Gaspin' at aspens

With this tumultuous economic news, we can either bury our head in the sand -- or head for the mountains to see some fall color. We did the latter. Pix taken on 9/23-24/08.

We had planned 10 days in the Rockies (even planning to attempt a rendezvous with fellow tlb forumer 'food' at the Brown Burro or another mountain cafe), but it got cut short to only 3 days by our host's family emergency in Texas. But still got some great shots of the quakin' aspens turning every shade of gold.

Pics are from Mosquito Pass, the old North London mine, the Four Mile/Horseshoe Mtn. area, and the blazin' Weston Pass area. We only did a few short hikes -- just enough to beg for more. I forgot all about my WaMu stock. (Just kiddin'.)

Very beautiful pictures! I'm very jealous...hoping to get some good fall Michigan pics next weekend when I go out.

Your photos make me realize how much I miss the aspens in the Rockies!

Out here in the Pacific Northwest we have western larch and (in the North Cascades) alpine larch, which are unique and beautiful. Since they are a paler gold, they make me think of the mallorn trees in "Lord of the Rings." And our mountain maple (a shrub rather than a tree) matches the sugar maple back east. Our huckleberry bushes have already turned a glorious deep red. But I can't forget the glory of the aspens!

The orange ones--my mother had her kitchen painted to match one of those orange aspen leaves. It wasn't quite the same (since the walls weren't translucent), but it certainly was a cheerful note during the long, cold Wyoming winters.

You were so fortunate to catch that deer in mid-leap!

Thank you for the beautiful photos! They also took my mind off Wamu's woes for a while (no stock here, but I'm a depositor and they hold my mortgage--I guess JP Morgan has it now).

Absolutly beautiful. Are you a pro photographer? Pic #2 looks like a postcard.
To stand and gaze at that beauty makes you a very lucky person.
I grew up in Idaho and northern california for my tween and teen years and yearn to return. But alas, that dream is drifting further and further from my grasp. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

That deer is a heck of a catch! The tree shots are terrific as well. We have scattered aspen stands in the Sierra but I've never seen anything like those.

Here's a lone aspen from a couple weeks back.

I love aspens enough, but it just looks like home to me. Everything's aspen around here, and while I agree it's beautiful, it's also what you're used to becomes the everyday.

Of course, when I see people posting stuff of the mixed hardwood stuff in the southeast - I think that's cool - partly because I'm hardly ever around that stuff. One of the nice things
about posting pictures - I post yet another (ho hum) set of pics from a trip in the rockies
and someone else posts something from (ho hum) a weekend section on the southern trails, and we each think the other's stuff is cooler than our own <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Mind you that shot catching that doe mulie in mid leap is pretty cool.

Yeah, I like the doe too... took me a while to figure out it was real. Incredible catch!

MNS

MSN:

Pure luck with that shot. Here are the next two frames I didn't include in the OP:



and



When I scared the doe while taking the cabin & aspens shot, I figured she'd leap that fence so I was ready. I just didn't hear the pick-up barrelin' up behind me. Somehow he missed me (the stupid tourist standing on road taking leaf-pix) AND the scared deer.

MSN, you're lucky. There probably aren't that many jay-walking-while-leaf-peeping fatalities in Alaska each year.
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Great pix. It reminds me that I need to go up the canyon and take some fall pics of the aspens.

No, but Kev' is a 'pro' writer, maybe you'll find his titles over on Amazon....somethin' about South Beach Boatees.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> A good read if I do say so myself <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />