Fire on the Mountain - The Sawtooths of Idaho 9:56 PM

Headed north, toward the Glacier National Park, the landscape slowly changes. The High Desert of Nevada gives way first to the farmlands of Idaho. And then, on a whim, we detour off onto the Sawtooth Scenic byway, and soon signs of autumn become prevalent. Suddenly we are immersed in fall beauty.  Driving past the resort towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley, the colors began to emerge in the aspen covered hillsides. The mountains come alive and entire mountainsides are seemingly on fire. Reds, oranges and yellows contrast the bright blue sky and we slow our pace to take in the awe inspiring colors. And as the hillsides grew steeper and bigger, the colors became more vibrant.

Crossing Nevada 11:06 AM

As we leave the Sierra Nevada behind us, the landscape becomes more barren and monotonous. Mountains and hills still obscure the horizon, but forests have led to dry sage covered wilderness. While far from flat, Nevada still seems endless.  Speeding along the freeway following the contours of the landscape, we weave our way in and out of smaller mountains or hills slowly making our way east.

Chasing Autumn 9:20 AM

Every fall for just a few short weeks a window opens into a magical and colorful world. Not everywhere is the magic as apparent, but we set out to find a few places where the autumn color was resplendent enough to inspire. We put together a rough plan over the course of a long summer and by the time we were finally able to set off, we weren't sure how our timing would work out. We simply looked forward to hitting the road experiencing new places and cooling off after the warm dry summer. If we were able to catch just a bit of color on the way, it'd add that much more to our journey, but just being on the road spending time together was enough to satisfy. Looking at our destinations though, the chance for something new and exciting was  pretty good. Using the National Parks as waypoints, we figured we'd experience some impressive natural wonders. As a bonus, we'd be visiting in the off season again and hopefully have places more to ourselves.