With the changing of the seasons bringing the arrival of autumn this week, I thought it was a good time to share an image of the scenes to come. The temperatures here in Colorado have begun to cool (finally!) and there have been some hints in some places of the foliage starting to change. It will be another week or two before the high country starts to glow in earnest and a couple weeks after that we will see autumn gold at lower elevations. Last year I didn’t do so well capturing the mountain scenes but down below, well, I did far better as this image shows.

A few weeks ago I shared a wider view of this spot captured at the height of the fall foliage. Here is a bit of a closer look. It was just an absolutely gorgeous scene, providing me with some of my favorite fall foliage pics that I have ever taken. The golden leaves, the bridge, the reflection – wow! No doubt one in the series will end up on the wall in my family room before long.

Well this was a nice spot to say the least and a good capture for #FallFoliageFriday!

I didn’t do so well documenting the fall foliage in the high country this year so I have been keeping an eye out for opportunities closer to home along the Colorado Front Range. This past Sunday, as I was heading to the south Denver metro area for a wildlife opportunity, I made an unplanned stop at this place, Hudson Gardens.

I had never been there and as I was driving south, I was taking note of the beautiful fall foliage along the South Platte River. Seeing the signage for someplace called “gardens”, I figured it was worth a shot and swung in the parking lot.

A short walk yielded some pretty darned amazing scenes. I shot a bunch of pics that really turned out nicely but I think this is my favorite of the series. The beautiful, blue Colorado sky above with the fall yellows, reds and greens and of course, the bridge. Awesome stuff!

This image is available for purchase here.

This is a road you have seen me share pictures of before. In just about every season it is really cool with those thick cottonwoods alongside providing a nice canopy.

In the fall is when it really shines and this year in particular, it looks absolutely resplendent. I think this is probably one of the best fall foliage seasons I have ever seen.

From the high country down to the Great Plains it really has been gorgeous. Since I didn’t do such a great job capturing the show in the mountains, I have been doing my best to ensure I get all I can at lower elevations.

A couple days ago I shared some drone pics, this one today and then in a couple days, I have another to show you that is really just over the top.

As you start the climb up the east side of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, there is a little turn off to this spot. As it is at a higher elevation than the Estes Park valley, this area serves as a bit of a harbinger of the change in colors to come to lower spots in the weeks that follow.

This past Saturday I headed up that way in search of some Colorado gold and while it wasn’t abundant, there was enough yellow aspen to drive home the point that autumn is here. Throw in those crazy, deep blue skies and the moon and there were some nice scenes to capture.

Somewhat of a cliché picture of a type that is probably overdone but I always like taking these.

I shot this last Saturday in Rocky Mountain National Park in one of the few stands of trees that was showing some nice color. I certainly would have preferred blue skies above but haze from wildfires was intruding and giving the sky a milky appearance.

Nevertheless, it was a peaceful morning and one I enjoyed as I hiked through this area, enjoying the silence and peace.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The change of seasons is upon us with the autumnal equinox and fall having arrived this morning. Here in Colorado, we are hoping for a break from the unseasonably warm and dry conditions but that does not appear in the cards for the foreseeable future.

The fall color show in the high country is starting in earnest right now although from what I am hearing, it is a bit hit or miss as drought has taken its toll on a lot of the foliage.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I may not get in my annual fall foliage drive, something I would normally be doing today or tomorrow. So, for this image, I jump back to 2016 and this spot along Geneva Creek on Guanella Pass. The area is one of the most popular for viewing the fall colors and for good reason

A throwback image to last year on my fall foliage drive at the end of September and one I haven’t shared before.

Last year I didn’t have a great deal of luck with my timing but hopefully this year will be better. After the hot summer we had, lots of folks are ready to rush autumn in but I am not necessarily one of them as I do love warmer weather.

On my last couple of trips to the high country, I noticed some leaves already changing and, unfortunately, lots of stands of trees quite brown or with burnt edges on the leaves, an indicator of the hot, dry summer we have had here in Colorado. Hopefully there will be spots though that put on a nice show.