Okay, so I’m trying to catch up on my photo posts from this summer, and realized I never got around to posting and photos from this short hike. Once again I return us to the Indian Peaks Wilderness for another outing, this time on a different route. This trail is a short somewhat easy hike that first takes you past Mitchell Lake, a nice easy hike for any fisherman wanting to fish still water and catch native cutthroats and brook trout. You can head further up the trail to Blue Lake that sits in a granite cirque under the shadow of Mount Toll. When we were there in late June, there were still bits of the ice pack floating about the lake. There was still a bit of haze in the air from the High Park fire outside of Fort Collins. It was a nice short trip into the mountains on a hot summer day.
Parry Primrose grows along small streams and creeks.
Parry Primrose, Marsh Marigold, and Mountain Bluebell enjoying the spring runoff.
A white variation of the American Globeflower.
View of Paiute Peak on the trail too Blue Lake.
Mount Toll from just below Blue Lake
Mount Toll again
Blue Lake and Mount Toll in the background. Ice out on Blue Lake was only weeks before.
Purple Irish moss
Our common friend, the Yellow-bellied Marmot, or Whistle Pig, named for its shrill whistling when it spots potential threats.
So after a long sabbatical from photography (due mostly to lack of inspiration, work, and other silly excuses), I was able to go for a long needed road trip. Myself and long time best friend Kevin went out to the eastern Utah desert for a couple days of chasing trains and photography. Since the first trip we made there more than thirteen years ago, I was enchanted with the desolate beauty of the desert. While this trip was less about landscapes and more about trains, the two subjects are intertwined. The trip truly began when we made our way down to the north rim of Ruby Canyon where we would wait for the westbound Amtrak California Zephyr to pass by below us. We exited I-70 at Rabbit Valley, two miles from the Colorado state line where there is an OHV recreation area on the south side. One of the funnest parts of these trips is the frequent four wheeling required to get to our photo spots, and this area is no exception. The views are awesome and it’s really easy to sit there for long periods of time watching time pass. Our train came and went, and we made our own rough tracks back to the highway to continue westward. One problem with chasing trains between Grand Junction and Price, Utah is that there are only four trains a day. With our only train for the day passed, we made for Price. I passed the time watching the landscape go by, taking the occasional shot out the window. Since this was first road trip in years that I wasn’t driving, I was taking plenty of shots of the Book Cliffs in the evening light. While a moving vehicle doesn’t make for the most stable shooting platform, I was able to get some nice images, most of which I turned into panoramas. My camera has enough resolution I was able turn out some good size prints from the panos.
The next day saw a lot more rail action, as we headed westward toward Soldier Summit. The near 2% grade on the trackage from Helper to the summit, and the fact that loaded coal trains have to go up that grade makes for some exciting train chasing. We caught Amtrak #6 heading east at Castle Gate, which was still in the shadows at 6:30 am. From there we worked west listening to the radio chatter, looking for either a westbound to chase toward Provo, or an eastbound to chase back east to the desert. We were in luck as we encountered an eastbound Utah Railway coal train headed east toward that railway’s branch line, which serves a very productive coal mining operation. The rising sun was perfect for eastbounds, and the resulting shots were great. We kept with this train all the way to the Wildcat coal load out, and were able to kill some time while it was loaded. Once loaded, the train headed west once again toward Salt Lake City, where it would interchange with the Union Pacific, and ultimately the coal was destined for China as export coal. We left the coal load a way up Price River Canyon and headed back east to catch Amtrak #5 westbound out in the desert, since we planned to camp in the desert the second night. Our sources told us that there would be a special surprise in today’s California Zephyr; ex- Rio Grande business car, and ex- Ski Train private car Kansas. Since the discontinuation of the Ski Train several years ago, the cars were sold here and there to special charter rail lines. Our beloved Kansas was headed to a west coast luxury charter from the American Railway Explorer charter line. After a shot at Thompson Springs, we bid it farewell at Green River, and returned east to the desert siding at Sagers. Knowing we were essentially out of trains for the rest of the evening, we set camp and waited for darkness so we could do some star gazing and astrophotography. When darkness comes to the desert, it is the most spectacular kind of dark. The moon hadn’t risen yet, and you could literally see by starlight. I had done plenty of star trail shots with long exposures, but what I really wanted was to capture the galactic core in a shot. After a bit of experimentation, I found the formula (which I will keep to myself for now). And to add to the night shooting fun, we had two trains pass by in the dark as well.
After about two hours sleep, we woke with the dawn, took some sunrise photos and headed off. Once again we found our selves chasing Amtrak #6 east at Thompson Springs. We decided to chase it as far east as we could without losing it. Or it losing us, as the case ended up being. We were only able to stop occasionally as passenger trains make 75+ mph through the desert almost all the way to Glenwood Springs. Fortunately the California Zephyr makes a station stop at Glenwood Springs, which allowed us to catch up and stay with it along the Colorado River from Glenwood Springs to Gore Canyon. For probably the first time, I was able to try to get some photos of Glenwood Canyon from the car. Let me tell you, it is not as easy as it sounds to get a decent shot without a convertible! Nonetheless, I tried and actually ended up with a couple good ones. We left Amtrak at Inspiration Point at the mouth of Gore Canyon near Radium and headed back home a bit sooner than we would have liked. However, the trip was still good for the soul, and I had once again found my photographic inspiration in the Utah desert; always the last place you look!
