Montrose & Grand Mesa, CO (9/2017)

Birds often light briefly on the fence around my back yard.  One young western kingbird stayed long enough for me to get the camera and snap a few poses.  There was a light rain at the time, which explains the streaks you see in the photo.

 

Staying home for the past few weeks, I did get out for a some sunsets and want to share a few of them with you.  Unfortunately, I missed the very best one seen lately because I was celebrating my birthday at a neighborhood "Happy Hour".  Life in the fast lane!

Friday was the beginning of fall, so I decided it was past time to enjoy some fall color.  With a bad weather forecast in the area around the San Juan mountains, I chose to go in the other direction and drove onto Grand Mesa.  As mentioned in previous travelogues, this is the largest flat-top mountain in the world.  There are beautiful pine, gambel oak and aspen forests on Grand Mesa, not to mention 300 lakes and plenty of hiking trails.  My last visit there was in January, when a mini-blizzard was occurring and almost no one else was on the road.  What a difference.

Every time I go up there, I hope to see deer, elk, moose or even a bear, since all are known to live in these woods.  The only wildlife I saw this time was a beautiful Steller's jay hopping around in the colorful underbrush.

I drove out to the westernmost point of the mesa, a place aptly named "Land's End".  It's about 12 miles from the main road, but it has incredible views of the valley below.  Further, it has a very scenic gravel road that leads off the mountain with 12 miles of switchbacks and steep drop offs.  On the way, I passed an old "cow camp" that has been designated an Historic Site.  In a couple photos, parts of the twisty road down the mountainside can be seen.