The Epic Fall Color Photography Road Trip - Part 6 (San Juan Mountains, Colorado)

This is the final chapter of the Epic Fall Color Road Trip from in August, September and October of 2022, From Orange County California up the British Columbia Coast to Alaska and Denali, down through the Yukon through the Canadian Rockies and ultimately, the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. In this episode, I drive from Canmore down to Provo Utah before crossing over to the beautiful San Juan Mountains in Colorado.

[@bethsevey6060]

Bill you have an artist's eye in your you tube videos and your photographs. They are filled with glorious beauty and adventure. Thank you for sharing your gift... amazing!!! I've always said I live vicariously in your videos😊

[@WJMPhotography]

Thank you so much for your support, Yo. Best. Big. Sister. Ever. :)

[@lorenmcclellan9944]

I'm a 59yo man.living in Del Norte Co. Bound to my O2 machine and tanks that only last 15 min, because ofCOPD so I can't get out there.thank you for taking me home one last time.

[@WJMPhotography]

Thanks for watching Loren. The San Juans were amazing and I'm hoping to get back up there again soon. I'm sorry to hear that it's harder for you to get around now. I hope your health improves soon!

[@katz4dancing]

Hi there William, I just found your channel today. Love your style of photography. I’m an almost 50 years amateur. and a native Oregonian located near Portland. I bought a pro grade Canon a couple years ago and still learning how to use it. I was recently diagnosed with inoperable bile duct cancer and am adding some of these locations to my bucket list as a goal. I went to Eastern Sierras in Oct ‘21 and would like to return, but my first goal is next spring to Steens Mountain and Alford Desert here in Oregon. I’m really hoping to get a great shot of Kiger wild horses to hang up on my apartment wall as well as a nice wide shot of Steens Canyon. Steens is the highest mountain in Oregon that you can drive all the way up to. I’ve been to Yosemite (how I found your channel) three times as well as a Glacier NP in Montana twice - so many gorgeous locations- so little time!!! Looking forward to more vid’s - keep it going!!!

[@WJMPhotography]

Hi Kat - I am so sorry to hear of your cancer diagnosis. I have been down that road with my wife and one of the first things I learned during her 8 year battle with adenoid cystic carcinoma was to slow down and take life one day at a time. I would just take off from work and we would drive through Vermont during peak leaf season in October, etc. I only really got into photography after losing her in 2007. I just had to get out of the house, and now that I am retired, it has turned into a "full time" hobby-career. You live in such a gorgeous area of the world! I am up shooting on the Oregon Coast all the time...especially around Bandon and Samuel Boardman,. One of the phrases that kept coming back to me while we were dealing with cancer was "While I breathe, I hope." We were turned down by so many cancer centers before we found someone who would operate on my wife to debulk the tumor and to try radiation. They are coming up with new ideas all the time...I think the latest thing I saw was injecting some sort of virus into the tumor and then sending something else in to target the virus which is now surrounded by tumor cells. Hope can be such a gift, and I hope that you are able to hang on to yours. And I love the idea of setting these locations as goals! Even though I am pretty banged up after slipping around on wet rocks this morning in Norway, these trips can be so restorative and healing. I wish you all the best in your fight with this cancer, and I am sending good thoughts your way. I hope you get your shots of Steens, Alford and your horses! :)

[@ceezfotography]

At 8:00 u enter uncompahgre national forest..I've seen that entrance in one other video but not sure what road that is..can you provide some info?

[@WJMPhotography]

Hi Cee Z- That was on old route 7 off of 62 coming out of Ridgway. It a rough road and not well maintained. If you have a 4x4, you would be OK, but clearance will definitely be an issue after 2-3 miles in. My van is lifted and I had all terrain tires so we made it up there, but I wouldn't try it in a Prius.

[@Fancy1450]

Beautiful video, thanks so much. I also have a question, the road with the mountain range all around, what road is that? Is it the old route 7 previously mentioned in the other comment?

[@WJMPhotography]

Hi Nancy - Thanks so much for watching. There are 3 main areas in the video - I'm pretty sure the road you are referring to is old route 7 (at 7:03 in the video), in which case, you would need a high clearance vehicle, preferably a 4x4 as you get up toward the Blue Lakes Trailhead. The road is not maintained and can get pretty rough. Cimmaron Rd (4:10) up through Silver Jack Reservoir is dirt, but drivable by car....but there are quite a few washboard sections that can be pretty hard on your suspension. Last Dollar Rd (8:40) is another area that I shot, and I skipped the super rough section last year as I was trying to find a spot to shoot the new snow on the mountains above, but if you follow that road long enough, you'll need a 4x4 with some clearance as well. :)

[@Fancy1450]

@@WJMPhotography thanks so much. I won’t be going until May or June 24’, do you think an AWD Kia Telluride would be ok on those roads? It’s an SUV.

[@WJMPhotography]

HI Nancy - You would be more than fine on Cimmaron Rd and for the first half of Last Dollar, but you would probably need high clearance and large tires for Old Route 7 and parts of Last Dollar...unless they remove some of the rocks and work on those roads. I had no problem with my Toyota FJ a couple of years ago, but I took a lifted Toyota Sienna with all terrain tires up there last year and was pretty nervous driving over the small boulders and very uneven terrain. I bottomed out in a few spots, so your Kia might have some trouble unless it's high enough and you have all terrain tires. You definitely don't want to trash a tire or an oil pan that far out as it would be pretty expensive to get towed out of there. @@Fancy1450

[@jeffcheah4970]

How did you access the spot in the video 4:58

[@WJMPhotography]

Hi Jeff - I believe there may be several spots like this one scattered throughout the Silver Jack reservoir area on steep mountainsides. I just ran into this spot when I was out exploring. But I have a feeling that you might be looking for the main curved aspen location that you see in several landscape photos, and this isn’t it. From what I have heard, you need a serious 4x4 to get there. Rumor has it that it might be located somewhere South of Telluride, possibly in the Ohir Pass. I was going to try to find it a couple of years ago when I was out there in a Prius, but someone talked me out of it. I just double checked, and Ohir pass looks like it was upgraded to 4x4 moderate, so if you go looking for it, just be sure to have an adequate vehicle.