I always wanted to see autumn colors. One of the trips on my short list is to do New England in the fall. It's still on my short list, and I can never seem to find the right time to do it.

As a backup plan, I decided to do Yosemite in the fall. The logic was simple. It snows in Yosemite in the winter. There are trees there. Therefore, I should be able to see the leaves on those trees turn red and gold and orange before the snow starts falling.

So, one weekend two years ago, Doreen and I hopped into the car, and started driving east, towards the Sierras.