In my last post, demeanor notwithstanding, I mentioned I had gone out to Big Hole river to enjoy the fall colors. “Wait, are you seriously going to use the word notwithstanding? I suppose it makes you feel real special using a word most don’t understand? Couldn’t you just use the words it is a synonym for?” I’m sorry, I meant to say in spite of my demeanor. “There, you happy? ‘Yes, thank you.'” As I was saying, In spite of my demeanor, I went to Big Hole for some fall colors. Though I did take pictures, I just didn’t want to muddy up my last down in the dumps post with beautiful fall colors; I’ll post them here instead.
The drive out of Butte, this time of year, offers nothing really pretty to look at beyond hills covered in late season dry flora. Looking towards the distant hills, however, one could see random clumps of deciduous trees changing color.
As soon as I descended into the river valley, I was greeted with the beautiful sights of cottonwoods, some willows, and aspen transitioning into beautiful golden colors. It really did change my mood. For the duration of my drive through the area, I was able to mentally drift into a happier place and be present in the moment.
Along the way, I found myself with a compulsion to stop several times and just take it all in. Afterall, this quite possibly would be be last opportunity to capture the area in this beautiful state. I don’t know what it is about fall that attracts all of us. Perhaps it is the short-lived period of the environment in this condition we can only see once a year that makes it so special.
My drive took me up past Dewey a few miles to where I would take the cutoff towards Anaconda. The entire drive was filled with beautiful fall colors that made me smile.
I’m not sure I’ll be coming back to this part of Montana, but for me, the highlight of being out in this area was experiencing the fall colors.
