Virginia and I had been planning to visit the San Juan Mountains this fall. We try to get down there every few years, sometimes in Summer to see the wildflowers and sometimes in fall to see the aspen forests turn gold. I tentatively put it on my calendar for last week. The end of September or first week of October is usually a good time to see the fall colors there. As often happens, life gets in the way. We get busy, the kids need our attention, something comes up at work, and so we never made it. Virginia had an opportunity to visit the grandkids in Washington and jumped at the chance. It’s not a long drive to southwestern Colorado. I can be in Ridgway in 5½ hours. But, I had a photo shoot for hire in town and I didn’t feel much like camping by myself so I stayed at home.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy some photography time in my own region. The Wasatch Front is a beautiful area this time of year. The maples, oaks, and willows of the lower canyons turn bright orange, red, and yellow. A magnificent tapestry of nature. There is a rich pioneer heritage in the state of Utah. It’s common to see pioneer inspired quilt samples used in various ways; sometimes purely and simply for the sake of art itself. I drove over Wasatch Mountain last weekend and stopped on the upper ridgeline to survey the Little Deer Creek drainage below me. I was immediately reminded of the patchwork quilts I see so often in local craft shows. The hillsides were ablaze in bright colors.

During the week, I took short drives in Provo Canyon, only five minutes from my house. It’s often easiest to miss the beauty that’s directly under my nose. I think I am struck so powerfully by the beauty now because this season, of all the seasons, is so fleeting. I enjoy warm colors in spring and summer, but only find them on the tips of pretty wildflowers. In the fall, whole forests turn bright orange and yellow almost too saturate for the visual sense. But it is brief, and before long trees stand bare awaiting the blanket of snow that seems to last forever.

I hoped to have stormy skies this week while shooting in the canyon. Sadly, I was given bright blue skies and wonderfully warm daytime temperatures. It’s actually hard to complain about the conditions we’ve enjoyed this week.