Fall Comes To Breckenridge

I drove up to Breckenridge from Denver with my sister Susan this past Thursday afternoon via a roundabout route, taking US 285 over Kenosha Pass to Fairplay, and then north from there to Breckenridge. Most of the leaves on the aspens were gone at the higher altitudes, including on Kenosha Pass and also, as I looked up on the way into Breckenridge, along Boreas Pass Road. However, the trees were still very colorful in Breckenridge, as seen in the photograph above. Being a weekday afternoon, it was pretty quiet on Main Street, although there were still some tourists wandering around town. After all that driving, it was definitely time for a beer, and so Susan and I headed into the Blue Stag Saloon, which is popular with the locals and has been around since 2013. It's predecessor, the Whale's Tale, featuring a nautical theme, had been around for 40 years before the current owner bought the place, changed the name, and gave it a Victorian era theme, more in line with the late 1800s look of the town itself. I have been at this bar and restaurant several times in the past but am damned if I can remember if it was the Blue Stag or the Whale's Tale back then. In any case, it was a cozy spot to have a drink - there were a mix of visitors and locals, and the Yankees-Blue Jays playoff game was on the television. And no music, thank God. The off-season in Breck, as the hipsters call it, is definitely worth the drive up from Denver, no matter what route you take.