Beauty amidst devastation

I've been through the Flat Tops Wilderness of Colorado a few times in the last week to chase down the fall colors. Once highly active with volcanic events the land in areas was pushed upwards by the colliding continental plates, then carved out by the glaciers of the Ice Age. The scenic road through the Flat Tops is everything it claims and then some. Home to one of the largest Elk herds of North America this area is nothing short of spectacular. But if you've been to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in the last several years you've seen the catastrophic effects of the drought and the Mountain Pine Beetle on the Lodgepole Pine Tree. Some areas have been left untouched while others have been devastated. Douglas Fir and Aspen still flourish in these areas and within the acres of dead trees a new forest IS emerging. Will it take time? Yes. But why turn your back, enjoy it now and I can only imagine what these forests will look like in a few years.