Colorado is a beautiful place. In my opinion, however, it is the most beautiful in autumn. Leaves change their colors, and a cool breeze settles over the mountains and surrounding areas, chilling the body and freshening the soul. I love writing in autumn. The beauty and serenity around me helps calm my nerves and stimulates great ideas for my stories.

I find the true heart of fall in my hometown, Montrose. Located near the amazing San Juan Mountains, this town is truly incredible during the fall. Leaves on trees everywhere turn golden, lining the sidewalks and streets with beautiful leaves that have fallen. We have many parks in Montrose, each with its own unique variety of trees to show off to the public.

The only unfortunate thing about autumn is the fallen leaves in our backyard. Having eleven rather large trees in your backyard tends to create a mess when leaves begin to fall and create a blanket of dead leaves on the ground. And the problem with that is that we can't just leave the leaves on the ground, lest they rot and mess up our grass. So, that means me and my sister having to rake up all of leaves into neat piles, going through the piles and picking out sticks—which also fall from the trees like rain—, and stuffing the leaves into large garbage bags to be taken to a garbage dump. The bright side of this is when my sister and I make a pile large enough that we can jump from a tree branch or our trampoline into the pile of leaves. That's really fun—until we come to the realization that we have to rake it all back up again.

From the back door of my house, a short walk will bring you to the fence of my backyard. Here you overlook the Green Belt—a long strip of parkland that is beautiful no matter the season. In the spring the grass sparkles with morning dew, in the summer the trees along the park are full, the air warm and relaxing. In autumn, the leaves of the trees lose their green color and change beautiful shades of red, gold, and orange; the chill of the early winter breeze pierces your clothes and sends a shiver down your spine. In winter, the trees have lost their leaves and a shining blanket of snow coats the ground.

This autumn, however, I was able to catch the beautiful scenery in photo, and its now my turn to share some of my favorite photos with others. One day, perhaps you can experience the Green Belt yourself!

My adventure starts here, in my backyard. A lot of leaves on the ground, eh?

A beautiful leaf from our maple tree.

I like taking pictures of leaves. Can't you tell?

I take my first step out onto the Green Belt and look around. Cool air flows through my lungs as an autumn breeze sweeps across the park, and I reach for my camera...

I look to the sky as clouds pass overhead, blotting out the sun for a few seconds as I snap this picture.

I can see mountains in the distance! Mt. Sneffels, a 14,150 foot tall mountain, is situated in the relative middle of the picture, among other mountains of the San Juan Mountain Range.

A crabapple tree (DON'T EAT THE BERRIES).

More leaves!

I come across a beautiful maple tree, its leaves glowing a soft gold in the evening sun.

Thank you for walking the Green Belt with me!

Jackson Duckworth is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

All photos courtesy and copyright Jackson Duckworth