“I want to go for a hike,” I told my brother, “I want to get into a stand of aspens.”
We were sitting at my nephew’s graduation party with my aunt and uncle. The party was going to end soon and we had the rest of the afternoon free. After some debate between my brother and uncle of where to go, I had them both talked into the idea.
It was a gorgeous spring day. Perfect Colorado-blue skies and comfortable in summer clothes even at 9000 feet. The aspens were gorgeous with their new-leaf green and the mountains in the distance still had some snow.
We don’t have aspens in Oregon, and I miss them. There is something special about aspens. It may be the way the seem to shimmer as the light comes through their leaves.
Or maybe it’s the gentle rustling sound they make as the breeze dances through the tree tops. Or the seemingly endless white trunks reaching into that deep blue sky.
Or maybe it’s that there are the trees of my childhood forest. I camped with my family under these trees. Hiked with my friends. Saw the cycle of green to golden yellow to bare to new leaves again too many times to count.
Whatever the reason, aspen trees hold a special place in my heart.
It was a short hike, seeing as I didn’t have the right shoes and I’m not ready for serious hiking at high altitude. I’m a sea-level girl now, much as it pains me to admit it.
But no matter the length, it was time well spent. Seeing the Colorado forest again, so different from the forests of Oregon, was a joy. Enjoying the sunshine and moving my body, after all of the sitting of travel and graduation and parties, felt wonderful. And most of all, connecting to my brother and especially my uncle, who is usually very quiet and reserved at social events, in an environment we all love.
It doesn’t get better than this.
That sounds wonderful, Kat, and the photos are gorgeous. I knew you were in Colorado before reading the post, just from that first photo. No other place I know of looks like that…and I’ve never even been there.
That sounds perfect! These photos are beautiful & it sounds like that hike was just what you needed.
I too love Aspens — we spent many a lovely hour among them when we lived in Nevada and the Sierra Nevada mountains were just a stone’s throw away. In the fall, when the leaves are yellow and they move in the breeze and the sky is bright blue — I believe I’m nearest to heaven. Sadly living in the southeast I don’t get to visit them often enough.
Oh the picture looking up at the Aspens is just wonderful. One of the things I love as I get older is time spent with my brothers. It feels very special.