My campsite at South Mineral Campground. I was well isolated from other campers. The shelter, designed mainly as a sun shade, got a workout in the rain.

During dinner, this deer showed up and started licking the grill (which I had not used. I was sitting there in plain sight at the table under my shelter. She didn't seem concerned.

The deer was quite close. This is a full frame shot with a 72 mm (200 mm equivalent for 35 mm format) lens.

The following morning, I hiked up the road. At first, the road was in the trees. Then it broke out onto open ground along the valley.

There was a group of a half a dozen or so deer above me. They were all does. I suspect that the bucks knew better than to be near a road in hunting season.

Some fall colors in South Mineral Canyon.

There was a moose on the other side of the valley. He and I kept pace for quite a while.

A cropped version of the moose in the last photo.

The beaver dams and house near the end of the road. One of the rain showers can be seen approaching.

The stream crossing at the upper end of the beaver area and near the end of the road. The moose was somewhere in the trees ahead. Since the end of the road was near, the stream looked tricky to cross with dry feet, there was a bull moose at some unknown location just ahead, and the rain was threatening to get harder, I opted to turn around here.

Looking back down the valley from the turnaround spot. The dilapidated buildings on the hill side are remains of old mining operations. Such remains are all over the place in the region near Silverton.

Some fall colors on the hillside above the last photo.

Some aspen along South Mineral Road.

More aspen along South Mineral Road

The next day in Cunningham Gulch at the start of the trail to Highland Mary Lake. Note the much improved weather.

The lower part of the Highland Mary Trail alongside a stream.

Going past treeline on the Highland Mary Trail.

The first of the small lakes along the Highland Mary Trail.

The second small lake shortly before reaching Highland Mary Lake.

Looking down along Highland Mary Lake. This gives a good idea what the country in the area is like.

The Highland Mary Lake water is nice and clear.

Looking across the lake from my slightly sheltered lunch spot.

When I left my lunch spot and headed back toward the trail, these two moose were in the upper end of the Highland Mary Lake. Unfortunately I didn't get very good pictures. I was in a place without any real cover so I didn't want to get close.

On the way back, this is the middle of the three lakes that include Highland Mary Lake.

This is the smaller of the three lakes. It is the first you hit on the way up the Highland Mary Lake trail.

There is a sign near the bottom of the Highland Mary Lake trail saying that it is impassable to stock, presumably meaning horses. One reason is that you have to cross this fairly short talus field. It's not too hard for a human, but a horse might have trouble.

A waterfall along the Highlant Mary Lake Trail.

This is another spot that would give horses trouble. The trail goes from the camera through the notch at the top of the picture slightly left of center. Shortly before reaching this point on the way down, I did meet a couple of men with three pack animals. But they were large goats. I had not seen goats used as pack animals before. They probably did not have trouble with the trail.

Some more fall colors. Some of the aspen were fairly red.

That night I treated myself to a restaurant (Golden Block Brewery) meal and a hotel (Wyman).

The next day, I drove over Stony Pass into the headwaters of the Rio Grande. The route starts in Cunningham Gulch where this photo of my Ford Ranger and fall colors was taken. That is the same Gulch that contains the Highland Mary Lake trailhead.

Another photo of the fall colors in Cuningham Gulch.

Approaching tree line in fall colors on the Stony Pass Road.

At Stony Pass.

My Ranger and a couple of ATVs that were at the pass at the same time. The Colorado Trail passes somewhere in the near distance ahead of the vehicles.

Another view of the country at Stony Pass.

Heading down into the headwaters of the Rio Grande.

Back among the trees.

A nice dense clump of aspen in prime fall colors. I'm getting near the canyon floor.

In the valley along the Rio Grande nearly 2 hours drive and lunch time below the last photo.

More fall colors along the Rio Grande.

More aspen in fall along the Rio Grande.

Down lower in the valley, there are still quite a few aspen that are still green mixed with those that have turned.

This photo show the area just to the right of the last photo.

A telephoto of the central region of the photo before last.

More colors from the same place as the previous photos.

Aspen along the road. This bunch is a bit redish.

More aspen on a hillside.

Some aspen on the other side of the Rio Grande Reservoir.

My Ranger, the Rio Grande Reservoir and a hillside of aspen.

The Rio Grande Reservoir with aspen on the far hillside.

I camped at the Thirty Mile Campground just below the bottom of the Rio Grande Reservoir. This was one of 2 sizeable full campgrounds (with fee) that I spotted. There are 35 sites. Only 4 were occupied. Lots of people were in the free, dispersed campsites, but not in the main campgrounds.

There were a lot of deer in the campground.

The entry to the campground, which is on the other side of the Rio Grande from the road.

Another deer.

Trees at sunset from the campground.

Some fall colors near the end of the dirt road. For the rest of the trip, nothing matched what I saw in the upper Rio Grande valley.

This was the hillside across the road from the Wolf Creek Ski area. There were no fall colors and the pines had been devastated, presumably by the bark beetles.

Returning to the red-rock country of new Mexico. This is at the turnoff from Highway 84 to the Chama River and monastery, close to the Echo Amphitheater (which is currently closed for construction).