I drove to Flagstaff on Friday morning early in October 2011. A storm was passing through and depositing the first snow on the San Francisco Peaks. By 9:30 in the morning, I was in the middle of it.

The east side of the Peaks were closed due to the 2010 Schultz Fire. Lockett Meadow and all the normal places to see the Aspen change were inaccessible.

So, I drove up the road to the ski resort looking for the white stuff. A side forest service road led along the southern slope of the peaks into the Friedlein Prairie area.