Autumn Attire: Trees in the Elk Mountains west of Crested Butte, Colo. shine as the autumn sun reflects through the forest. This view of hundreds of aspen was seen along Kebler Pass Road during a recent trip through the area. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Kayakers: Kayakers cruise across the waters of Lost Lake high in the Gunnison National Forest. The lake and Lost Lake Campground are a short detour from Kebler Pass Road and are a popular destination for visitors in the Elk Mountains. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
It is that season of the year when the nights become noticeably cooler, the daylight hours are diminished and the mountains and hillsides begin to display their annual gold attire. We traveled to western Colorado the last week of September to attend an RV Rally in Grand Junction. Our route was not the normal drive west on I-70 but instead we veered to the south and traveled the back roads.
We actually retraced a return trip from Grand Junction taken earlier this summer because we wanted to search for gold. Not the gold nuggets found in the Colorado mines but gold leaves and landscape seen throughout the Rockies during this season of transition from summer to autumn.
Our route took us to Crested Butte, Colo. as we traveled west and across Kebler Pass Road before descending down on the western slope near Paonia, Colo. The color was beautiful going and coming along our route but clouds and threats of rain filled the skies on the day we returned. A heavy rain and high winds that evening probably caused most other leaves to fall to the ground.
There are so many areas that we would like to see during the fall season but this is one of our favorites. The aspens, cottonwoods and other foliage are spectacular but the show of color is short as the weather continues to change and the leave fall. We love this annual display of color and look forward to our search for gold every September.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Patchwork Hillside: A patchwork of fall color is seen during a stop along Kebler Pass Road in the Elk Mountains. Some aspen trees in this view have begun to shed their leaves while others still shine in gold. The Gambel Oak and other foliage also display their red and orange hues on this hillside along the route. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Gold and White: The white trunks of the aspen trees and the bright gold leaves dominate colors in this view in the Elk Mountains of Colorado while a few fir trees add contrast to the scene. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Curved: These aspen trunks show off their curved trunks as they turn upward on a hillside along Kebler Pass Road near Crested Butte, Colo. The ground is lined with aspen leaves, which have already fallen. The autumn color is beautiful but it only lasts a few days. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Golden Fern: Ferns grow in areas throughout the aspen forest in the Elk Mountains. While their growth is spotty, when they do cover the forest floor it becomes a sea of gold during the fall season complimenting the gold of the aspen trees. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
