Sunday, October 28, 2012

Summerhaven Arizona Foliage


Deep woods on a beautiful morning.


 9 years after the Aspen Fire the mountain above Summerhaven has barely begun to  recover as you can see in the photos below. I have been traveling to Summerhaven for the last three years mostly to enjoy the views and the autumn foliage as well as escape the heat of summer in the valley.


I am amazed how some areas that were burred are well into  recovery while the areas above the village seem to be taking much longer to regenerate. The yellow areas are new Aspens starting to fill in which 20 or 30 years from now should be quite beautiful this time of year.


  Below is an area that was not burned and as you can see it is quite a stark contrast to the areas that were devoured by the flames. Here is a link to the New York Times article at the time of the fire. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/20/us/wildfire-destroys-homes-in-arizona-mountain-town.html



Just above Summerhaven is a ski area that has some beautiful aspens with a smattering of other deciduous trees that are quite colorful right now. As a native New Englander I'm very partial to fall colors and when I can't get home I like to visit the area around the ski area for that feeling of home.




Happy Autumn!

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