Friday – Saturday, September 20-21, 2024
This weekend I headed up into the Mount Zirkel Wilderness of the Park Range for what will most likely be my last trip into the mountains of the season. Since I’m leaving for a week-long river trip early on Monday morning and need to finish prepping and packing for that, I was hoping to stay closer to home on Saturday by heading up into either the San Juan Mountains or The Flat Tops, but the weather forecast was not looking good for any of the ranges nearby this weekend, so I had to start ...
After Work Adventures | Thursday, September 19, 2024
I’ve got a very busy couple of weeks coming up with a Canyon of Lodore river trip schedule for next week and right afterwards I will be leaving to spend a week along the Arizona Strip at the beginning of October, so I’m not really going to have any time to chase fall colors in Colorado this year. Even though I know it’s too early for peak fall colors, I thought it would be a good idea to head up onto the Grand Mesa after work this afternoon to see how the ...
After Work Adventures | Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Hard to believe, but I recently realized that it’s been five years since I last headed up onto the Grand Mesa to check out the Fall Colors, which was something I used to do almost every year at the end of September. With that in mind, even though I knew the autumn colors seemed to be running a bit behind this year, I decided to head up onto the Grand Mesa after work today for a short evening visit since it would be my only opportunity this week. Unfortunately, there was also ...
Fall Colors 2022 | Friday – Saturday, September 30 – October 1, 2022
Normally, I would have left from work on Friday afternoon and headed west into Utah to spend the entire week exploring new canyons of the Colorado Plateau, but this year there was a concert on Sunday evening that delayed the start of my trip by a couple days, so I thought I would try to get up into the high country near Silverton one last time until next summer. Unfortunately, the weather would have other plans for me this weekend and I would end up just taking ...
Fall Colors 2020 | King Solomon Mountain & Little Giant Peak
Friday & Saturday, September 25-26, 2020
After spending a few days last week on a relaxing river trip through Meander Canyon in Canyonlands National Park, it was time for me to squeeze in one last visit to the mountains before I start heading back into the desert until next summer. Earlier this year I had set a personal goal to try to hike at least 30 summits this summer and I was at 29 as of Friday, so I needed to get in at least one more peak to ...
Fall Colors 2018 | Friday & Saturday, September 28-29, 2018
Aside from a quick unplanned evening on the Grand Mesa almost two weeks ago, my schedule at the end of September and early October didn’t really leave me much time for a proper Fall Colors weekend photography trip since I had a must-attend concert in Salt Lake City on Sunday evening and a river trip through Labyrinth Canyon the weekend before. Even with all the preparations for an upcoming week-long adventure into Utah I did manage to get out for a quick overnight trip to the West Elk Mountains after ...
Fall Colors 2018 | Sunday, September 16, 2018
After a quick trip up to Imogene Pass in the San Juan Mountains on Saturday morning I wasn’t planning on going anywhere else for the rest of the weekend. However, when I saw that the fall colors were looking pretty good this early in the season I figured it would be worth it to take a quick drive up onto the Grand Mesa later on Sunday afternoon to catch the sunset. It turned out to be a pretty good decision! Originally, I was planning on heading up to the Grand Mesa after ...
Fall Colors 2017 | Sunday, October 22, 2017
This weekend we were originally planning on heading over the state line into Utah and spending a night camping north of Arches National Park. Unfortunately, I came down with a cold late in the week and we ended up staying home instead. After resting for Saturday and much of Sunday I decided to head up to the Colorado National Monument for sunset in the evening to see how the cottonwoods looked in Ute Canyon. I arrived at an unmarked overlook along the rim of the canyon shortly before sunset and found that ...
Fall Colors 2017 | No Thoroughfare Canyon
Monday, October 16, 2017
No, the big canyon located at the east end of the Colorado National Monument hasn’t had a name change, it’s still named No Thoroughfare Canyon. But since I went on a short hike into the canyon this evening to check on the fall colors of the cottonwoods, I thought it was a fun take on the name. I try to head up into the Colorado National Monument each October to catch the cottonwoods changing colors, and as you can see from the photos below they were coming along nicely!
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Fall Colors 2017 | Monday, September 25, 2017
This evening I headed up onto the Grand Mesa after work for a couple of hours so I could try to catch a few fall colors this season with my camera. Unfortunately, the colors didn’t seem to be as good as they usually are with plenty of stripped trees and unhealthy looking leaves, but I managed to find a couple nice areas and used my long lens to help isolate the best colors. There was even a little snow still sticking around on the top of the mesa from the winter storm ...
Sunday, October 2, 2016
I had set my alarm for 5:00am this morning, but when it went off I looked outside and didn’t see any clouds, so I went back to sleep since I was still pretty tired from the previous day. I ended up waking up again just after 6:00am and realized that I might have enough time to make it over to the Dallas Divide to catch the sunrise. I quickly got ready and was soon driving through Ridgway on my way to the divide. I reached the parking area just in time and found that it was ...
