September 18-20, 2017
Fall on the Kaibab Plateau brings on many shades of gold and just a touch of red too.
With three days off work I started with a drive on the Cape Royal Road where the fall colors were taking off. The show was particularly brilliant in the 2000 Outlet burn with a carpet of young aspen among the few remaining standing dead pine trunks. The neon colors were so bright they almost hurt my eyes.
While in some places only a few select branches or individual trees had turned to gold. I thought fall was earlier than usual but as I looked back in my fall photo files it seems about right time wise.
A quick stop at Vista Encantada overlook to check on a particular clump of aspen along the rim which had not turned yet. I did enjoy a pair of Ravens sharing secrets overhead. Golden needles on the Ponderosa Pine drop about every 5-7 years.
I timed the drive for late light and sunset at Cape Royal where more gold showed itself on the walls of the canyon at Angels Window and Wotans Throne.
Even woke up in time for the gold of sunrise on the horizon to light up Wotans Throne.
Followed by a pale gold on the horizon over the South Rim.
And patches of light on the far walls as Wotans continued to glow.
As the sun breaks free the canyon jumps to life slowly filling with brilliant light that chases away deep shadows.
Along Cape Royal trail golden pinyon pine nuts entice the Clarks Nutcrackers by the dozens.
Shades of red and gold fill the canyon from Walhalla overlook. A cold wind blows foretelling the approach of winter.
One year old aspen stand three feet tall among their frozen families from last year’s Fuller Fire near the Point Imperial turn. (Foliage freeze is a unusual phenomenon during a fire that cooks the moisture from the tree and leaves without actually burning them.)
And the 2000 Outlet burn looked like a patchwork quilt as I neared the main highway from the Cape Royal Road.
An hour before noon I headed out of the park and into the national forest seeing the bison-hybrids along the way.
I love driving forest roads, slowly with frequent stops for the array of color show. Began on FR22 for a few miles then north on FR462.
I paused to look into the forest. I paused to look up in the air. I paused to look close. And I paused to look down on the forest floor.
Then I drove on through the forest admiring the variety of colors.
More gold in the Outlet burn along 429 and still the chill wind blew.
Back on pavement I headed to Jacob Lake for a late lunch and because I planned to shop in Kanab the next day found a place not far from Jacob Lake with a good internet signal and hunkered in out of the wind.
Of course I had to stop for more fall colors on the way back home with so many wonderful groves of aspen to choose from.
Truly think there were more aspens of gold and red in just two days.
The wind shook the leaves of the quaking aspen causing them to glitter and rattle like gold but also made it difficult to photograph so the foliage is blurry.
Red-tail hawks soared overhead as I drove through the golden meadows.
And just over the rim of Grand Canyon can also be seen patches of deep to brilliant red from the scattered maples.
Two lonely maples grow along the road almost to the Lodge.
Seems gold with a little red are the colors of this season.
