So this one was a first for us. Being from South Texas, we know absolutely nothing about this white fluffy stuff that comes from the sky when it’s cold. It had just started to snow a little in Steamboat Springs, Colorado when we decided to go on a hike. But by the time we drove to the trailhead it was snowing cats and dogs (can you even say that?). We had the whole gang: us, our three offspring, our besties, and their three heirs. But we were only halfway prepared for this level of coldness so our friends took one for the team and my wife and I hiked the Hot Springs Trail in doubletime.

What’s cool about this 3 mile hike is the ending almost feels like a celebratory finish line. Although there isn’t a trophy to mark your accomplishment, this hike ends at Strawberry Park Hot Springs. We were able to see the best of both worlds with a dash of winter accompanying Autumn in full swing; the vibrant yellows and deep oranges covered in a blanket of white. Dang, that felt mighty poetic.

Anyway, I took all of these shots with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which I actually had just purchased right before this trip. I was still rocking my S8 but felt like it was a good time to make the switch…and boy was I thankful I did. I didn’t want to bring my main camera out in the snow so having a phone with different lenses (like on the Ultra model) gave me some options on the trail. We didn’t plan to match but the color scheme worked out well. And you already know your boi was singing the entire way to make sure no bears ate us.