This years mild weather prolonged the Fall color season, making me get out to hunt for color again and again. The typical October freezes didn’t happen until later in the month this year. Some years, we go out for hikes and the trees seem to forget to change color; the leaves brown from the freezes and fall off at once. Last year, we remembered to look close to Prescott for fall color aspen trees and decided to go again. It’s a shorter drive for us than going to Flagstaff, however we did go up there as well earlier this month. Each place has it’s own charm and each year it is always a little different. I am a colorist, an impressionist painter and love finding inspiration during the fall season. I can paint from these expeditions until next fall! So, with some tips and clues from a friend on where we should go, we headed out Copper Basin road to Aspen Creek, about 15 minutes from downtown Prescott. The morning light was crisp and the skies were clear blue. The sunlight was warm and the breeze was cool. We found pleasant surprises and a mix of red and orange with the typical yellow aspens. I appreciated the contrast of evergreen trees, juniper and ponderosa, with the aspens. Other plants were joining in fall season coloring like a manzanita bush displaying red berries, or an alligator juniper with pale blue/green berries. Our kids picked leaves to be pressed and our oldest delighted in finding quartz rocks too. Here are some favorite photographs from the mornings adventure:
