February is underrated. The trees are bare, which means the ridgelines are visible in a way they aren't for most of the year, and the light — when it comes — is low and direct and doesn't flatter anything. It shows you exactly what's there.
I drove the Foothills Parkway twice that day, east to west and back again. The second pass, late afternoon, the sun was behind a thin layer of cloud and everything went silver. I shot for about twenty minutes and then just stood there. Sometimes that's the right response.