Leon Turnbull Photography

With my family gone for the week on their annual “coast trip”, no adult males invited (did I say that before?), I figured that I had better get out and do some photographing while I had the chance. So after work one day, I drove up Hwy 50 towards Tahoe looking for some fall colors. I knew of a place along the South Fork American River that had some pretty fall colors from last year, and I had it on my list of places to go for this year. I found the place all right, but I guess I was about a week or two early to see a great display of colors. I took a photo anyway, since I had driven all the way up there. It is a nice little spot right along the highway, and it was close to sunset, so the light shining on the trees was nice and warm. I’m going to try to return here next week when the colors will be a little better.

You know it’s gonna be a bad day when … you dump all the grounds from the coffee you are making all over the floor and your clothes. Then after you clean up all that mess and try making some more, you spill the coffee beans. Then you end up making the coffee too weak cuz you are not paying attention to the amount of water you are putting in. SIGH. Then as soon as you get to work (late), your boss gives you a (crap) job because the person who should be doing it is away. I suppose I deserved that. At least it is Friday. I hope your day is going MUCH better.

Here’s another image from my morning on top of Monitor Pass. The colors were very vibrant that weekend. It will be interesting how the colors will change this weekend though, with a storm scheduled to come in. I suspect the colors will change very fast now. Hope Valley will probably be looking very nice after this storm, but I suspect Monitor Pass has already seen the best it will be for this year. So get out and enjoy the fall colors while you still can.

This is Heenan Lake at sunrise, up on Monitor Pass. I really thought this might be a great location for sunrise and showing some Fall colors from the Aspen trees around the lake, but I was wrong. For one thing, because this is a lower elevation, the Aspen trees hadn’t really started to change color yet. And for a second thing, I just didn’t really like the lake too much and I could not find a good composition that I liked. I waited around until the sun rose above the mountains and shone on the trees and lake. I did get a nice reflection but I just am not overly happy with the photo otherwise. Maybe I’m being too picky. Maybe I’d like it better if the Aspens were in full color. Ah well.

The lake I also found to be rather “dirty” and “yucky”. I had my dog with me, and I just KNEW she wanted to get in that lake. I told her NO WAY are you getting in that lake, my dear puppy. I had to tie her up on her leash beside my camera bag so she couldn’t wander on down to the lake while I was busy taking my photo. She didn’t like that too much, mostly because there wasn’t any comfortable place she could lie down on all these rocks at the end of the lake.

Hi folks. Just wanted to let you all know that I have a new “Current Conditions” page on my website. Click here:

http://www.waterfallswest.com/current.php

If you have been to a waterfall recently, please tell us what the conditions were like (the flow of the waterfall, trail conditions, etc.). This will let everyone know what the waterfalls are currently like before they plan their trip or hike. You can even submit pictures too! The more people that use this feature on my site, the more useful it will be to everyone. Thanks.

I figured you folks might be tired of all the waterfalls lately, so here’s something a bit different.

My wife and kids are on their annual pilgrimage to the California coast. Male adults are not invited. It really makes me wonder what they do there all week. I am home alone with just my dog and cat. It’s quite lonely with no one else around here. I absolutely needed to get out photographing this weekend. I had a plan to go on a big hike in the dark to be at a certain lake for sunrise, but I just did not feel like getting up so early and going on a difficult night hike this weekend. So instead, I thought I would just drive up to Monitor Pass and see if I could find any fall colors. It is a bit early in the year and the reports I read indicated there were not any colors up there yet, so I was not expecting to find much of anything. Boy, was I ever wrong. The colors in the Aspen trees are out in full force at the top of Monitor Pass right now. Lots of yellow everywhere, and a bit of orange as well. I was very surprised and very pleased to find this color so early in the year. Down at the lower elevations (Hope Valley), it is still mostly green there (with some yellow). They need another week for the colors to turn there, but up at Monitor Pass it was wonderful.

There are some really nice large Aspen groves at the top of Monitor Pass. You could almost get lost wandering around in them. I think I almost did get lost. They’re also quite thick, at least where I was this weekend. I didn’t find too many good shots that I liked. But I did find this fallen tree which I thought worked pretty well for a composition. If nothing else, at least my dog had fun wandering through the thick Aspen trees with me.