West Dallas Creek

West Dallas Creek is also mapped as County Road #9.  In photographing this road we were joined by Karen.  It is amazing how adding another set of eyes can add so much more to an experience.  Tom and I are pretty accustomed to shooting together (I see your smile).  Once again we were reminded that there are many more ways to capture a magical scene than what we might think of.  It is nice to have her here.

A recently harvested field of hay.  The Sneffels are in the background.

Anybody know this guy?  I seem to run into him a lot when I am out photographing.

We are so glad you have joined us.

County Road #7

This is another photogenic county road, also known as East Dallas Creek.  Surprisingly, each of the county roads that are written about in the books we have tell us that we will get different vistas on each of the county roads.  So true!  County Road #7 is another dirt road that leads you closer to the Sneffels Mountains.  Once again we ran into other photographers.  We also spoke with a couple who owned one of the ranches along the road.  Unfortunately, they were not happy with the many photographers that descended into their part of the world in the fall.  I smiled at them and told them that they lived in a magical place and I hoped they could share with us.  And, we will share with you. 

It appears hay is grown in these fields.  There are cattle and equestrian ranches dotted along the road.

From almost any turn you can see the Sneffels in the background.

An unexpected treat.  A pond with reflections . . . well sort of.

Tom's take on the scene.

We knew a storm front was approaching and sure enough the clouds were increasing.

As photographers know, when you photograph late in the day in canyons or mountains you get one side nicely lit and the other in the shade.  If you correct too much in post processing it looks fake as our eyes and experience tells us this bright tree could have a shadowed mountain nearby.  Ah, but the ridge is nicely lit.  It helps find the top of the hill!

For Rick!  This is a double for ya!

Just another curve in the road.

Can it get any better than this?

On our way back we checked our pond again.  Much nicer reflections!  And yes, that mountain is dark yellow.  I remember thinking, "How can that be?"  I need someone to explain how an upward facing snow pack can pick up the golden color from fall.

There are still flowers blooming along the road!

For all my flower loving friends. 

By the time we got home it was rather late.  We were excited, however, that very early the next morning we would be driving to Silverton to meet up with Karen for breakfast.  She was driving up from an overnight in Durango.  We are blessed in so many ways.

County Road #5

If you are camped in the midst of the San Juan Mountains in the fall you will find lots, seriously lots and lots, of great photo opportunities.  Fall color generally starts in mid-September and lasts through early October.  We are parked at the northern end of the San Juan Skyway Loop.  While the loop is great, some of the best opportunities are on side roads.  County Road #5 is one of those county side roads. Know before you start off that these are dirt roads, some good and some not so good.  You will not be alone on these narrow dirt county roads.  This time of year photographers line the small pull-outs, politely pass slowly to keep the dust down and share stories if you ask.  The most common questions are: where is it good to find fall color, how is the road, and has the color peaked.  Once those questions are discussed we get down to the niceties such as where they are from, what are they doing at this spot and finally we get to the nitty gritty such as gear.

This is the Sneffel Range.

This is a typical dirt curve on County Road #5.  As we drove along the road became more and more challenging.  Eventually one enters into the Uncompahgre National Forest and climbs up toward the Sneffels.  We eventually turned around, unable to navigate deep ruts and mud.

There are quite a few ranches along the road.

Those are cows in that meadow.  County Road #5 provides lots of opportunities for panoramic photographs.

Yes, I was pinching myself to make sure this was real.

I love a Golden Hour opportunity.  Notice the gold on the mountains.

Still a pretty good road at this point.

We might have been tempted to stay for a sunset but there were no clouds and my new favorite resource, Skyfire, an in app subscription within The Photographer's Ephemeris, suggested there would be no color around sunset.  Skyfire predicts the potential for sunset associated color.  I have been checking daily and evaluating its predictive value.  I call daughters in Phoenix and my brothers in several locations and ask them how the sunset played out.  Of course I can use my own location as well.  So far I can share that it is pretty darn good!!  If you are using TPE you might want to check it out.  On this particular night it was correct.