Colorado - Part 3

Early the next morning, my Aunt and I snuck out of the place we were all staying in Buena Vista (hopefully without waking up any kids) and headed out before sunrise to try to take a few pictures. We managed to make it to the nearby Collegiate Peaks Overlook to catch the apenglow on the 14,204 foot Mount Princeton.



Mount Princeton is part of the Collegiate Peaks, a section of the Sawatch Range that contains some of the highest mountains in the Rockies. It gets its name because several of the mountains are named after famous universities (like Princeton, Yale and Harvard). I looked to see if any mountains were named after my alma maters (the University of the Ozarks and UALR) but had no luck. But we drove back on the same road that went to St. Elmo to get a few pictures of some waterfalls and aspen trees. This was the view as we approached Mount Princeton.



The road follows Chalk Creek, a stream that starts out at the Continental Divide and then flows 27 miles between Mount Princeton and Mount Antero before flowing into the Arkansas River. Along the way the creek tumbles over Cascade Falls. We stopped to get a few pictures of the creek as it tumbles down the mountain.





The road ran paralell to the clear water of the creek, and it was hard to not constantly stop every five feet to take pictures...





It is a scenic little stream, especially with the aspens trees that were growing along the way.



We needed to head back to our rental place because we had to check out that morning, but it was hard to turn back. The creek was scenic, and aspen trees with vibrant fall colors lined the road. We made one last stop at this large stand of aspen.







Aspen trees are really beautiful and unique when seen up close. I wish we could grow them in our backyard at home.



A stand of aspens like this are actually one giant organism, all connected together through their roots. In fact, scientists believe that the largest and oldest organism in existence is a stand of aspens in Utah.