Where the masses continued toward one of Colorado’s most iconic scenes, the Maroon Bells, Christian Murdock veered off for an unfamiliar road. There, near Aspen, The Gazette’s photo editor drove up Castle Creek.

“I’d probably driven by that turnoff a million times,” Murdock said, reflecting on his latest trip to photograph the state’s wildflowers amid 20-plus years of doing so.

He finally turned. His reward: a riot of reds, yellows and blues blooming before the jagged backdrop of the Elk Range.

There along Castle Creek for the first time, he was reminded of good advice for any photographer: “Get off the beaten path.”

And he was reminded of the never-ending beauty of the state he has called home since 1998.

Murdock has ventured more than most — this latest excursion covered 508 miles in a single day — and yet he is constantly reminded of beauty waiting to behold. And there is no greater reminder than this time of year, however brief, when the kaleidoscope of color returns to our vast and varied landscape.

Back in Colorado Springs the next day, Murdock found himself researching a showy, green plant and another flashing pink, both of which he’d never seen before. They were sights along Independence Pass, en route to Aspen.

From Castle Creek, he set a course toward McClure Pass, where he’d turn for the rugged stretch of Kebler Pass, onward to Crested Butte. Murdock loves shooting flowers across the southwest San Juan Mountains — Yankee Boy and American basins are remote favorites — “but there’s something about Crested Butte,” he says. “It definitely draws you in.”

It is, after all, Colorado’s proclaimed “Wildflower Capital,” home to the 10-day Crested Butte Wildflower Festival starting this weekend. Murdock echoed organizers in recent days: “This year is definitely a good year.”

It was a good trip that found Murdock and his camera contending with rain and cloud cover. He would not call it “contending” in offering more advice for fellow photographers: “Just have fun with it. If it’s raining, work with the rain. If it’s sunny, work with the light. … The flowers aren’t going anywhere, so you can play with it. Try different angles, different depths of field, and just have fun.”

More than 500 miles and 15 hours on the road is not everyone’s idea of fun. Was Murdock tired?

“I wouldn’t say tired,” he said. “I would say recharged in a lot of ways.”