The Divide

We were early. Not early in the morning — early in the season. Mid-September at the Dallas Divide gives you pockets of pure gold with a lot of green still holding and whole stands caught somewhere between russet and orange, which might not be the postcard, but it’s arguably more interesting to look at.

We’d driven down from Logan to meet friends in Moab and spent a couple of nights with them in Arches and Canyonlands. They carried on south. We went east to Ouray, specifically to find what Colorado autumn had waiting.

We got a bit of a slow start that morning — our B&B bed being a touch too comfortable — but we still had the pull-off to ourselves. The sky never caught fire; the colour stayed muted and dusky, but the Sneffels range came up pink and lavender and the low light landed on the aspens instead of the clouds.

What made me keep this one was the snow, not exactly common in September anymore. There’d been a dusting across the peaks, and it’s what gives that range its depth here; without it the mountains flatten into a backdrop and the whole frame is just trees.

Three frames, stitched into one panorama.