This is a glorious time of year in my area. The mountains are ablaze in color. The lower hills are brightly adorned in oranges, reds, and soft golden colors of the oaks and willows, while the high mountains are crowned in vibrant yellows as the aspen trees turn. We made two trips into the mountains this week. I almost made a third trip last evening, but duties at home kept me tied down. When the season is so fleeting, it’s hard to let a moment pass by. We’ll enjoy the sweep of color across the state for the next month, although it won’t always be at my doorstep as it is now. It begins in the high mountains in late September and gradually works its way down in elevation until it sweeps through Zion National Park around the first weekend of November. For the next five weeks, we’ll likely chase the autumn wave through the state of Utah. It is all the more beautiful when we witness and enjoy the scene under truly magical light of the setting sun.

The above image was taken from Mill Spring Canyon looking upon the backside of Mount Timpanogos. Virginia and I drove up there on Wednesday evening to watch the sunset. I had a feeling something nice might happen. I enjoyed making this image, but the real magic happened about 30 minutes later immediately after the sunset. I didn’t even move my tripod between the two shots, only the focal length of my lens has changed. What a difference a half hour makes.

We wanted to see the aspen forest at Guardsman Pass on Friday evening, but roadwork was taking place and we couldn’t get to the overlook between Big Cottonwood Canyon and the backside of Wasatch Mountain. We had two choices, drive over the mountain into Park City or backtrack to Wasatch Mountain State Park. Park City is mostly evergreen forest with scattered aspen and lots of condominiums so we chose to explore the State Park.

Wasatch Mountain State Park is relatively young, established in 1968, a mere 50 years ago. Over those years there has not been much development in the way of trail building, infrastructure, and roads. That is probably the best thing it has going for it. It seems to be mostly noted for a few superb mountain biking trails. We parked at the upper lot for the WOW trail and wandered into the woods and through a series of meadows.

We stayed until the sun sank below the ridgeline and plunged the meadow into deep shadow. As we made our way back to our car, we felt incredibly blessed for the magnificent world around us. We dropped into the town of Midway for dinner just as the sky lit up in waves of pink and magenta clouds. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful excursion into the mountains on just another fall day in Utah.