Arrived at Aspen

We had a pretty drive across Independence Pass to Aspen this morning, arriving in time for the JD festivities. We saw 3 mule deer (including one stag with a full set of antlers) while heading to the pass.  We also saw two major avalanche sites with lots of downed trees.  We had heard that they had trouble clearing the road this year due to avalanches and now I can understand why.  The picture on the right shows a sample of this road.

Attendance at Meet and Greet (the first event of the week) seemed a bit low this year (I counted about 80) but when first timers were asked to raise their hands there had to be 20-30 people who responded!  That was very impressive.  During the singing, Mary spotted two deer just across the river from the John Denver Sanctuary where the event was held and snapped this picture.  The Meet and Greet was nice time for Mary to catch up with old friends.

We headed to Woody Creek Tavern for lunch (it's a tradition to eat here at least once each Aspen, since it was a JD hangout) then on to the Maroon Bells.  This was the best color we've seen in our many years of coming out here.  Most times only a few trees still have the classic gold leaves, but this year some trees still had green leaves and, as you can see, there was LOTS of gold! The picture on the left is from the road, while the one on the right was taken when walking past the lake. 

We had one concert today, by the Aspen Meadow Band.  This  church-supported group has been coming for many years and gives free concerts and free CDs.  Today's concert was traditional John Denver songs. 

We have two concerts tomorrow as well as a lot of snow predicted.  Good thing that both concerts are in our hotel so we don't have to go out!