landscapes
Time for some more images from the air! Last September we were lucky enough to fly down to Clovis, New Mexico to celebrate Scott's nephew's baptism and first birthday. It was the first long flight I had taken with him, and it was such a special thing to be able to fly ourselves on a mini vacation like that.
Next up: images from an extremely brief visit to Medicine Bow National Forest, and west of there, near Saratoga, Wyoming.
Happy day after Thanksgiving everyone! I was able to spend yesterday with most of my family, enjoying some precious time with two of my nephews, and eating lots of food of course. I hope everyone had a day filled with loved ones and delicious food.
It is time for another round of images that have been sitting on my hard drive for close to two months! I've been telling myself lately that because I am awful at posting here on a regular basis, it makes the posts more treasured and worth viewing. Hopefully there is at least some truth to that.
Back at the end of August, Scott and I went fly fishing for the first time in Colorado. Scott of course did all the fishing, as I was perfectly content wandering around photographing the stunning setting. I actually had to admit to a new friend (who is an avid fly fisher, and I met at a fly tying event) that I have never fished on a fly rod before. I always get sidetracked and distracted by the opportunities to photograph, and haven't even taken the time to learn somehow.
On this particular occasion, we ventured to Walker Ranch, to fish in the South Boulder Creek. Scott had read the fishing reports, and it looked extremely promising. I was excited, since we were going to a new location, and it ended up being amazingly beautiful.
Unfortunately the fishing report ended up being quite wrong for us that day. We didn't so much as see a single fish. Scott progressed downstream, hoping to get some bites, with no luck. I, of course, was still more than content, but he ended up fairly frustrated towards the end of the afternoon.
Next up on the blog: images from my current favorite location in Colorado. Expect to see some mind blowing light, quirky portraits, and movie like landscapes.
Time to go back to my first weekend living in Colorado again! And to give you fair warning, there are images of an adorable, sleepy puppy towards the end of this post, so prepare yourselves.
As mentioned in the last post, my best friend, Blair, and I spent the weekend camping in Twin Lakes, CO, with the goal of hiking Mount Elbert. Mount Elbert is the tallest peak in Colorado, standing at 14,439', so it was an exciting goal for my first weekend as a Colorado resident. We drove to the trailhead as the sun was just coming up that morning, and started hiking in the brisk morning air.
It was a long, rather deceptive hike, with false summit after false summit (or so it felt). But, we kept hiking away, slowly but surely, taking in the incredible scenery and views as we went.
The summit was absolutely stunning, and made the long hike up worth it. Unfortunately, we still had to get down (the worst part, in my opinion). Blair and I were both exhausted, partially from Stella's (the puppy) seemingly never ending energy. Yet, as we worked our way down, even she started to look completely worn out (somehow not until around tree line though). When we stopped to take breaks towards the end of the hike, Stella would promptly lay down and nearly fall asleep.
We eventually made it all the way down, drove to a gas station for firewood and other provisions, and then made the short drive back to our campsite. The clouds and light over Twin Lakes on the way to our site were beyond spectacular. So, despite our complete exhaustion, we stopped so that I could grab a few images before heading back to collapse and eat dinner.
The following morning we, unfortunately, had to pack up and head back to the real world. We enjoyed a somewhat lazy breakfast, packed stuff up, and drove out. The water on the lakes that morning was like glass, creating a perfect reflection of the surrounding area. I snagged a few shots out of the window as we drove past, sad to be leaving that amazing place so soon.
My first weekend living in Colorado (two months ago at this point!) was lived to the absolute fullest, and in true Colorado style. My best friend's birthday fell right after that weekend, so we decided to go on a camping trip to celebrate her birthday, as well as the fact that we would be living in the same state for the first time in eight years.
We camped near Twin Lakes for two nights, and hiked Mt. Elbert, the tallest fourteener in Colorado, while we were there (images to come). We ended up having perfect weather for both days that we were out there, and somewhat spontaneously ended up on a beautiful hike the evening that we arrived. These images are from that hike, which followed along the edge of Twin Lakes.
The hike took us to the historic Interlaken Hotel, a resort that was built in the late 1800s. It was a popular resort for many years, and was quite the luxurious get away at the time (featuring a six-sided privy with leather seats, and an orchestra performance once a week). The resort closed in the early 1900s, and when they built the dam on Twin Lakes in the 1970s, many of the buildings and artifacts were left behind, flooded by the new water level. However, some of the buildings were moved in order to preserve them, including the summer home of the owner of the resort, James Dexter (the first few images below).
The Dexter House is open to the public, and we were able to walk through the beautiful building, all the way up to the glass enclosed cupola (which has 360 degree views of the lakes and mountains). You could easily tell it was once a rather lavish place. For example, Dexter imported eight different types of wood for the floor of his home (which you can see below), in order to make it look more Victorian. I can only imagine what this place would have been like in its prime, with an orchestra playing, a steamboat ferrying people to and from the resort, fine dining, and luxuriously furnished rooms.
Sitting on the porch of the Dexter Home was a hiker who we ended up chatting with for a little while. It was the first time that I worked up the courage to photograph a stranger, and it was great to listen to his story as I snapped a few images (though unfortunately I failed to get his name). He had started hiking in Durango, Colorado, hiked over the Continental Divide, and was now resting for a little in Twin Lakes. So far he had hiked for four weeks, and was planning on going all the way to Denver. Depending on his exact route, that would be around 325 miles of hiking!
Next up, images from my first fourteener! Expect stunning mountain views, and more adorable pictures of the puppy. Thanks for stopping by!