Mount Garfield on the south eastern end of the Book Cliffs, Palisade, CO
View of the Haystack Peaks from Rabbit Valley.
Ruby Canyon and the Colorado River.
The thick red Pre-cambrian red rock visible in the canyon wall.
Pronghorn Antelope are plentiful here, this one didn't want to hang around long.
Recently, someone said to me “You haven’t updated you website for a while,” to which I responded; “I have a website? Oh, yeah! I do!” In the past FIVE MONTHS (!) I have barely had time to even think about picking up my camera, let alone get out and shoot with it! Though photographic inspiration was running low, working my ass off didn’t help matters either. Earlier in the year I had tried to plan multiple photo trips, all of which never happened for varying reasons, among them were Colorado wildflowers, as well as Fall Colors. All that could be managed for Fall Colors was a day hike up to the Indian Peaks, which I have to say, produced excellent photographic results, as well as just being an absolutely gorgeous autumn day in the mountains. Though I have visited this exact location numerous times, this time there was a photo everywhere I looked all day long. We took a couple different trails in order to get a bit of a different perspective, with our main destination being Isabelle Glacier, an 8 mile round trip from the Long Lake trail head. Well, I’m also a bit out of practice writing as well, so I’ll let the photos speak for themselves now…
Of course I included a shot of Colorado Aspen Gold!
Alpine foliage has some of the most striking colors this time of year.
A piece of the Niwot Ridge in the autumn sunlight.
My wife and dog enjoying the gorgeous day with Niwot Ridge in the background.
Navajo Peak
Autumn colors carpet the valley floor under Navajo and Apache peaks.
Meltwater from Isabelle Glacier running over the rocks under the watch of Navajo Peak
Okay, so I can’t seem to stay away from shooting birds at the Commons Open Space. So much so that lately that is all I can do! Met a couple of other photographers this morning and yesterday morning drawn by the Great Horned Owls that have become celebrities here in Broomfield these past couple weeks. Monday, in fact, the parks service put up orange snow fence to keep people away from the tree where the nest is. An unbelievable number of relentless snapshot takers were trying to get in right under the nest (where you can’t even see the owls from there anyway) because their camera phones and point and shoots can’t get a decent shot of them from a distance. These types of things are irk me to no end. I find it irksome. Bunch of inconsiderate irks…Anyway…Keeping a respectful distance from the area, I was surprised to see the male owl keeping watch (though napping too) a couple trees away in the sun. I had a great view with almost no branches obscuring the shot, and great morning light to boot. Other than the attraction of the owls, a Crested Cormorant was fishing in the pond. I must have been knelt down for at least forty five minutes trying to get a good click of him with a fish in his mouth. The trouble I was having was that he would dive down, and I couldn’t tell where he was going to surface again. This required some very quick reflexes, which wasn’t a problem, except the camera’s auto-focus was having trouble acquiring the subject fast enough. So I got two so-so images out of about a hundred. Yellow-headed Blackbirds are more abundant this year than they have been in the past, and are just a cool bird to photograph in the bright light with their contrasty plumage. One of the other photographers I met directed my attention to a couple of Northern Flickers that had carved a home out of the old cottonwood near the small parking lot off of Lowell Boulevard. Yesterday the Flickers were residents, today the European Starlings had taken over that prime piece of real estate. Of course the Red Tail Hawks were circling, with some nice clouds as a backdrop yesterday as well. This morning the star of the blue sky was a lone Peregrine Falcon that I nearly missed shooting. He flew directly above me at a high rate of speed, and I almost fell over backward trying to get the shot! I wasn’t sure if I made a decent shot, since the technique ended up being more “spray and pray” than careful shooting. Whatever the method, I got lucky and came away with a nice click.
I have been neglecting my miscellaneous spring time shots from the open space, and decided that May Day was a good day to catch up, especially since I have the day off! I was thinking just this morning how many different type of birds I see here in the spring time, and came up with 21 different species that call the Commons Open Space home for some period of time; fairly impressive for a small suburban pond. Lately there has been some action with the Great Horned Owls nesting on the south side; the chicks hatched a couple weeks ago, but today was the first time they could be seen from the ground. There are three of them, fluffy in their downy coats, wide eyed and hungry. The male and female have been trading off guarding the nest and hunting to feed themselves and the chicks. Also included in the gallery are the obligatory black and white images, and some random scenic shots from the past month.
