Colliding Seasons

People often say, “If you don’t like the weather in Colorado, just wait five minutes.”

Fall in our mountains brings such a statement into the realm of reality. This photo was taken at Molas Lake, south of Silverton, along US 550, in late September of 2022. We were returning from a 12-day trip to West Texas and had driven the previous day from near Albuquerque, NM. Stormy weather had altered our plans to make it all the way back to Grand Junction. On that return, we had spent the night near Molas Pass in the back of our shell-covered pickup. After a stormy, wet night, when we awoke in the morning, everything was covered in a 1-2” layer of heavy, wet snow. This was our unplanned opportunity. We would have blazing fall colors from the changing aspens accented by the newly fallen snow. In the early morning, everything was shrouded in clouds with snow covering the landscape. Within just a couple hours though, the clouds were lifting displaying the snow-blanketed peaks and allowing the color of the aspens and willows to radiate in contrast to the clearing, blue sky and reflect off the still waters of Molas Lake. What a scene awaited us as our cameras relished the dynamic landscape. Lifting clouds, snow-covered peaks, rusty willows, yellow grasses, golden aspens, green conifers and a perfect reflection displayed all the primary colors of two seasons colliding in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

This photo was taken on the same day as “Between Seasons” and “Solitude.”