Grand Mesa, Colorado,
Sunny January Afternoon

On a trip to Grand Junction, Colorado one January day we took a brief but eye-popping side trip south from Interstate 70 to drive up on the northern edge of the Grand Mesa. It's called the largest flat topped mountain on Earth. It certainly is immense, and thanks to ongoing stewardship by the U.S. Forest Service, largely owned by the public via a complex of several adjoining National Forests.

In this photograph, the north flanks of Grand Mesa are revealed in exquisite detail and complexity by her forests, especially the aspen stands. Backlit by clear, strong winter sunlights, the bare aspen trunks, branches, and twigs glow a golden yellow-brown. The sweeps and undulations of the hillsides, with their smorgasboards of forest stands and bare avalanche runs, delight the eye and imagination. So much variety, so much room to roam. So much wildness.

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