Fall is my favorite season and I’m determined to wring every last bit of color from it this year. In pursuit of that goal, I drove north into Colorado last week, looking for aspens turning yellow and orange.
I didn’t have to go very far. I passed through Durango for the first time in years, if not decades, and drove along the Million Dollar Highway stretch of the San Juan Skyway.1 It was difficult to make much progress because I kept stopping to take photos.
There was a pullout overlooking an area that used to be part of the Idarado mine. A photo I later found online described the bald areas in the image above as mine waste. While I don’t like the idea, I do like the way those little hills look amidst all the trees.
I’d heard about Last Dollar Road2 outside Telluride, and was successful in finding it on the way home. I drove only a few miles of it before seeing the scene above, which I thought was beautiful. I also thought I was likely to get caught in some serious rain as I drove through the mountains, so I took a few shots and ended my sight-seeing a bit earlier than I would have otherwise.
It was very slow going on my way back through the San Juan mountains. There were about a gazillion other folks gawking out their windows, logging trucks laboring up the road, and of course my own propensity for stopping every half mile.
I can’t complain though, because somehow I completely missed the rain.
These names are real — I swear I didn’t make them up.
Coloradans apparently like to include dollars in their place names. I also visited Dollar Lake while I was up there.
so gorgeous!!! Must be why it's called Million Dollar Highway!
More delightful, colorful scenss from your journeying. Thanks Lisa!