Last night, I was awakened by the strong scent of wood smoke wafting through the open windows of our Littleton farmhouse. A cold front had just passed southeastward across the Front Range urban corridor, pulling down smoky air from the Western fires.
By this morning, as we left for Missouri, the temperature was 48 degrees F, the lowest it has been this season in Metro Denver. Cloudy and chilly conditions persisted all the way to Colby, Kansas; just south of that city, we passed through a band of rain, the leading edge of the cold front. Once through the rain, the temperature gradually rose, reaching 70 degrees F in WaKeeney and 81 degrees F in Hays, where we will spend the night. According the the forecast, summer-like heat, with a high of 91 degrees F, will greet us in Columbia, Missouri, tomorrow.
Unfortunately, we will miss the best weeks of the year (in my opinion) for exploring the Rocky Mountains. From mid September to mid October, the summer crowds have thinned, early snows dust the higher peaks, the beautiful aspen display unfolds and the bugling of elk echos through the mountain valleys as bulls gather their harems. My consolation prize will be the spectacular autumn migration of waterfowl, shorebirds and hawks through the Missouri River Valley.
