We had made Ouray, CO our base camp for two nights, hoping to catch the aspens at their peak and photograph the incredible fall colors of the Colorado mountains.

This story goes back a couple of years to early October, when the fall season was reaching its peak around Telluride. On our first day, we headed south from Ouray on Highway 550 toward Silverton, excited to see what we might find along the way.

But as the miles went by, that excitement slowly began to fade. Many of the aspens had already lost their leaves, and it was beginning to look like we had arrived just a little too late.

It was hard not to feel disappointed. We had made the trip hoping to photograph those brilliant golden aspens against the rugged Colorado mountains, and instead, we were finding more bare trees than fall color. By that evening, we were pretty bummed out and seriously considered calling the trip early and heading back home.

But something in my gut kept telling me not to give up just yet.

I had no idea if the conditions would be any better the next day, but we had come this far, and I felt we needed to give Telluride a chance.

The following morning, we woke to freezing temperatures in Ouray, but the skies were clear and blue. The forecast was calling for temperatures to warm into the low 60s, so after a good breakfast, we packed up the camera gear and hit the road toward Telluride.

As we made our way closer to town, everything changed.

The aspens were absolutely glowing.

Instead of the bare trees we had seen the day before, entire hillsides were covered in brilliant shades of yellow and gold. Somehow, just a short distance away, the fall colors had reached their peak. Our timing couldn't have been better.

I pulled off to the side of the road, grabbed my camera, and found this view looking south toward Telluride. Standing there behind the camera, I could hear elk bugling somewhere off in the distance. Above us was that deep Colorado blue sky, the mountains stretched across the horizon, and the crisp mountain air couldn't have smelled any fresher.

At that moment, all the disappointment from the day before disappeared.

Had we given in to that feeling and headed home, I never would have captured this photograph or experienced that beautiful morning in the mountains.

Sometimes photography is about being in the right place at the right time. But sometimes it's about trusting your gut, pushing through the disappointment, and going just a little farther to see what's waiting around the next bend.

And on this trip, I'm sure glad we did.