Montrose, CO (9/23 724/2018) and Blue Mesa (9/25/2018)

After a summer with few memorable sunsets, there have been several of late that may be worth sharing.  One occurred on the night of the full moon and added a little color to the moon as it rose over the adobe hills.

On Tuesday, I took a full day checking out Fall color to the east of Montrose, starting on Blue Mesa.  This is actually a short cut to Lake City, but had some nice scenery on its own.

As I reached the bridge over Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, I remembered that I had never explored the canyon starting at that point.  I had all day, so why not do it now?  It proved to be a beautiful slice through the mesa created by the river over millions of years.  The mesa itself is the result of volcanic activity some 25-35 million years ago.  In the late 1800s, the Durango & Rio Grande Railroad laid tracks through the canyon to transport ore from the mines in Lake City.  The tracks were removed long ago, but the roadbed created back then now serves as a narrow shelf road to access the canyon.  The road is mostly used by fishermen and folks wanting to use the few camp sites in the canyon.

A landslide some ten or twelve years ago temporarily dammed the river, but the river eventually moved the debris out of the way.  The road was also cleared, but remains of the slide can still be seen.  Also, a cave where railroad construction workers stored dynamite and other supplies can be visited.

 

I'll wait for another travelogue update to cover the rest of that day's adventures.

Cimarron & Owl Creek Pass, CO (9/24/2018)

I was seeing some fall color photos on the internet, but really didn't know how far along the color was in my area.  The only way to find out is to go out and take a look.  It was a spur of the moment decision (my favorite kind) to head toward Lake City.  However, along the way, I changed plans to a shorter destination, since it was already mid-morning and I felt a full day would be required to see everything I had in mind around Lake City.  Another impulsive decision and I turned onto Cimarron Road toward Silver Jack Reservoir and Owl Creek Pass.  This route has provided good color in the past.

Early on, there were some large ranches and rolling hills, with small Gambel oaks and views of the distant mountains and the aspens that grow mostly at higher elevations.  Aspens provide most of our fall color, with yellow, gold and orange leaves.  Gambel oaks, serviceberry and other small bushes produce a rusty shade of red.  We don't have much of the bright red leaves like the sugar maples back East.

The Cimarron River flows down the mountain, furnishing water for the irrigation canals that make ranching possible here.  As I get a little higher, more aspens can be seen near the road.  While the colors aren't quite at "peak", there is plenty to be found.

 This ranch pond is mostly covered with algae, but gives me a small reflection.

 This patch of trees has a wide range of color.

 Entering the National Forest, lots of colorful trees line the roadway.

The Beaver Lake Campground was surrounded by aspens with good color.

Back on the road, heading toward Silver Jack Reservoir.

I could see from the road the reservoir is seriously low due to the drought experienced all year.  You can see one of the two branches of the Cimarron River that flow into the lake.

Starting up Owl Creek Pass Road, more dramatic formations appear on the mountains.

On the descent from Owl Creek Pass into Ridgway, there is very little color, but the formations are always interesting.

Saratoga, WY (9/13 & 9/14/2018) and Sierra Madre Range, WY (9/16/2018)

Starting toward home, I moved to the very southern part of Wyoming, to a town called Saratoga.  This is a small town, population around 1700, that has several hot springs, so was named after Saratoga, NY which is famous for its hot springs.  There were two important reasons for stopping here.  First is Saratoga Lake that appeared to be pretty scenic and is said to be a good spot for birds.  Also, the Snowy Range Scenic Byway starts here and heads east into the mountains.  I was hoping to find some fall color along this highway.

Saratoga Lake was a good place for viewing sunsets, made much darker by smoke from some of Colorado's wildfires just south of the state line.

There were lots of birds around the lake, but I'll show only a couple types that I haven't posted recently.

Brown Thrasher

Northern Flicker

The Snowy Range Scenic Byway was a pleasant drive with quite a bit of fall color.

Along the highway, I stopped at several beautiful alpine lakes.  The first required driving a few miles on a rough side road, and I never learned its name.

The others are located near the summit and had nice mountain views as a backdrop.

Lake Marie

Mirror Lake

As it was getting late, and I had driven the entire route before, I turned around at this point and went back to Saratoga.

On my last day in Wyoming, I drove over the Sierra Madre Range toward Colorado.  This was a very nice drive with lots of fall color and very little traffic.  Unfortunately, driving the motor home did not allow the flexibility to stop at some of the better spots or to get the best angle for photos.  I had to settle for what I could get from the highway, sometimes not even stopping while aiming out the window.

I'm back in Montrose now, hoping to get out soon and take photos of our fall color.  Some say it will be a poor year due to drought, but I'm going to try anyway.