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Driving down San Juan National Forest roads you sometimes need to be watchful for mud, rocks, or deep potholes, and when you come to a bend in the road, you need to slow down for that infrequent chance that another driver might be coming from the other direction. When the seasons change to fall, you only need to be ready to take it all in.

On Mill Creek Road in the San Juan National Forest, if you want to drive to the higher elevations at the end of it to see the Aspens, you have to slow down on the way to notice the Narrowleaf Cottonwoods (Populus angustifolia), which can be every bit as wonderful as the Aspens.

Sometimes when dense clouds are darkening the sky, but the sky has a small opening far to the west at sundown, the sun peeks beneath the clouds to get one last look at the mountains before continuing on over the horizon. And if you’re lucky and in the right spot with a camera then, you can capture a wonderful image.

Leaves of the Narrowleaf Cottonwoods (Populus angustifolia) aren’t the only source of autumn color in this stream-side environment. Willow and Sumac shrubs have quite colorful branches that become exposed when they drop their leaves.

A few years ago, I took an autumn ride on this train to view the fall colors in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. On that trip I saw photographers waiting for the train where it crossed roads or (like here) where it came near to a road. This day I was just enjoying the colors by car when I realized that the train was approaching a good pull-off spot by the road in a few minutes.

Rocky Mountain Aspen (Populus tremuloides) leaves in fall. They are much more than just yellow and their textures invite the viewer to pause, take a deep breath, and reflect. What are we doing to our natural world? Will fall colors still be vivid in the Rocky Mountains in 100 years?

On topographic maps, when the lines come close together in many places, the landforms become spectacular! The San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado have oodles of topo lines that are very close together, and that means cliffs and lots of bare rock at high elevations.

A background of dark cliffs and rocks makes Aspen and Spruce trees stand out dramatically. If only I could walk over there for a while . . .

The northeastern part of North America may have a better variety of fall colors, but when the shapes and contrasts of mountains and spruces are added to the fall colors, the Rocky Mountain scenes can’t be matched anywhere. If you’ve hiked some distance to see this, you’ll be a little out of breath because of the elevation, but what a great benefit for your eyes when you have to sit down for minute to catch up on your oxygen.

When a mountain peak extends above treeline anywhere in the world, the bare rocks take on so much more drama when partly covered with snow. And when those peaks are surrounded by fall colors, the drama takes your breath away.