East of Torrey

Not all make it

South of Torrey

 

Last year I came through this forest south of Torrey in the middle of October and all the leaves were gone but there were many Aspen groves and you knew it would be colorful earlier. This year we hit it at the perfect time.

Hanksville, Utah

The road from Hanksville Utah to Torrey has to be one of the best drives for photographers. Of course, there are several roads in this area are great and the drive south of Torry takes you through some large Aspen groves that can be colorful this time of the year.

Road to Johnson, Utah

Poles and Storm on Road to Johnson

Johnson, Utah

Johnson Utah is another ghost town north of Moab. The town was used in several western movies. Just north of town there are some great panels of pictographs.  

Cisco, Utah

Cisco is a ghost town NE of Moab. A road to the east goes to a landing on the Colorado River and although the town was mostly deserted there were a number of fishermen launching boats and river runners taking rafts out.

Moab

Rain North of Moab

Deer at Arches

Arches early and late

Double Arch Early Morning

Arches after sunset

A large bike event had left no motel rooms in Moab so we stayed in Green River. Hoping to catch great early morning light at Double Arches we left Green River at 4 AM and by flashlight hiked to under the arch to catch the light before sunrise. The light we waited for never came as clouds covered the eastern sky and the diffused light didn't give the contrast we wanted on the monochromatic rock formations. At the end of the day we did get some good light about a half hour after the sun went down.

Arches National Park

Just north of Moab is Arches National Park with a lot of large stone arches and monuments. To the south you can see the LaSal Mountains which also have large colorful Aspen groves and this morning had a dusting of snow.

Dead Horse Point

Our first stop in the Moab area was Dead Horse Point. It has been many years since I had been at this great overlook. Then you could drive right to the edge and have unobstructed to photograph from. Now there is a stone wall along the edge, platforms, shade structures, and even a visitors center along with a admission charged. 

Last Dollar Road

The Aspen were at their peak fall colors on Last Dollar Road.

Silverton to IrontownIrontown

Irontown

Silverton Reflection

I've stopped at this pond outside Silverton to photograph the reflection many times but the fall colors gave it a new look. While we were walking around the buildings of Irontown two deer were also walking around the ghost town and we saw them several times. They were not concerned by our presence.

Ophir

Ophir, Colorado

Colorado and Beyond

Top of Ophir Pass

When I left Silverton the first week of September there was no snow and the Aspen had only started to get their fall colors so now was the time to go back. Starting in Santa Fe with a friend who is also a photographer we left on a scouting trip to Moab. The goal was to plan a future trip for photographers leaving from the studio in Santa Fe then returning to process and make prints from the photographs using some of the processes Don teaches in his studio. Our first stop was Silverton Colorado and we arrived at the peak of the fall colors. This photo is from the top of the Ophir Pass jeep trail. On our way to Moab we will take Last Dollar Road from the Telluride Valley.