Gold in Them Thar Hills

Disclaimer:  If you're not fond of the colors of green and gold, you'd better bypass today's post.

That said, this is the time of the year when the hills around this country are alive with the golden radiance of Larch.  

In some areas, like along old HWY 2 east of Bonners Ferry, just fingers of gold appear randomly among the evergreens on hillsides.   Meanwhile, other areas, like the Yaak River drainage, are loaded with gold and green as far as the eye can see.

Those fine and fragile larch needles will be falling soon, so if you like to see the trees in all their late autumn splendor, don't waste any time hopping in your car and taking a drive to the mountains.  

And, if you've got time, drive up that Yaak River drainage.

Stunning, to say the least. 

After our almost overpowering introduction to the "golden larches" of the strikingly beautiful and wild Yaak drainage in Northwestern Montana, we took a side road on Saturday.  

Neat and tidy patterns green and gold continued as we continued to gain elevation.

Then, as we drew closer to the summit,  a new dimension added that much more glory to the scenes:  tall, stately aspen reaching to the sky.  Not exactly photo bombing the green and gold backdrop but the occasionally taking up the foreground as if to say, "We're here too."

I've never seen an aspen I didn't like, and these were especially beautiful as they provided esthetic interludes to the majestic scenes of gold and green.

Our trip up that side road inspired me for years to come.  I told my sisters yesterday that when fall days come where they won't be in the classroom "teaching the children," we'll have to explore every single one of those roads not yet taken. 

And, when we do, we'll likely be blown away with the brilliance as Bill and I were on Saturday. 

We may not be able to spend that gold in them thar hills, but the images of those golden larch amongst the greenery definitely give the eye a magnificent bang for the buck. 

Happy Monday.