Friday & Saturday, September 30 – October 1, 2016
I left right after work on Friday afternoon to begin my annual week-long October trip. Typically, I spend the entire week on the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah or northern Arizona, but this year I decided to spend the first couple of days in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to try and make up for my lack of climbing mountains over the summer and maybe photograph some of the leftover fall colors. I wanted to try and get one more 14er in this year and Mount Bierstadt (14,060) in the Front ...
Fall Colors | Wednesday, September 21, 2016
I made a last minute decision after work today and went for a drive up onto the Grand Mesa to check on the fall colors this evening. It turned out to be a good call since the colors were looking pretty good. I slowly made my way up the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway to Skyway Point and then explored the old Grand Mesa Road and a few other backroads in the area while I was up there until after sunset. There’s not really much else to say about this short evening excursion, so ...
Mount Elbert & Missouri Mountain
Friday – Sunday, September 16-18, 2016
After only hiking one new fourteener this year, I knew I had to get out this weekend to at least try to get another one or two in before snow started sticking around in the high country. It’s been a couple of years since the last time I visited the Sawatch Range, so I thought it would be a good idea to head that way for a change. Then I figured that I might as well go for Mount Elbert (14,433), the highest peak in Colorado and the Rocky ...
Monday, November 2, 2015
After returning home from Denver this afternoon, I decided to drive up to the Colorado National Monument about an hour before sunset to see if the cottonwoods in upper Ute Canyon had changed colors yet. I had checked on them a few times over the past two weeks and found them to be mostly green, but this time many of them had changed to a nice golden yellow. After taking a quick hike over to Suction Point, I watched the sun set from near the Fallen Rock Overlook and took a few photos after the sun ...
Fall Colors 2015
Thursday, October 15, 2015
I decided to head up onto the Uncompahgre Plateau after work this evening to see if there were any fall colors left. I ended up taking Divide Road all the way to Uncompahgre Butte (9,679), which I quickly summited while I was there, before turning around and driving back home for the night. While most of the aspen trees had dropped their leaves, there were still a few small groves left that were holding on to their color for a little bit longer. It was a nice way to spend a few hours ...
Fall Colors 2015
Color Sunday | Sunday, September 27, 2015
Since I had only spent the day in the San Juan Mountains on Saturday, Diane and I decided to drive up onto the Grand Mesa for a few hours to check out the fall colors up there on Sunday afternoon. We took the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway via Plateau Creek to the Land O Lakes Trail where we stopped and went on the short hike to the overlook.
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Fall Colors 2015 | Saturday, September 26, 2015
As usual, I spent the last weekend in September on my annual fall colors trip to photograph the changing of the seasons in the high country of Colorado. Instead of going away for the whole weekend, this time I just headed out on a day trip to the San Juan Mountains. From reports I had seen online, plus my trip last weekend, it appeared that the Red Mountain Pass area was changing colors nicely at this time, so that’s where I decided to go. Unfortunately, Diane wasn’t feeling well this weekend, so ...
Fall Colors 2014
Wednesday, October 15 & 22, 2014
I spent the last two consecutive Wednesdays visiting the Colorado National Monument after work so that I could try to photograph fall colors before it was too late. I’ve had a couple of shots on my mind that I had envisioned and was hoping the conditions would allow me to make them happen this year. On my first visit to the park last Wednesday the color I was after wasn’t quite there yet so those shots had to wait, but I did take a few photos as I drove through the ...
Fall Colors 2014
Saturday & Sunday, September 27-28, 2014
Since we had seen some early fall colors in the San Juan Mountains last weekend, we decided to head over into the Elk Mountains this time to check on the fall colors there for my annual Fall Colors weekend. I planned to visit a few locations I have been to before and then try out a few new ones. We left early Saturday and took a late morning drive along Kebler Pass and over Ohio Pass before turning around and heading back out the same way. We then drove over McClure ...
Fall Colors 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
After work, Diane and I headed up to Piñon Mesa near Glade Park to see how the fall colors were coming along up there. I had actually only been up to this area once before, many years ago, so I wasn’t too familiar with the area. I have heard that it might be a good spot for fall colors close to home and have wanted to get up there in the fall for many years, so it was time to finally do it. While there was still quite a bit of green around, ...
Autumnal Equinox | Fall Colors 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
After getting home from the San Juan Mountains on Sunday, I turned my attention to photographing local fall colors this week. I did a little research online and found that the colors up on the Grand Mesa were looking pretty good right now, so I decided to head up there after work. I spent much of the evening photographing the colors between Spruce Point, Mesa Lakes and Skyway Point since they were looking pretty good in this area. The clearing clouds from the weekend storms created dynamic lighting conditions and ...
