Viewed from the south, Grand Mesa stretches for miles eastward. For two days we'd noted what appeared to be patches of color along its side and had wondered if these were foliage or mineral. As we neared Cedaredge the answer became clear. Here, too, many leaves had fallen, but splendid color remained. As the road reaches the mesa top aspen give way to a thick spruce forest and many small lakes. The day was bright, windy, and unexpectedly cool.

It was midday by the time we made it back across the mesa and returned to Delta. From here we headed south down the Million Dollar Highway, where the colors were also several days past peak. We spent the night in Durango, then drove the next morning to Pagosa Springs, Chama, and Tierra Amarilla, turning west to take one of our favorite roads, New Mexico Highway 64, to Tres Piedras.

While the appeal of Highway 64 is visual, it doesn't hurt that at the end of this wonderful drive through the desolate high meadows beyond the Brazos Cliffs, one of the four or five structures comprising the tiny crossroads of Tres Piedras is an appropriately diminutive diner serving delicious green chili cheeseburgers. From the look on Dad's face, the strawberry milkshakes can also be recommended.