Mike, enthusiasts do whatever's necessary...
...to own/see/enjoy whatever excites them. I wonder where fans of, say, old Mustangs find them--in fact they work hard LOOKING for them. I too do that for fotografable country. SW Colorado is famous for fall colors, mostly yellows with some oranges, all from the aspens. I was there 2 years before and will return probably in '05.
SW Colorado calls itself the 4-wheel-drive capital of the world, being blessed with thousands of miles of old mining trails. The road we were on is the northern end of what's now called, by the Colorado tourist department, the Alpine Loop. It goes from Silverton to just s. of Ouray, all just east of US550.
Maybe you could point me at some hardwood forests for eastern fall colors--the strong reds I see in others' pics are gorgeous.
And something called 'photograph america newsletter' published by Robert Hitchman (http://www.photographamerica.com/index.htm helps a lot.