San Juan Mountains in Fall- the Sneffels Range

Most years, the aspen on the north side of the Sneffels Range are at peak color by the last week in September.  This year proved to be an exception, and although the trees around Red Mountain were at peak (see my previous post), most of the trees around Ridgway were still green during my visit.  Despite that, I still enjoyed exploring the mining roads in the area, as this was my first visit in a four wheel drive vehicle that allowed me to go further up into the mountains than during my previous trips.  The spot above is on Co road 7, which is accessed off of CO Highway 62.

This is the view of the Sneffels Range from beside the visitors center at Ridgway State Park, which was where I camped in the back of my pickup during most of my trip.  The good facilities there, especially the electric hookups, were greatly appreciated on nights when the temperature dropped well below freezing, and there was heavy frost.  A combination of sleeping bags, electric blanket, and small electric heater kept me warm under my camper shell on those cold nights.

Clouds at Sunset over Sneffels Range- from Dallas Divide

One of the most accessible spots from which to view the Sneffels Range is a parking area just off of CO Highway 62 at Dallas Divide, near Ridgway.  I was there on several evenings during my visit, and this particular one provided the best color at sunset.

Rocky Mountain Sunset

The Ancient Ruins of Hovenweep National Monument

My visit to Hovenweep was timed, in part, to get my visit in before the government shut down on October 1, 2013.  The day was sunny, warm, and very windy- if my hat blew off once, it must have blown off fifty times!  It was even hard to stand up without getting blown over, and the thought of getting blown into the deep canyon beside the ruins had no appeal to me.  I had planned to go to Bisti Badlands the following day, but a heavy rain blew into the area, and Bisti is probably not a good place to hike in the mud.  On my return to Ridgway the following morning, I even ran into heavy snow and sleet up on Molas Pass and Red Mountain Pass.  My sure-footed Frontier 4x4 pickup got me to my destination without any problem.

Tech info:  Canon 5DII (all images), various focal lengths

I've become increasingly interested in photographing ancient ruins over the past few years, since visiting sites such as House on Fire Ruin, Fallen Roof Ruin, Mesa Verde National Park, and Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

These structures are estimated to have been built between 1200 A.D. and 1300 A.D.

Most likely, these structures are in better shape now than my house will be in 700 years.

San Juan Mountains in Fall- Red Mountain

Aspen along mining trail

The fall of 2013 proved to be unusually late for aspen to turn in the area around Ridgway, but at higher elevations, such as along highway 550 ("Million Dollar Highway") the aspen were at  or near peak color during my visit there.

Tech info:  Canon 5DII, 35 mm focal length, polarizer

A short drive above the highway on CR 31, I found this old abandoned mine structure.

Yankee Girl Mine

 A little way higher up the trail is Yankee Girl Mine, which is one of the more well-preserved and well-known mine structures in the area.  

Storm clouds moving through mountains

A few days later, I was driving north on Highway 550 when heavy snow started falling on a couple of the mountain passes.  At both Molas Pass and Red Mountain Pass, there was probably between one and two inches of snow and sleet on the ground as I drove through.  I didn't stop to take any photos until I reached lower elevations, but the shot above, taken near Ouray, shows the clouds that were moving through some of the lower peaks.

Aspen Grove along Highway 550

This photo was taken once I reached lower elevations on my snowy drive along Highway 550.  A light mix of snow and rain was falling, as you may be able to detect in the distance.  

Crystal Mill

Crystal Mill is an old powerhouse that is located on the side of a mountain near Marble, Colorado.  It is accessed from the town of Marble by a narrow and extremely rough and rocky  mining trail.  Before I set out on my trip in my Nissan Frontier 4x4 pickup, I decided to put on several skid plates to help protect the vital components of my truck from rocks.  I'm glad I did. Having said that, if I had known just how long, rough, and rocky this road would be, I doubt that I would have attempted it.  I spoke to a couple of other photographers there at the site who were equally as stressed out by this drive as I was.  I considered turning back several times along the route, except that the road was generally too narrow to have any hope of turning around successfully.  Somehow, all four tires managed to survive the trip to the mill and back, but I don't really see how.  

My advice to anyone who is not an avid rock crawling enthusiast, and in the most ruggedly equipped vehicle, would be to spend your cash on a guided tour tour to the mill, rather than on replacing tires...the tour would probably be less expensive.  If you must go, perhaps a weekday might require less backing up for other vehicles along this one-lane road than the Sunday afternoon that I made this journey.

