Autumn on Flagstaff Road

Over the weekend, my friend Jane and I took off on Saturday in the early afternoon to make a trek to the Togwotee Pass area on the Continental Divide.  Just off the main highway between Togwotee Lodge and the Hatchet Resort, I remember traveling Flagstaff Road, perhaps 20 years ago, and thinking I must return. My how the time has slipped by.  To predict the best weekend to see the fall colors in the high country is a gamble.  However, I believe we timed this trip about right. 

We saw lots of yellow aspen mixed in between the forest evergreens.  In only a few places we spotted a lone tree sporting orange.  I can't say we saw shades of red, which was disappointing.  "Hey Mother Nature, did you forget to put red on your color palette before you started painting Flagstaff Road?"

Because of the fires in states west of WY,  a smoky haze erased the rugged details of the Tetons which one can usually see, even from this distance.  I suppose we were fortunate to see their outline.

We are wondering if that freezing cold front that came through a couple weeks ago had something to do with altering the natural change of color in the aspens.  We saw a lot of yellow/brown in many of the aspen groves. 

Once we got back to the main highway, we stopped at a fairly new rest-stop located just east of Togwotee Lodge.  I'd never stopped there before,  but the view from that lookout is picturesque, for sure.  A sheltered look-out area with some legend boards and a mural are nicely displayed.  From there we headed home, stopping in Dubois for dinner.

I hadn't been home 5 minutes before the phone rang, and my neighbor couldn't wait to tell me that they had gone up to Atlantic City, and the colors there were spectacular.  Lots of oranges and reds.  So, perhaps that's the spot this year for leaf-peeping in Fremont County.