grayowlimages.com - Colorado - Fall Color - Rocky Mountain N. P. & the San Juan Skyway

Colorado - Fall Color > Rocky Mountain N. P. & the San Juan Skyway

The images in this gallery were captured in a late September 2009 trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and to the southwest corner of Colorado; the San Juan Skyway. My timing with regard to getting colorful aspen shots was good but the weather was marginal at best. The 3 days spent in RMNP were all cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy. In fact, Trail Ridge Road across from the East side to the West was closed due to heavy snow; I never got to the west side of the park, one of the better locations to see the elk population in the fall rut. When I got to southwest Colorado, the weather was very different, very warm, very windy, cloudless and hazy. While different from RMNP, still less than great photography weather. The old line about a bad day at play being better than a good day at the office still applies, however. To see a slideshow of this gallery, click on the thumbnail image on this page. When watching the slideshow, follow the arrows or click on a slideshow image to return to the thumbnail view. Enjoy the images!!

Aspen - On the Trail

On the trail up from Bear Lake to Nymph Lake, I rounded a corner and was struck by the sight of this clump of bright yellow aspen with the curve of the trail clearly going right to the trees.
Limber Pine

The Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) is very supple and can be twisted by the wind to lots of unusual shapes. Thus the name, 'Limber'. It grows at altitudes up to treeline. This one is on the trail between Bear Lake and Emerald Lake at an altitude of about 9400 ft. The lake in the background is Dream Lake.
Limber over Water

This Limber Pine is leaning out over the water of Dream Lake at an altitude of about 9900 ft. in RMNP. As a photograph it is attractive because of the shape of the tree and the leading red colored rocks in the shallow water.
In the Grove

This is another spot on the trail up from Bear Lake. Another clump of Aspen, (Populus tremuloides), This time on a small plateau, looking almost like a picnic grove.
Aspen - With a flair for Color

This is yet another clump of Aspen on the Bear Lake Trail. What is unique about this clump is the variation in color. Every other Aspen I saw on this trip was yellow or gold in color. This group has a much broader color palette.
Montrose Sky

While shooting on the San Juan Skyway, I stayed in Montrose, CO. On the day of my arrival, I drove up to the foothills outside of town, hoping for some nice clouds and a decent sunset. While there was no sunset photo op, these clouds yielded an interesting image because of the rays of light across the spectrum.
Rainbow

This rainbow was shot outside of Montrose at the same location and near the same time as the previous image. At this point, about 30 minutes before the sun went down below the horizon, everything looked favorable for my sunset shot. Unfortunately, in the next few minutes, all of the clouds dissipated; no sunset this date.
County Road 5

One of the first drives I did when I arrived in the Southwest corner of Colorado was on County Road 5. In all of the literature about fall color in Colorado, this is one of the locations reputed to be the very best. It didn't disappoint. This winding dirt road goes uphill off of C. R. 5, near Ridgway, CO.
More Aspen

Another of the color hot spots is County Road 7, also just out of Ridgway, CO. This clump of aspen is quite large and well lit as I looked down on it for about 9000 ft. elevation.
Down in the Valley

Another shot taken on County Road 7, looking down into a broad colorful valley from about 9200 ft. This valley is right at the edge of the Uncompaghre National Forest.
Aspen - Evergreen and Mountain

This is another HDR shot taken on County Road 7. Close to where this shot was taken is a creek called the East Fork, Dallas Creek. That is why this road is sometimes called the Dallas Divide. The whole area is in the Uncompaghre National Forest.
High Mountain Valley

This shot is also on County Road 7, right as the road crosses into the National Forest. The mountains off in the distance are part of the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness. Again, High Dynamic Range due to the mid-day contrast.
Near Owl Creek Pass

Yet another County Road to drive. This one is CR 8, also out of Ridgway. It goes up to Owl Creek Pass at slightly over 10,000 ft. This shot shows the gorgeous color of late day light although there were again no clouds so no sunset photo.
Invitation to Travel

Saw this dirt road on the steep road up to Yankee Boy Basin near Ouray, CO. The aspen surrounded and enveloped the path leading into the forest.
Camp Bird Road

Camp Bird Road is what you drive going up to Yankee Boy Basin near Ouray, CO. Although you can't see it in this image, Canyon Creek is at the bottom of this canyon. The picture is shot from an elevation of 10,000 ft.
Tyndall Creek

This image was made near Bear Lake in RMNP. Tyndall Creek carries water from Nymph lake down to Bear Lake as it works its way down the mountains. This wide spot was attrative photographically because of the variety of terrain, vegetation and the red color of the shrubs.
Alberta Falls

Alberta Falls is on the Bear Lake Trail and one of the popular images to be had in RMNP. It was a surprise to me that there was still such high water flow this late in the season, September.
Sandbeach Creek

I was surprised to find this little drainage has a name as it was a pretty small waterflow. Photographically, I love the depth of the shot and the sharpness throughout the picture. It required a small lens opening at f 16, a sturdy tripod for a 2.5 sec. exposure and no wind. Sandbeach Creek is down near the Southeast corner of the park on the hike to the Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls.