Alpine celebrates Aspen Day on Saturday

While hope springs eternal, there’s not a lot of color in the aspens growing along springs in Hope Valley.

While the stars of Aspen Day 2021 are still in the midst of changing into their golden finery, the Friends of Hope and the Alpine County Visitors Center will be hosting a variety of activities 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event held at Highway 88 and Blue Lakes Road will feature talks about Washoe cultural sites, the Emigrant Trail, Kit Carson’s route through the Sierra and river restoration.

The Craig Crow Band will be performing 1-3 p.m. at the event including River conservation, willow planting and history hikes.

The first formal event connected with the turning of the trees in Alpine County was in fall 2014.

Each year travelers park alongside Highway 88 to catch photographs of the brilliant colors.

Smoke and other effects of the Caldor Fire may reduce the traffic a bit this year.

While drought and a long warm summer may have slowed down the big reveal, cooler weather on Monday helped turn some of the aspens from light green to gold.

A cold front expected next week may help finish the job, if the wind doesn’t knock all the leaves out of the trees.