September 27, 2015
Owl Creek Pass Palisades, Uncompagre National Forest, Colorado, USA

I'm in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado for the fall color. It only took me three days of driving from central Colorado to get here because I first checked out the Alpine Loop near Salt Lake City where I had planned to start photographing fall color. The color there was already past peak and lots of trees were just turning brown. So, based on the color I had seen in Colorado, I turned around and headed to my favorite location for fall color. The color is just starting here, but there are still images to be made including this one of the palisades near Owl Creek Pass last night at sunset.

While waiting for the clouds to light up, I heard something crashing through the forest just up the road. I turned to see what was making the commotion, and saw a black bear appear out of the woods, scamper across the road, and disappear into the woods on the other side. It was a nice bonus to the wonderful evening out in nature!