17th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Ranchland Uncompahgre National Forest

After a week of hiking through stunning mountains near Telluride, Colorado in the Fall of 2019, I was thrilled to see some rainy weather and clouds moving in one morning. Once I saw these clouds before sunrise, my friends and I quickly headed out to ranch lands near Wilson peak much like a storm chaser chases a storm with excitement. The cloudy skies seem to say that Fall has arrived, and added a great backdrop to the mountains as they were going through their transformation. This photograph reveals a myriad of Fall color that carpets the valley and ranch lands below the San Juan Mountains in Uncompahgre National Forest.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2019
Date Uploaded: 11.2019
Photo Location: Telluride, Colorado, United States of America
Camera: NIKON D850
Copyright: © W. Kent Williamson