the city from the foothills.

Starting out.

The trail. Foothills.

Matt and Dad, enjoying the hot weather.

Red Rocks formations on the south end of the hike.

The trail took us past the old townsite of Mt. Vernon. This is the overgrown cemetery from the town.

The next weekend, we were off again. This time, our destination was Elk Meadow Park near Evergreen.

A bird in a tree.

Walking.

We took this hike around the time that parts of Colorado were suffering from wildfires. I thought this sign was sadly appropriate.

A barn in a meadow. This part of the hike was a little boring.

A meadow and mountains (well... mini mountains).

A prettier part of the trail. The afternoon sun was pretty.

While the hikes we took at the beginning of the month were pretty easy and didn't take a lot of time, it was just nice to get outside for a bit. I'm not ready to stop hiking for the season!