Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 5

This is a continuation of fall photogrphy in Colorado’s Rio Grande National Forest in September 2026.

‘Emerging’ has a double meaning for this photo. The trees in the foreground are just beginging to show fall colors emerging from the green and those trees in the background are emerging from the early morning mist.

The campground I stayed in is free range country for cattle and for some reason these black cows liked to bump into and rub against my vehicle, which was startling in the dark of night, as I lay sleeping in that vehicle.

I can’t resist photographing these little mountain streams with their miniature waterfalls and cascades. There is also a big waterfall, that I discovered a few years ago, upstream from this location. I thought with the recent rains that there might be a good flow over those falls and wanted to go there; but it is a really steep climb, which is difficult enough when the ground is dry, but much more trecherous when wet. So even though I began that climb, I soon realized that maybe it was not worth the effort and risk, so I moved on down the road.

A pretty valley with a river meandering through it, as I meandered along a forest road, stopping occassionally to photograph such scenes.

These trees seem organized in size and color by regimented ranks along a mountainside.

This big rock in an Alpen grove gave me a new idea for a photographic theme: Forest Rocks with Fallen Fall Leaves.

And the lichen on the rocks adds more interest.

There will be more photos in this theme in upcoming blogs.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 4

More fall photography in the Rio Grande National Forest of Southern Colorado.

While there is not an official sign in place for visitors to a National Forest, people have a way of creating their own on the trunks of trees. It is common to find many such as that in this photo along side forest roadways.

I think Aspens may be the most photogenic of all forest trees. Even their bare trunks are attractive.

And even monochrome images in a colorful Aspen forest can be appealing.

I parked a little below Stunner Pass, walked back up the roadway to shoot a few scenic views from the roadway.

This talus slope is no obstacle for Aspens.

‘The Junction’ refers to the intersecting roads at the bottom of this photo, but I suppose that description can be extended to the mountains in the background, too.

More Colorado fall photos to come,

Ken

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 3

This is a continuation of fall photography in Rio Grande National Forest of Southern Colorado in September 2926.

The forest road was mostly ok, even though wet, muddy and bumpy, just a few slippery places to be cautious on.

The unusual always commands more attention than does normal.

I’m always curious about what is just around the bend.

Aspen trees are connected by their root system, making a batch of such trees members of the same family or community.

An advantage of walking along a forest roadway in the rain is getting photos like these, while passerbys stop to make sure you are ok, because nobody in their right mind walks around in the rain with a camera.

Stay tuned for more fall photography,

Ken

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 2

This is a continuation of fall photography in the Rio Grande National Forest of southern Colorado in September 2026.

I made a number of images at this location, while walking around in the drizzling rain, along Forest Service Road 250, which follows the Conejos River for a long way in Rio Grande National Forest.

This was not the kind of weather I wanted, but I knew before I began this trip that there were significant chances of rain for each day here.

With the recent and continuing rains, the local streams were flowing again after a long dry spell and there is something irresistible about a mountain stream in every season.

Ok, time to move on down the road,

Ken

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 1

It had been years since I visited Colorado in the fall. Not because I didn’t want to be there in the fall, but because the timing never worked out. This year I had a narrow window of opportunity to visit Colorado and I took advantage of it.

I knew in advance that this year might not be a great year for fall color in Colorado, due to a wide spread drought; but I knew that if I passed up this opportunity, I might not get another for years. So I went.

On the second day of travel, as I neared my destination in Southern Colorado, it began to rain. Mostly, light, intermittent showers, but sometimes heavy downpours. It rained and was overcast most of the time I was there with only the last couple of days partly sunny with occasional light rain.

I’ve driven past these peaks numerous times in my trips to and from this part of Colorado. Today those heavy clouds above the peaks inspired me to stop and shoot this image.

I arrived at the south end of Forest Service Road 250 in the late afternoon and I stopped a few time along the road to shoot a few images, while looking for a place to overnight in my vehicle.

This time of the year is not only leaf peeping season in Colorado, but hunting season as well. So there were many hunters in the Rio Grande National Forest, taking up many of the open campsites. I was also surprised to see that a number of forest campgrounds that were closed the last time I was in this area were still closed. I don’t know why, but I suspect budget cuts by the current Washington regime is responsible.

And the rains made some dispersed camping areas difficult or impossible to use. Fortunately, I found a suitable place to stay overnight, although I did walk into the area first to make sure I could navigate the muddy dirt roads and puddles.

This is an iPhone photo with the wide angle lense distortion making it look like those evergreens are leaning in to protect my vehicle from the inclement weather.

I found it interesting that this group of small aspens near my campsite are all bent in the same manner. Perhaps these were deformed when very small by a snow load and maintained that shape as they have grown.

More Colorado fall photos to come. Thanks for following,

Ken

Utah – March 2026 – Part 23

This is a continuation of sunset photography at Dead Horse Point SP, Utah.

This concludes the photography series from Utah in March of 2026.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Utah – March 2026 – Part 23

This is a continuation of sunset photography at Dead Horse Point, Utah.

There is more to shoot at Dead Horse Point than the grand scenic.

To be continued,

Ken

Utah – March 2026 – Part 22

In an earlier post I revealed that I had gotten my posts out of chronological order. Now I’m stepping back a day to the evening prior to the overcast sky shoot at sunset at Dead Horse Point, Utah. The evening prior was much different.

To be continued,

Ken

Utah – March 2026 – Part 21

This is a continuation of photography at Dead Horse Point, Utah on an overcast evening in March, 2026.

Ah, at last a little muted sunset light on those distant cliffs.

This final image shows that we were not alone at this popular view point.

Thanks for following,

Ken

Utah – March 2026 – Part 20

After driving Potash Road and the Shafer Trail, we returned to Dead Horse Point for sunset photography. It was a heavily overcast evening, so prospects for a golden sunset hour did not look promising.

This tree creature seems to be relishing the sunshine on its shoulder.

Twisting through the desert dust, a strong anchor holding its life form firmly to the earth.

A portion of a nearby coppery cliff edge glows in late day sunlight, thick desert clouds envelope the landscape below in deep shadow.

Desert plants sink their roots into the thin soil and hard rock, where scant moisture hides from the harsh sun. The V shape of the niche in the rock is reminiscent of similar shapes seen in Georgia O’Keefe’s artwork.

Thanks for following,

Ken

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Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 5

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Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 4

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Colorado Fall – Sep 2026 – Part 3

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Utah – March 2026 – Part 23

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Utah – March 2026 – Part 20

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