The cabin at Watch Lake belongs to my student Colin and his wife Yvonne. Ken and I took a little over 6.5 hours in the van to get there Thursday. We had to drive through some of BC’s finest scenery to do it. I am meeting Lois, Anna, and MaryLynn for our annual gathering. Ken will camp elsewhere after they arrive, but we  loved the drive up.

The closer we got, the bigger the treat. Aspen trees quaking in golden tones with strong white trunks, stood in grooves together with the day’s end shinning on them like I haven’t seen in years!

We don’t get “great” fall colours on Bowen Island. It’s too green. Oh, there is the big leaf maple and a few other transplants that turn, but certainly Bowen is not known for it’s peepers.

Peepers, are what New Englanders call autumn tourists. They come in droves to see the majestic turning of the leaves. New England is known for its fall colours and Ken and I got to peep there a few years ago.

In New Mexico and Colorado, we had Aspen trees high in elevation that would turn the golden yellow. We would all jump in the car for a drive one fall weekend hoping to catch them. Yup, one weekend hoping to catch the display. They came on glorious, but didn’t last long with the cold.

I used to hear people in Colorado say, they had winter and fourth of July for their seasons. Fall happened on a weekend, and we tried not to miss it. The only talk of Spring still included skiing.

Anyway, driving through the groves of Aspens near 70 Mile House was just a delight. Green Lake on the right, trees on the left, a rainbow shone through the clouds and the sun set in the distance. You’d think we’d pull over and take a load of photos. Nope. We just kept driving, saying, “That’s pretty.”

Now, early morning I sit at Watch Lakes edge. Ravens waking our sleep hoping on the roof. Loons calling in the distance. The sun rising just out of sight to me, but the Aspens across the lake shimmer and add the gold colour so needed to break up the solid green of summer.

Gee, I kinda feel like Walden at his pond.

A girl could get used to this.