Fall arrived seemingly overnight and brought an early snow to our valley. We went for a drive from Aspen over Independence Pass through the beautiful town of Twin Lakes to Leadville. On the way we passed the trailhead for La Plata reminding me that yet another summer has gone by without me hiking La Plata (my intended first fourteener)…

There are some great things to do in Leadville including visiting the Mining Museum, but this trip we contented ourselves with wandering through a very cool rock and fossil store, a fascinating antiques emporium, and having a beer in a historic and quirky Irish Pub!

Then we returned to our beloved Roaring Fork Valley via Minturn with awesome views of snowy mountain ranges and fall colours en route 🙂