Fall has always been my favorite time of year. The weather is cooling down, days are getting shorter, and the deciduous trees are having their leaves turn beautiful colors before they drop them into a magical colored carpet in the forest. In the Sedona area, it is a mixed bag with some years having very little in the way of color due to the weather, and the fact that we have so many evergreen trees. My perennial favorite is to go up on the Colorado Plateau and photograph the mountainsides that are exploding with color as all the aspen turn yellow. Plus, the oaks and maples adding their part to the mix. From the air you get wide vistas and from the ground more specific subject matter.
Photo 1 (Featured at the top of this page): On the ground in Lockett Meadow looking to the West, southwest, and the peaks rising more than 4,000 feet from where I am standing. The meadow is a beautiful place to be … a place to regain your nerves after the drive up.
Photo 2
Photo 2: This is the view looking from West to East on the West side of the San Francisco Peaks; Humphreys Peak (12,637 feet) is just off to the right of the photo, and we are looking down into the inner basin. Many groves of aspen can be seen in near full color. Below the inner basin is Lockett Meadow and above that and to the right of that is O’Leary Peak. The background is the Painted Desert. Locket Meadow is at an elevation of about 8,500 feet.
Photo 3
Photo 3: A grove of Aspen on the side of Humphreys Peak. Aspen do produce seed which helps, but the main method of progation is through a root system that sends shoots up and forms new trees all interconnected to the same root system. These colonies can cover many acres!
Photo 4
Photo 4: A view from near the west side of the San Francisco Peaks looking westerly and you have the entire east side of Kendrick Peak in full color. The peak (10,425 feet) is just poking into a cloud.
