We were supposed to go camping this past weekend, but a cold front came through, and it got crazy cold up in the mountains at night. The highest peaks even got snow, and we are not very seasoned campers, so we opted to just go Jeeping for the day on Saturday instead. Our main goal was to get into some cooler temperatures and to see some fall color. Mr. Ladd was convinced from his research that the Rim Road along the Mogollon Rim would be a great spot for some fall color. I was less than convinced, because there are mostly pines from my experience, but I didn't argue (much).
At first, I was biting my tongue and holding back disappointment and "I told you so's" as we drove into the mountains. Only an occasional little shrub along the side of the road was trying to change color. But as we climbed, the 50 degree mountain air filled the Jeep, and we left the windows all the way down, soaking up the cold and savoring the goosebumps. It was so nice to be chilly and to reach for sweatshirts and flannel in the backseat even if the leaves were not delivering. Just then, we spotted a clump of blazing orange, pink, and gold through the pines.
We turned down the road to get closer, and after a hike down into a ravine, making sure to talk loudly to scare away the bears (still a little traumatized from this experience), we found what we'd been looking for!
The quiet was almost eerie as we stood in this hidden cove. It felt like we shouldn't stay long, disturbing its perfection with our leaf crunching and camera clicking.
Climbing back in the Jeep and continuing down the road, I was satisfied and could have left happy. We stopped and ate our lunch on the rim with a spectacular view and then carried on.
We were hungry for more, and now carefully searching, eyes trained in every direction. That's when the real show began. First, shimmering gold aspens popped up nestled in the pines.
Then we turned down a few roads with the sole purpose of finding more leaves, and found all these deciduous beauties sheltering fabulous camp spots. It made us wish we would have braved the cold and could just set up a tent right there and then!
Since moving here, we've known there is fall color to be had up in the mountains, and finally we intentionally went looking for it. It's not the lavish, mile after mile of blazing trees that you see in the Midwest. I sadly took that for granted, mumbling about raking them as a kid, and not even stopping to look up when I walked out of my door at the canopy of color. Here, it's more like fireworks - a single bright tree here, a hidden clump there, and you have to watch or you'll miss it. You have to go carefully looking for it, which makes it all the more exciting when you find it.
I think a leaf hunt will be an annual tradition around here. My autumn loving heart is happy!
