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| 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.
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| ASPEN REFLECTIONS |
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| THE TREASURE |
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| WATER RUSH |
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| COLLAGE |
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| UNDERWATER |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| SAN CRISTOBAL LAKE, COLORADO |
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| 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.
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| 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!
