| |
Bright splashes of yellow and orange fill the hillsides.
Photo: Brax/VPC Matrix
|
Aspens Adds Flash for Southwestern Autumn.
|
Stands of aspen transform the imagination.
Photo: Brax/VPC
|
U
nlike the Upper Valley, El Paso's Westside might as well be called the Westside Heights for most of the Westside is well above the valley floor and rises right up against the Franklin Mountains. For that reason, the autumn splendor that is often witnessed in the low lands of the Upper Valley are not as vibrant at these altitudes.
The reason for this is the temperatures on the Westside remain too warm for a great part of the fall season whereas the valley floor is much colder at night as the cold air settles because of its heaviness. Thus, the valley trees especially the Cottonwoods and Ash trees are able to go through the process of losing their green color more gradually before the hard freezes drop all the leaves.
But, beyond the Upper Valley and more north in the Mesilla Valley, there is a splendor of fall foilage that is quite spectacular and much of it is right in our own backyard.
The Sacramento Mountains to our northeast possess many natural wonders and beauty; but, for our desert eyes, perhaps the most beautiful is the colors of autumn near Cloudcroft and Ruidoso, New Mexico.
|
Puffs of yellow provide new beauty to hills.
Photo: Brax/VPC |
As the days freshen in the high mountain air the senses send the alarm that with the coming of fall something wonderous will be occuring in nature. The bright rainbow pallet of summer surrenders it’s dominance to the hues of gold, orange, rust and red as our Indian Summer gains in strength. And most importantly, the Aspens burst into vivid, bright yellows that make the landscape seem almost fairytale like.
The quaking aspen trees (Populus tremuloides), with their golden-yellow fall foliage, are perhaps the dominant fall foliage tree of western North America. It is from this fall foliage standout that the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado derives its name. In the Rocky Mountains there are stands of aspens that stretch for miles, their autumn gold perhaps punctuated here and there by an evergreen or two, as if for contrast.
|
Aspen yellow against deep blue sky.
Photo: File/VPC |
More to our proximity in the Chihuahuan Desert; the aspen in and around the Sacramentos are often sprinkled thoughout the firs, spruces and pines to provide even more of a seletive wonder when one is fortunate to experience thier color.
So as you enjoy the enchantment of colors that startle and please the imagination with pools of color that are spattered over the mountain sides with creative abandon remember that there is even more to the aspen than its gift of color.
And, as if their fall foliage weren't enough of a contribution, quaking aspens also have a lovely, whitish bark. Aspens usually reach a height of 20'-50', with a spread of 10'-30'. This means that on occasion they will just pop out of the forest vista like a puff of yellow in a vast sea of green.
The aspen color is not its only treasure. The quaking aspen trees get their name from the sound that is generated as they quiver in the breezes. The aspens are prized by beavers who will go to work on aspens before any other tree. Ruffed grouse and other birds prize the aspen's buds in winter as a food source.
|
Hills ignite with yellow sheen as blinding sunlight arrives.
Photo: Brax/VPC |
Ruidoso honors this great natural calvalcade of autumnal color with the Aspen Fest and Motorcycle Rally. Since the 1940’s Ruidoso has celebrated the season with an “Aspen Festival”. So this is definitively a combination you don't want to miss in the early fall.
Remember, Ruidoso and Coudcroft are just an hour or so away and present a touch of North American beauty that is so rare in our uniquely beautiful Chihuahan Desert.
Prepared by WL staff.
Photos: Brax/Valley Publishing Company
Send feedback to:
Letter to the Editor, Westside Living Magazine
| 
