Sometimes art is hard to come by. I intended to drive up to the Peak to Peak highway, and get the usual pretty aspen pictures. I didn't have a buddy this time. The Mr was teaching a class, and my daughter was at work too. I couldn't think of anyone who might be out of work today who would be into the trip. So I went for a drive on my own. My timing wasn't ideal. Even though the peak color was delayed this autumn, by the time I finally hopped in the car, the trees down in the foothills were already vividly yellow. I passed a ton of beautiful vistas on the country roads heading toward the mountains, but I didn't see a lot of places where I felt comfortable or safe pulling over to get out of the car. There wasn't a ton of traffic, but the shoulders were narrow and the best views were on curves where I would have been foolish to stop the car. I accepted that I'd be just absorbing those particular spots of beauty for my own consumption, and not preserving them for future use. I was fine with that.
I pressed on, driving on a canyon road I don't usually frequent. I went up Lefthand Canyon, where I almost never go. The plan was to go up to 119 through Ward, a little town that I have disliked for decades. No one has ever done a single bad thing to me there, but I always get creeped out when I drive through there. From the time I was a twenty year old college kid, I got this weird hostile vibe from the whole place. So I only go there when I can't get out of it.
I didn't go there.
I made it partway up the canyon, past Old Stage, past the turn to Jamestown. I got grumpier and grumpier the closer I got. I started noticing things like faded fences, a rollaway dumpster, and an abundance of power lines, rather than fall color. In fact, the higher I got, the browner the landscape looked. I convinced myself that the aspens had already peaked and I was just too late. Well before I reached the outskirts of Ward, I pulled over in a big gravel parking area, and stepped out of the car to evaluate my choices. I said hello to a cyclist who passed while I stood and stared at the road, took a couple of pictures, and decided to bail on the idea of driving the Peak to Peak. I headed back down, stopping three or four times to try to find interesting angles on those power lines or the fading trees. Nothing really spoke to me, except a few spots around a county park. (Buckingham Park, was it called?)
Pushing myself to make art when I really didn't feel it seemed like a waste. I might try again tomorrow, but once again, I'd be on my own. I'll make that call in the morning, to see whether it feels right.
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