Tech info:  Canon 5DII, 35 mm lens, polarizing filter

Night Sky in the San Juan Mountains

Ridgway State Park,  Milky Way

On my recent trip to the San Juan mountains, I decided to try sleeping in the back of my Nissan Frontier pickup under a camper shell.  The air was particularly cold and clear one night, and I could see the stars shining very brightly out the window of my camper shell, so I got up and took a few photos from my campsite, right beside my pickup.  Here are the results.

Tech info:  Canon 5D II, 50mm lens, 10 seconds at f1.8, ISO 6400.

5D II, 24 mm lens, iso 6400, 25 seconds at f2.8

For those of you who might be considering a trip to the Ridgway, Colorado area, Ridgway State Park has what I consider to be excellent facilities.  The electric hookups in the campground enabled me to plug in my electric blanket and a very small portable electric heater to keep warm on nights when the temperature dipped well below freezing.  I also met some very nice fellow campers there...Nick and Amy, if you give me your address in the comments, I'll send you a print of your favorite.

Springtime in Grand Teton National Park (part 2)

Sunrise over Jackson Lake

This view is from the picnic area that serves both the cabins and the campground at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake, and is located only about 100 yards from the Visitor Center.  For those planning a future trip to the Tetons, this is our favorite spot to stay- certainly more convenient than staying at a motel in Jackson.  This spot is literally within easy walking distance from either the campground or the cabins.

Colter Bay Panorama

In a previous post, I mentioned that I'd photographed the entire bay as a panorama one morning.  I'm not sure that the resolution on this blog will show off a panorama format to very good effect, but we'll give it a try, I guess.  (I think I might try making a large print of this one for a church auction this fall, if it generates any interest.)

Tetons & Wildflowers

I found this good stand of wildflowers right beside a park viewpoint area along the inner road near Jenny Lake on the first morning of our stay in the park.

Lupine Meadows

Just to show that not all of the flowers blooming in the park this spring were yellow balsam root, this nice stand of lupines was found along the road that goes to the hiking trail called- you guessed it- Lupine Meadows.  On the morning that I photographed these, a large herd of elk were grazing at a distance in the meadow behind me.

Mr. Cunningham's View

Cunningham's Cabin is a historic spot in the park named for an early settler to the region.  Visitors are able to step inside his cabin, where I took the above photo showing the view that he had from his back window in the springtime.  I'm pretty sure that a winter in this cabin would be harsh!

Springtime in Grand Teton National Park

Sunrise Over Colter Bay

I've always found that sunrise is the best time to photograph in the Tetons, and the morning that I took the photo above treated me with generally clear skies in the east, along with a bank of clouds over the Teton Range.  On this trip, we stayed in a log cabin inside the park at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake.  This photo was taken from a pebble-lined beach that serves as the picnic area for the campground and cabins.  (I also took additional photos of the remainder of the range to allow me to produce a panoramic image of the spot above.  Perhaps I'll post an additional panorama view later.)

Tech info:  Canon 5D Mk II, 50mm lens

Wildflowers #1

While I had previously photographed Grand Teton National Park in the Summer and the Fall seasons, this was my first trip to the Tetons during the Spring.  We were there from June 10 to June 14, and I was pleased to find that wildflowers were blooming profusely in the park at lower elevations.  This was a lucky break for doing photography, because the skies were generally overcast for most of our visit this year, and some color in the foreground was helpful to avoid boring compositions.  While I'm no expert on identifying wildflowers, my spouse informs me that these yellow flowers are called balsam root.  They were the most widely found variety in the valley during our mid-June stay in the park.

Wildflowers #2

Another reason that I'm glad the wildflowers were blooming in the park during our stay was that my previous favorite spot for doing photography in the park, Schwabacher Landing, was closed due to the budget cuts associated with sequestration.  When I first read about this closure in the park newspaper, I was definitely not a happy camper, and spent a few hours considering sending a nasty letter to my congressman blaming him for messing up my vacation.  My anger over the politics of this situation gradually subsided with each successive find of good patches of wildflowers.  I found this patch was along the inner park road that goes past Jenny Lake.

I have a great many additional photos to sort through from this visit, so stay tuned for some additional posts over the next few days.  I hope you enjoy viewing these shots of this fine park!

Bill