Autumn Morning in West Fork. In any season, the West Fork of Oak Creek is a supremely beautiful place to hike – one of the best around Sedona or, indeed, anywhere in Arizona. But it really shows off its colors in the fall, especially if it’s a good year (I’m not sure that anyone knows why some years are so much better than others). This year (2021) was not one of the best, at least not when I was able to get there - but there were nonetheless a few exceptions. This young tree (a willow, I believe) clearly missed the memo and decided to go all out.

Tech info: Nikon D850 camera with Nikon 17-35mm lens at 17mm, 1/80 sec. at f8, ISO 500.

Image ©2021 James D. Peterson