Why my car hates me...

When I go to all these national parks (about 47 by now), I have a tendency to go to their most remote places--which often bave bad roads. Some are more scary than others, and a few are classics.

On my recent Colorado trip, I went up over the Ophir Pass, South of Ouray. The road is a single-track gravel monster. When you have the misfortune to meet a car coming the other way (I had two when I was climbing the lower section), it is definitely a hair-whitening moment. Both drivers have to fold in their rear-view mirrors, and the guy on the dropoff side prays a lot.

On the way back down I was fortunate--nobody was coming up, so I shot some video:

That was just the upper section. The lower road is longer and narrower. The road runs above the tree line, that's why you see the trees down below in the valley below 10,000 feet.

If you were my car and I drove you on roads like this, wouldn't you hate me?

A short sequence on Maroon Bells...

This is a brief video to illustrate the wonderful sunrise as it develops over Maroon Bells, which lies ten miles West of Aspen, Colorado. It really is a magical place, and a video can illustrate what a single image can't. It is the process of each sunrise which makes it so special.

Day 14-The weather held off just long enough....

As I drove around the park today trying to get those final shots, the radio broadcast repeated warnings of a Red Flag Alert for high winds. Those winds started kicking up just as I drove back to the motel. Whew! I can imagine what happens when the red dust is blowing in everywhere.

Still, today the sun was strong, bringing out the colors in the sandstone. The center formation here is the 'Kissing Couple,' one of many spectaculor vertical monuments:

Here are two views of Balanced Rock, proving that Mother Nature really has a sense of humor. Don't you get the feeling that you've seen that face before?

Alas, all good things finally come to an end. I'm running out of clean clothes, anyway.

Good-bye, via Red Canyon, one of the last big scenes we encounter leaving the park.

Day 13-Winding down at Colorado National Monument...

The weather has held up perfectly since Rocky Mountain National Park. Think I should get out of here before i press my luck too far.

Colorado National Monument is another erosion masterpiece, I high plateau whose perimeter has been eroded into long, deep valleys separated by immense sandstone arms. This is but a portion of Ute Valley:

One of the most spectacular features is Monument Valley:

I admired the crazy folks who climbed Independence Monument! That's it, in the distance above the sign.

Of course, they probably think I'm crazy for having spent all those years diving with sharks...

I'll take the sharks, any day! As I said many times, i can swim up out of an emergency, but if one falls from these places, there is only one outcome...

I'm almost at the end of this odyssey. Colorado will soon throw me out, so ! had better start thinking about getting home before it occurs to them. So far, I've busted a lens and my big tripod. Trying to shoot HDR pictures (which require a steady camera) is getting difficult.

 Still, there are more vertical cliffs to curl my toes over...

Day 12-Leaving the High Rockies...

I drove South to the area around Telluride, in the heart of ski country. I could hear the prayers for snow rising all around, but I ignored them and raced for the peaks.

The Ophir Pass is high (12,000 feet and more), and the road up to it is single-lane, winding and hair-raising. I met a few other cars, and getting around them on the narrow track with a sheer dropoff on one side was nightmarish.

The lower sections of the long road had a variety of spectacular scenes:

Did I mention that it's Fall? The lower elevations were ablaze with aspencolor!

Looming behind the colorful hills are the brooding mountaintops.

This time of year is beautiful here, and I'm trying to capture as much of it as I can!

I'll end with serene Alta Lake, which lies at the end of another rough, winding and boulder-strewn road.

Tomorrow it's off to Grand Junction for the final chapter of this adventure. Colorado National Monument and Grand Mesa, and then--HOME!!

Day 11-A rich irony...

Hundreds of people visit the south Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison each day because it is easily accessed fom a main road. The North Rim, far more spectacularly vertical, gets mere dozens.

Did I say vertical?

The scenes are vast:

And if you love those narrow ledges with sheer drops on either side, this is your place. I'm standing on a three-foot wide ridge wgich projects out above the Kneeling Camel formation.:

Here's that fabulous 'Kneeling Camel' from the other side. My little ridge is the higher one to the upper left. Not a place you would want to spend a lot of time, actually.:

The cutely-named Exclamation Point takes a three-mile hike, but is worth every step!

The Fall foliage is in full riot everywhere, so I'm heading south to catch some of it!

Day 10-A colossal scenic wonder in perfect weather...

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is the result of an immovable object and an irresistable force. Geologic upheaval lited ancient, extremely hard volcanic rock right into the path of a big river. Millions of years later we have this gash to prove that erosion by the river won.

We go down to the river level by driving down the wildly steep and corkscrewing East Portal Road.

The river is in some calm sections sserene and tranquil--though other stretches have violent rapids. For photographic purposes, it doesn't hurt that the Fall foliage is daubing color everywhere.

Ah, but the real thrill, as at Arizona's Grand Canyon or Utah's The Wedge, is to look down from a half-mile high at the deepest parts of the canyon and the tiny river far below:

All along the South Rim are short hikes to overlooks that peer deep into the canyon:

Each seems grander than the last:

Would you believe that climbers scale those walls? The park's climbing ranger was at one of the overlooks trying to explain to people where he was seeing a pair of climbers far, far below.. Apparently, the climbers overnight on the walls. Trust me, the thought of doing that never entered my mind.

Today, I',m off to the North Rim, which is said to have even better views than the South.  If I can get a shot at a climber, I'll take it!

Day 9--The Sun shines, but I must leave...

