American Basin, near Lake City, Colorado, shot in late July 2010. Rented a Jeep in town the night before and drove up early in the morning. This is a very popular spot in the summertime, but I was the only one there at 5:15 AM. You can definitely trade some sleep for early morning solitude.

Yankee Boy Basin, Colorado

The Sneffels Range at sunset, early October 2009. The weather a few days before was not kind to the autumn leaves; most went from green straight to brown. But there were definitely a few protected spots that kept some good color, like these trees, lit by the glowing clouds above. I spent most of this day riding my bike, with the snow stopping and starting every hour or so. Luckily the weather broke with about an hour to go until sunset.