“He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
“Autumn is an interesting season, even in the metaphor of life, is a time of decline, of loss, but also intense and haunting beauty.
Some places, like some people, never are, or have been, as beautiful in their fall.”
― Luigina Sgarro
Three weeks to regenerate, three weeks to celebrate entering my seventh decade, to enjoy the explosion of color and cool crisp air and longer evenings with my sweetie and good friends in the high places of the West, three weeks to understand the recent passage of my parents, three weeks that ended perfectly with the first snows of Winter.
This post is extensive, overfilled with images, but that is how my life feels right now, full. In a good way.
Take time away from the daily disturbances to enjoy the beauty that is Fall in our western states.
- Skip
PS. These are not "retouched", the colors are truly real.
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| Mt. Sneffels Range, Colorado. |
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| Sunrise on Blue Mesa, Gunnison County, Colorado. |
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| Telluride Valley, San Juan Mountains, Colorado. |
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| Cottonwoods, Gunnison River, Colorado. |
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| Uncompaghre Peak from Slumgullion Pass. |
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| The red aspens are all one organism, Lake City, Colorado. |
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| The tapestry of aspens and firs, Mineral County, Colorado. |
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| Tranquility |
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| You have to get there first, Highway 70, Utah. |
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| I'm a bit obsessed with unexplainable fence lines, Utah. |
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| Book Cliff Motel, Green River, Utah. |
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| The Original Highway 395 Store, Bishop, California. |
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| If this dining room could only share the stories of its history. |
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| Rowing across a palette of blue and yellow. |
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| The gifts of the season, Rainbow, Brook, Cuthroat. |
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| Awaiting winters cold. |
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| Deep in the forest the light turns yellow. |
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| A Blend of Fall and Monet. |
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| "Simplify, simplify" - Henry David Thoreau |
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| San Juan Range, Colorado. |
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| The original "Palouse" horse of the Nez Perce, Appaloosa, Dallas Creek, Colorado. |
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| Wright's Hall, Ouray, Colorado. |
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| The Elk, BPOE 492. |
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| The last of the Aspen leaves, the first snows of October. |
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| Changing Seasons, San Juan Mountains. |
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| Catholic Church Garden, Ouray. |
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| I took this image the day Christine Blasey Ford testified. |
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| Above Kane Creek, Utah. |
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| Remnants of Hurricane Rosa. |
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| 6:45 AM, Kane Creek Utah. Time to go. |
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| 30 minutes later, above the Colorado River, Moab. |
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| Mare's Tails, Highway 50 Nevada. |
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| An RV Headed West, Nevada. |
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| All original color and contrast, I wasn't sure it was real. |
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| Great Basin, Nevada. |
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| Wind Farming Central Nevada. |
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| One of nine basins across Central Nevada. |
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| All Shadow and light, Great Basin, Nevada. |
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| First Snows in the Eastern Sierra. |
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| October snows will be followed by Indian Summer, Tioga Pass. |
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| The High Sierra above Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park. |
As a kid, I spent two summer family vacations on a ranch near lake city. And you, especially because orange is my favorite color, made me understand how much I missed by not being there in the autumn. Autumn light often comes slashing in from the side, like a kid yelling from someone else's yard. You have figured out how to find and keep that light in a way that stops me dead in my tracks. I am thankful.
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