As you probably know by now, I live in Lubbock, Texas, on the great High Plains. And of course, the Plains being the plains, it’s flat out here. It’s also a higher elevation than you’d think – Lubbock’s official elevation is 3,202 feet above sea level.

So this is a weird fact: I descended about 2,000 feet to get to the Ozark Mountains.

We were about two weeks ahead of the leaves’ changing, but a rouge tree or two was getting a jump on the color, hinting at what was to come.

in the Ozark Mountains
near Cass, Arkansas
photographed 10.7.2018