Yesterday I was supposed to fly out of Albuquerque early in the morning. But mechanical difficulties with the plane kept pushing my flight back further and further until I was ultimately rebooked on an entirely different one. This meant getting into Seattle much later than I originally intended, where I was greeted by torrential rain and rush hour traffic. As if that weren't enough, it was snowing on the passes.
Not wanting to drive home through rain, traffic, and snow on three hours sleep, I decided to crash at my sister's house and come back home this morning.
Which was a smart move, because the drive was pretty spectacular.
At the top of the pass, it looks like all the color has been sucked from the scenery. It's drab, overcast, and depressing... yet still beautiful at the same time...
But once you get to the other side, it's another story entirely...
In the twenty+ years I've been driving over the mountains, I've never stopped along the way to take a look. I've always just enjoyed the view at 60mph. Today I did stop for some reason, and was glad that I did. And a little mad at myself that I never had before.
Sometimes its good to stop and smell the roses. Even if there aren't any roses to smell.
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WOW! I’m glad you stopped, too – those photos are just stunning! That’s why I could never live anywhere without seasons.
Beautiful fall color! Quite spectacular. Well worth stopping for.
Wow, spectacular! Probably not worth the airport aggravation, but still.
Nice!
Those are simply breathtaking!
Roses can be enjoyed from afar! Thanks for taking the pictures.
Is that Steven’s Pass? Love the fall colors. Miss seeing that here in Florida.
amazing photos they look like shots from a movie just wonderful
I really have to get out of Florida. This is absolutely amazing.
Beautiful photos; glad you stopped too. Thanks for sharing.
Love love LOVE it!
Oh my god those photos are amazing. I’m torn whether I prefer the subdued snowy pics or the bright fall color pics. Impressive both.
Those are some gorgeous photos, Dave! Most of the leaves are down where I live, a pretty quick fall since it was so dry for a while. Nice to get another dose of color!
love the description “looks like all the color has been sucked from the scenery” – totally perfect for those photos!
and yay for stopping. i’m so happy you got to enjoy those sites. even happier that you shared them!
Amazing scenery, another reason to love the Pacific West Coast 😀
Stop ‘n’ smell the pine trees… Awesome photos!
Breathtaking photos!! However; I must be honest that these photos look very much like that of our region, Kurdistan esp in the Spring and Autumn. It’s an area of mountains, and the Kurds are known for being mountain people. Thanks for sharing them with us!
These are such beautiful scenes! I’m jealous, out here in Columbia Missouri… well it looks pretty flat and boring.
I would definitely kill* a man to be able to live where you live.
* By ‘kill’, I mean ‘buy a house from’.
Beautiful pictures Dave. Absolutely beautiful.
Wow! The change between the two sets of photos is amazing!
Having been through that pass before, I’ve never seen that type of color change so vibrant. Glad to see there’s a difference of colors than just plain green.
Stunning photos, absolutely stunning. I really need to drive to the mountains more often.
Extraordinary photos! W O W !! Glad you stopped!
Those pictures from the other side of the pass are so beautiful that it seems impossible they are real. But they are real! Thank you for sharing them with us. So glad you stopped.