Fall Colors 2014
Saturday & Sunday, September 20-21, 2014
On Saturday, Diane and I headed back down to the San Juan Mountains again so we could climb to the top of Courthouse Mountain in the Cimarron’s . While this mountain is short compared to the surrounding peaks in the area at only 12,152 feet, it is uniquely shaped and has over 1,000 feet of vertical prominence. It’s also a very distinguishable peak near Owl Creek Pass that is often photographed, especially in the fall when the surrounding mountainsides are changing colors. I have seen this mountain in the skyline for ...
Sunday, October 6, 2013
After another cold night in the San Juan Mountains camped below Whipple Mountain and high above the San Miguel River I was up before the sun and had my camp loaded in the Jeep while it was still dark. When darkness transitioned to light I had a great view of the San Miguel Mountains.
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Fall Colors 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
After spending a cold night camping near Vista Point along Owl Creek Pass Road, I was up in the darkness taking down my camp. The temperature was in the upper teens, but surprisingly it didn’t feel that cold when I got out of my sleeping bag. When my camp was loaded into the Jeep I drove through Ridgway over to the Dallas Divide so I could catch the sunrise on the Sneffels Range.
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Fall Colors 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
I left work on Friday and headed south to the San Juan Mountains near Ridgway to start my annual week-long October trip. Normally, I spend this week in the desert of southern Utah and northern Arizona, but this year I decided to spend the first weekend chasing fall colors in the San Juan Mountains since the colors were a little late this year. After a quick dinner stop in Montrose I was soon driving up Owl Creek Pass as a winter storm moved through the area. Many of the aspen trees still seemed ...
Fall Colors 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Getting out on the last weekend of September to check out the fall colors in Colorado is kind of a tradition of mine, and this year would be no different, even if the colors are a little behind this year. On Saturday, Kelly and I headed up to the San Juan Mountains between Ouray and Silverton for a day trip just to see how the colors were. We found the best color between Ouray and Red Mountain Pass with the best display around Ironton Park and Crystal Lake. Lucky for us, a recent ...
Tuesday & Wednesday, October 16-17, 2012
Just a few short days after returning from my adventures in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, I was ready to get and photograph some of the fall colors here in the Grand Valley. I ended up driving up to the Colorado National Monument two consecutive days after work to take a few photos.
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Fall Colors 2012
Saturday & Sunday, September 29-30, 2012
This weekend Amanda and I went back down to the edge of the San Juan Mountains for one last weekend of photographing fall colors this year. We ended up spending most of our time along Owl Creek Pass Road and north of the Sneffels Range near the Dallas Divide. The fall colors near the Dallas Divide were probably a bit past peak, but still pretty nice, but the area around Owl Creek Pass still had quite a bit of green.
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Fall Colors 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
After work I decided to drive up on top of the Grand Mesa for a few hours to try and photograph some of the fall colors before it was too late. I was hoping to come back with a couple of photos, but instead I came back with a whole trip report! The colors were outstanding and the active weather provided a lot of interesting views throughout the evening. I even got caught in a snowstorm while on the very top, reminding me of the approaching winter.
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Fall Colors 2012
Friday – Sunday, September 21-23, 2012
This weekend I spent my time photographing more fall colors in the Elk Mountains near Crested Butte. I left work early on Friday and made my way to Kebler Pass where I quickly setup camp. I spent the rest of the evening taking photos of the amazing fall colors before the daylight finally faded.
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Fall Colors 2012
Saturday & Sunday, September 15-16, 2012
On Saturday morning Amanda and I got in the Jeep and drove south to the San Juan Mountains again. This weekend I was hoping to find some early fall color and had heard a few reports that there were already some nice colors around Red Mountain Pass and Silverton. Those reports would turn out to be pretty accurate!
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Sunday, September 26, 2010
On Sunday we headed south to Telluride so we could ride the Gondola and check out Mountain Village. After that we stopped at the Union Cafe in Ridgway for some delicious burgers, and then we headed up to Coal Creek to check out some more fall colors. Here’s a few photos I took along the way with my S90….
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Fall Colors 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
On Saturday morning Amanda and I headed to Meeker for our annual Fall Colors trip. This year we would be checking out the Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway. This road is about 80 miles in length and connects the towns of Meeker and Yampa. Both ends are paved for a number of miles and the section in the middle is a well-maintained gravel road…..but we weren’t here for a challenge, we were here to check out the scenery. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of fall colors along this route, but ...
Saturday, September 26, 2009
On Saturday, Amanda and I headed out on our annual Fall Colors trip. This year we decided to do some exploring around Kebler Pass and Ohio Pass.
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Sunday, September 28, 2008
On Sunday morning we got up early and headed back through Silverton and up Cement Creek Road to Gladstone. From there, we headed up into Prospect Gulch.
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Saturday, September 27, 2008
Amanda and I headed down for what most likely is out last San Juan trip this year to check out the fall colors. While there were definitely some nice colors out in the mountains, it seems as though the peak of the season is still another weekend away. Since I will be in Moab next weekend with NAXJA, this was our only chance.
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