Sara's Visit: Day One 10/8/2010

Sara and her husband came out to SLC last December to take in some of our area's musical venues and to meet Tiggie, of course.

It was just a quick weekend, and the whole SLC area was covered with snow. I showed them mostly around our metropolis and we had a lovely time together.

When fall colors began to dapple the back country, I sent a Picasa picture album to her and suggested that she jump on a plane and come see it all for herself.
She took me up on my offer; less than two hours later the flight was booked for three weeks later.
Of course I wondered what would be left of the aspens by that time. Silly me...God always seems to manage to make the most spectacular seasonal delights peak just in time for my visiting friends.

Sara flew in last Friday afternoon at 1 pm after we had had a rainy week. She landed while the sky was still sporatically dripping moisture here and there. I took her home and we tucked into my kitchen table and enjoyed a hot bowl of homemade beef soup and store bought apple cookies, watched the birds and waited for the weather to clear up a bit.



Two hours later we headed out to see the autumn colors.
First stop: Mill Creek Canyon, the National Forest area about six minutes from our house.
Bernie, suitably attired to compliment the scenery, was our driver.

B. and I had seen one bush's rather remarkable color change: it went white for fall!

Up close the leaves showed to be a very pale yellow, but the light colors really stood out against the rest of the forest. They sort of made me think of those popular new white pumpkins!

Rain drops still sparkled on everything....


The right angle meeting of Mill Creek at Porter's Fork was kicking up a lot of sound.

(Factoid: There are only two rivers in the world that collide head to head. One is in Glide Oregon, near where my college room mate lives. I can't remember what continent the other one is on, (Egypt/Africa?) but now I am always on the lookout for another colliding river or stream.)

Across the way a sculptural outcropping reared up in the still green brush.

(I always like to imagine God using this area as a place to display His sculptures in a magnificent setting.)
From Mill Creek Canyon we headed south and east a bit, up through Big Cottonwood Canyon and started up Guardsman Pass near Brighton.

The clouds were still lingering overhead but whenever the sun broke through the aspen lit up as if were in a spotlight.

Yes, some of the trees were bare, but they simply provided perfect contrast for the remaining autumn colors.

Oh...did I forget to mention God's extra special treat? There had been SNOW up in the mountains!

Catching full aspen color against snow is a photographer's dream.


Sara was in heaven shooting pictures in every direction!


One way the view said "Winter"....



While all that is needed is a slight turn of the head and the view would shift back to full on autumn.


Yes, it was pretty nippy up there...I really need to get one of those kind of gloves with a peel back index finger tip so I can take winter shots with my gloves on.


Scene Composition #1

Composition #2...I couldn't decide which frame I liked best.

A couple of weeks ago I posted this scene with half the forest fully golden and the other half still green. The grove continues to be split down the middle in seasonal progress.
Next spring I should check to see if they leaf out at a different pace too.


(No, I have no idea why there is a tee pee here. It is very scenic looking though.)


It is pretty much impossible to get a bad shot of aspen trunks.
It is also pretty much impossible toresist taking just one more picture of aspen too.
I have a similar shot taken back in July when there were vibrant deep blue flowers blooming here.

Sigh.

Aspen groves are just wonderful!

Bernie patiently pulled over at almost every road bend so Sara and I could scramble out to take another few pictures.

He suddenly pulled over all on his own, without being asked, and asked me for my camera, saying "wait for it...wait for it.."

Suddenly the sun broke through the clouds and gave us this shot.

And this shot.
The break in the clouds only lasted a few moments.

I was so glad he was scanning the sky looking for it to happen.

The most maddening thing about scenes like this one is knowing that hiking through the groves would present a zillion more great photo opportunities.

It was getting close to sunset...

A few more breaks in the clouds briefly lit up other scenes.

It was a bit breezy and my eyes were watering in the cold, but I couldn't stop staring at the beauty up on the pass.
By then it was after seven; I had a dinner planned but it was just so wonderful being up in the mountains I didn't want to leave.

Silver Fork Lodge was right on the way home...there was a huge roaring fire in the 1940's built log restaurant...what better way to prolong our mountain views?

(No, there wasn't this much snow on the restaurant roof, this is from their website. Sara, how did we both manage not to take a picture there?)

Sharing a meal while being warmed by a huge fire next to us was, IMO, the best way to close out that day.