What a day! The clouds cleared, and I ran around the Rocky Mountain National Park until 10:00 A.M. to take some farewell shots with my dinky little #3 backup camera!!  Here's that view across Sheep Meadows:

And here's the view across Moraine Park:

I did get to Boulder, pick up the new lens and drive the six hours down here to Montrose.

Upload times are so dreadfully slow here, I'll quit and get readdy to go out to today's target.

Day 8-Shooting with a broken lens is hard to do...

Another day of fighting the weather as well as the busted lens.  As solace, one of the locals greeted me with unrestrained enthusiasm . I'm a rock star for elk...

Early in the day, I went up into the clouds and fog (the roads to the summit are closed for the winter, I suspect) to shoot the big peaks. I must confess, they are far more beautiful when covered in fresh snow.

Fourteen thousand feet or so, towering above the meadows far below. Imagine the Himalayas, which are twice as high.

The beauty is mesmerizing. You can see why (crazy) men climb mountains!!

Rainbow Curve is the highest overlook before encountering the closed summit road. From here you look down on Sheep Lakes  and the collapsed dam site known as the Alluvial Fan. 

It's a shame the weather has been so lousy, because the place is beautiful in the sun:

Off to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River, after picking up a new lens. I can't hold this one together any more. Can't wait!

Day 7-Mother always said there'd be days like this

The day started with dull rain and never got much better. So, I took off for Alberta Falls, a mile out in the wet woods: Thank goodness for the umbrella!

It's a nice, big. noisy falls, and gets louder as you draw closer:

Scrambling on the wet boulders, I had a brief hallucination about toppling into the torrent.

It would be quick. Think of it as 'becoming one with Nature'...

As the rapids flow down from the falls, we see in the distance a hillside alight with aspens

Ah, but the day got worse! When I tried to drive to the summit--the roads were closed!

Sigh. Well, at least the skiers are smiling...

Now, how could I possibly cap off such a day? Well, a 2-cent plastic tie wrap on my camera bag broke as I was hiking near those falls. The bag fell on the rocks and broke my main camera lens.

Never say that the life of a photographer isn't fun. I'm taking a detour over to Boulder in the morning and buy a new one.

Off for more adventures!! (????)

Day 6 started so well...

I went out to Sprague Lake at dawn, and was rewarded with the overnight cloud cover breaking up and letting the Sun illuminate the scene:

When I get home I have a number of panoramas to process, but you get the idea. Further  around above the north shore, the hills were covered with aspens.

I then raced up to the mountaintop. but the weather was already deterorating. Still, a few pathches of sunlight made a lot of difference! This is the view from Forest Canyon overlook:

And this is what it's like driving up among the 12,000-14,000-foot peaks on the way to Gore Point

Then the rain and fog closed in up there, so I retreated down to the site of a collapsed dam:

The alluvial fan is the debris from the dam, which sent a six-foot wall of water down into Estes Park, the town where I'm staying.  The water keeps flowing, of course. The rain was pouring down (you can see drops on the sign), so the trek and the photography was all done under an umbrella. Glad I had one stashed in the SUV!

Now to get some rest, and prepare to fight the weather again tomorrow.

Whatever it takes....

Into every life some rain must fall...

Day 5 introduced me to the Colorado weather conundrum. The Coloradans want it to SNOW, while I want nice sun for my pictures. Today was all over the place--patches of sunlight, huge clouds, rain, sleet,

Still, I got to map out all the attractions for what I hope will be sunshine in coming days.

The main drive goes up into these tall peaks:

The foliage is beginning to turn, and will only get better over the next few days:

Gore Point is a spectacular overlook high up near the clouds. I'll pray for sun to do a panorama that will knock you over! In this shot you can see the big cloud racing in.

So, I dodged and weaved all day, grabbing any picture I could: This is from the Rainbiw Point overlook:

Just to add a golden oldie, here is a brief clip of Maroon Bells showing the water almost like a mirror!

Praying for sun. Please...

Day four, and a beautiful little gem...

There was a sky full of clouds, and it had a rainy look. However--my guardian angels provided just a long enough break for me to shoot with bright Sun at Rifle Falls. This wonderful little state park is out in the middle of nowhere, off the I-70. Here are the falls reflected in the river:

Fortunately, while Rifle Falls is another one-trick pony, we can view it from various places:

The roar of the falls booms against the quiet landscape

The falls can be seen from other vantage-points as well:

And, if you are willing to take a short hike:

It isn't organized, of course, but if you want to ride the falls, just take one short step from here!!

Oh, all right. If you really don't want to...

Off first thing tomorrow for the drive to Rocky Mountain National Park, near Denver.

Can't wait for the next adventure!

Three days of wonder...

This has really been quite amazing. On my third day here in the Colorado Rockies, I followed a hotel staffer's tip and raced southward to the San Juan Mountains, between Ouray and Silverton. Long drive, but he was right when he said it would be worth every minute!

I hae miles of video, but trying to upload it defeats the hotel wireless. Saturday night. No matter--I'll show it all when i get home.

As you see, the hills are alive with color! after two mornings priot to today fighting the 'Cold War' at freezing Maroon Bells at dawn, this was a pleasure! Running around in a light shirt even at this altitude!

Oh, did I mention crystal Lake outside of town?

A complete change of scenery tomorrow (have to see what weather develops), then pack tomorrow night to drive to Rocky Mountain National Park Northwest of Denver Monday.