The Search for Fall Colors

On the second day of our trip we came across this church, which has been going continously since 1890, looking at the old cross leaning on the tree under the incredible colors of fall was one of the nicest things I have ever seen. Faith is a very personal thing and I try not to preach, there are enough good preachers in this world that no one should ever have to listen to me try, but if seeing God's creation at this time of year doesn't stir something in your soul then you need to go out and take a second look.

God doesn't live in a church, or a temple made by the hand of man, he is everywhere. He certainly is here, as witnessed this by month of Ocotber 2009. What a sight to behold.

We desperately wanted to camp this trip after the great time we had on the last adventure, but all the campgrounds in the area are closed due to the threat of an early freeze. Since deer hunting season opened this weekend I didn't want to just dry camp in the middle of the forest. Not that I fear or think poorly of hunters, I do not in any way, it's just the dust that will be kicked up by all the traffic on opening weekend. When it's dry like this the dust gets so thick you can taste it. So, we roughed it at the Best Western. It is awfully nice to have a warm bed between trips out to see the fall colors. We were treated to a pretty spectacular set of golds as soon as we hit the mountains. This shot is from a spot near Mill Creek, CA named Childs Meadow.

Right before dinner on the first night I looked out the window and the sunset was going crazy, I jumped up and started throwing gear into a bag trying to get to the lake before it went totally dark. My poor wife was trying to help and I asked her to set up the tripod. She was so excited she extended all 4 legs out to seven feet tall and locked them down with Godzilla like strength. If I were tall enough to reach up there and attach my camera I could never have seen through the viewfinder. Anyone who knows me can testify that I am not seven feet tall, and my vertical leap is around 4 inches. I briefly considered getting a step stool since the legs were locked down so tight I could not budge them. After our comedy of errors we managed to get this shot setup with a series exposures ranging from about 4 to 30 seconds before it went black. It was well worth the effort, this was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, and to spend it with my best friend while producing art made it that much better.

Thanks for coming along and if you got this far, thanks for reading!

JP