Western Colorado. As much as I love afternoon clouds during the monsoons, autumn rains are completely different. So I fled the upper Gunnison River valley for the torrid lowlands of Montrose (6000 feet) and the Uncompaghre River Valley. But it was stormy down here, too. East of the river there are shale badlands which turn into a quagmire when it rains.
I have written before of how much the right book or movie can combine with the right location. With the San Juan Mountains in the background, this seemed like the time to watch "True Grit." Soon I found a low BLM mesa to camp on, about thirty miles from where much of the mountain scenery of True Grit was shot. At a couple times during the movie, I stepped out of my trailer to admire specific mountains and rocks that were prominent in scenes in the movie.
A couple days later another autumn storm blasted the San Juans, as seen from my RV boondocking campsite:
I have written before of how much the right book or movie can combine with the right location. With the San Juan Mountains in the background, this seemed like the time to watch "True Grit." Soon I found a low BLM mesa to camp on, about thirty miles from where much of the mountain scenery of True Grit was shot. At a couple times during the movie, I stepped out of my trailer to admire specific mountains and rocks that were prominent in scenes in the movie.
A couple days later another autumn storm blasted the San Juans, as seen from my RV boondocking campsite:
The next day they were snow capped. I must admit a fresh cladding of snow can freshen and crisp up a mountain range considerably.
Maybe I should just stay in Colorado this winter. Yea right.
How fine it was to walk around on my little mesa, facing these scenes of the San Juans, while listening to that magnificent soundtrack of Elmer Bernstein, and imagining John Wayne charging across the meadow toward the bad guys with the reins in his teeth, his eye patch, shooting his pistol, while twirling and cocking the rifle with the other hand!
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