The autumn colors are best in Colorado about the third week in September. Having spent a few spectacular days in the canyons of southern Utah, I headed east into Colorado, to see what I could find. With only three days before joining up with friends to climb in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, I needed luck. And luck was with me -- the aspen were at their golden best. I hit McClure Pass in the evening. It was perfect. Got a couple of good images (#9266 and #9267) and camped nearby for the night.

Next morning, I was up at 4:30 and headed for the Maroon Bells, near Aspen, a good hour away. There've been a million shots of the Bells -- you see them on place mats and coffee mugs everywhere -- but I knew them well, had often hiked around them, and I wanted to see what I could do with them, photographically. I arrived in the dim glow of first light, under heavy overcast. Little chance of getting anything much, but I set up anyway, hoping. Might as well give it a try. Then it happened. Just as the sun broke the horizon, the clouds split, flooding both peaks and the surrounding clouds in a crimson glow, a carpet of rain-drenched aspen shimmering below.

So here's my version of an American icon. It may not get top marks for originality, but it does capture a magical moment I'll never forget.

A few minutes later, in the same area, I made Image #9271.