ASPENING

END OF SUMMER

I've been out and about enjoying the fine fall weather as much as possible. Every fall while the color is good I spend hours wading up and down our acequia and the Rio Hondo looking for water patterns with the camera. My trusty SX 60 HS Powershot Canon has taught me to see things I don't normally perceive.  

ASPEN REFLECTIONS

THE TREASURE

WATER RUSH

COLLAGE

UNDERWATER

SUNSET ON THE RIO HONDO

WHEN the aspens turn I start close to home with a short hike up Bull O' the Woods. Then I usually take a two-night trip up to Colorado. I always return to what was, for forty years, my favorite camping spot, Shaw Lake, near Wolf Creek Pass, the South Fork of the Rio Grande. The lake, which must have been about thirty feet deep a decade ago, is still evaporating. Nevertheless, there were fish jumping, leaving shining rings of light, and fishermen sitting on the exposed rocks trying to catch them. After the fire the blue spruce sprang up everywhere; even the older trees look remarkably healthy with new growth. The aspen meadow I wallow in was undisturbed. I find the grove with the deepest yellow, lie down in a circle of trees and look up through the leaves to the crystal blue sky, saturating my memory with primary colors in preparation for winter when the land is drained of color.

ROAD TO SHAW LAKE

I DIDN'T didn't stay at Shaw Lake long, but went west toward Creede on Highway 149, a dramatic drive that follows the Rio Grande between the tall cliffs on the right and the old railroad tracks on the left. I spent the night at the Freemon Guest Ranch about half way to Lake City. In the morning I stopped to film the meandering silver curves of the North Fork of the Rio Grande, then pulled over at a scenic stop and got out to take some shots of the distant headwaters of the Rio Grande.

HEADWATERS OF THE RIO GRANDE

NEXTstop, the clear gleaming waters of Lake San Cristobal, the second largest natural lake in Colorado, with camping spots where beautiful aspens reflected in the water. Yes, I am still looking for something approaching the perfection of the former Shaw Lake, now Shaw Puddle.

SAN CRISTOBAL LAKE, COLORADO

GUNNISON JEWEL

I DROVE on to Gunnison, spent the night at EconoLodge, soaked in the hot tub, and the next day followed the stunning Gunnison River west until I ran out of time. The Gunnison river gorge is steep and jagged, and in places 2,500 feet deep! The water was luminous as I explored the lookout points, clinging to the railing in the wind.

BACK in Taos, I still found plenty of color. I contented myself, between dentist appointments in Peñasco, with short hikes in the aspens on U.S. Hill, which never disappoints me, and a long-anticipated hike up Santa Barbara Canyon about a mile into the Pecos Wilderness. That river is looking good. I even got a shot of a big trout catching lunch on the bottom.

ASPENS ON U.S. HILL

Back home, to enjoy what was left of the fall color, I just stepped out the door and went down to the Rio Hondo. One more trip downstream along the Rio Grande, and it's all over, folks!