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About the San Juan Skyway, one writer describes it well: “The locals call their homeland ‘Colorful Colorado,’ and a ride along the San Juan Skyway in the southwestern corner of the state proves the aptness of the nickname. As you climb from dusty lowlands to snowy peaks, you’ll see nearly every shade in nature’s kaleidoscopic palette, from creamy sands and rusty bluffs to multihued alpine meadows and the shimmering gold of aspens in autumn” (from “The Most Scenic Drives in America”).

Some of that “shimmering gold” is shown in this image. Ouray County is located in southwestern Colorado in the heart of the San Juan Mountains. It covers 542 square miles, includes an elevation range of 7,000 feet, is populated by some 4500 people, and needs just one stoplight. This image was made during the fall of 2009 from County Road 10 near Ridgway, just a few short miles from that stoplight. With the sublime Sneffels Range in the distance, it includes some of the most beautiful pastoral landscapes in the country.

The photo was made using a Canon EOS 50D digital body, an EF 50mm f/2.5 compact macro lens (or full frame equivalent of 80mm), at f/22 for 1/4 second at 100 ISO.