A few different ducks; Ring-Necked (top left), Redheads, and American Coots (top right)
This morning I took my bud Kevin, his daughters Jaina and Bella, and his sister Kris to Denver Union Station. They had planned to take Amtrak #5 to Glenwood Springs for a couple days, and this was to be Jaina and Bella’s first train ride. The morning started with an early downpour driving toward downtown, which didn’t really ignite my creative photographic juices. Fortunately, the rain didn’t last, and when I decided to actually chase the train westward, a dense fog was the only remnant of the nasty weather. I waited for the train to show up at a spot just off CO-72 called Chemical. The fog was actually getting me in a creative mood, though it started to lift a bit just as the train came into view. Next, I drove west on CO-72 up Coal Creek Canyon with a perfect spot in mind for my next and final shots of their train. The problem was, I had to hurry because Amtrak trains waste no time getting to where they need to be; passenger trains have a higher speed limit than freight trains, and my spot was not exactly easily accessible. So I drove west and with the occasional update text from Kevin, I was able to get into position with plenty of time to spare. From there I snapped some shots and waved them off from atop a rock near South Boulder Creek, and began the climb back up to the truck, but not without a few incidental nature shots on the way. Most of them are black and white because the colors didn’t thrill me when I got back home and started to download the images from the card. I saved myself some time by shooting simultaneously in RAW and JPEG also using the monochrome picture style in the camera. These shots are basically straight from the camera, save for the watermark added for publishing!
A foggy morning at Chemical.
A rusty old sign that reads "Property of D&RGWRR No Trespassing"
The California Zephyr emerging from the fog
Amtrak #5 passes the signal at Chemical
Amtrak #5 California Zephyr exits tunnel 29 near Pinecliffe, CO
This post marks the 50th post made to my blog! One day last week I was finishing a bit of work in Lakewood, and was very close to Green Mountain, and it was a gorgeous day. It was a fairly long hike up hill, which brought to light how long it had been since I had any real outdoor exercise. At the top was a pile of rocks which marked the highest point of Green Mountain, and I could see Red Rocks Amphitheater, the Hogback, North and South Table mountains, the Flatirons, and a very good view of Mount Evans. The view to the east was less than flattering for the city; a heavy looking brown cloud hung low, stretching along the foothills and out to the east. Over the mountains, lenticular clouds were forming and made for some really dramatic sky. Lenticular type clouds form when moist stable air moves over a range of mountains. Due to their distinctive lens shape, they are sometimes mistaken for UFOs! The colors of late winter/early spring leave something to be desired for the landscape photographer, so I set the camera to shoot black and white. The sky was developing some very interesting clouds, high contrast and a red lens filter were the order of the day. All the images are pretty much straight out of the camera, the only adjustment made was for size and the watermark. All said, it was a great day to be outside and exercise the body, and the creative photography muscles!
Red Rocks Amphitheater from the top of Green Mountain
Looking south, toward Soda Lakes and the south end of the Hogback.
Mount Evans to the west
View of North and South Table mountains
Downtown Denver to the east, and the rock pile that marks the top of Green Mountain
There is only one radio tower on Green Mountain, when I passed it looking up, I just make a click!
Lenticular clouds forming up, with Chatfield Reservior in the foreground
That’s right, wolves are living down the street from my house! Well, coyotes are anyway, though they have lost that particular name over the past several decades, coyotes are still the closest relatives to wolves we have living in viable numbers in Colorado. Here are a couple shots of the ones that live in the open space by my house. We used to see them more commonly on our morning walks, but for the last year or two, they have been very shy, which probably had something to do with the coyote attacks that occurred here in Broomfield, as well as further south. For some reason, the cold and snowy weather brings these critters out in the open more often in their search for food. The day these were taken was no exception, the snow was coming in and it was getting mighty chilly!
Here’s a couple shots from the Broomfield Commons Open Space. I feel very fortunate to be able to walk five minutes from my house and have some kind of photographic opportunity, especially when things get busy and I can’t make a longer trip, I always have my open space!
Morning sunlight breaks on the Indian Peaks
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
Red Wing Blackbird thinks it's too warm for December, must be spring!
I didn’t realize until I began to write this that my last post was on October 31st! I have only been sporadically shooting at the open space; Red Tail Hawks, Canadian Geese, Mallard Ducks, and a Coyote or two. I was able to stop on my way home today and shoot a couple Mule Deer browsing in the grass at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which to me is still strange to see deer on that property. When I was a kid, tanks used to patrol the fence lines that I had my camera lens stuck through this afternoon! More evidence that time passes and things we don’t expect to change end up very much different than we imagine.
I was being watched...
Two Coyotes in the Broomfield Commons open space.
The Canadians have returned for the winter.
Mallard Ducks.
Northern Flicker perched on a post in the sun.
Mallards hanging out on the late autumn ice.
Red Tail Hawk landing on a naked Cottonwood.
Red Tail Hawk.
Mallard Drake up close and personal.
Red Tail Hawk soaring on the Front Range winds.
Mule Deer grazing at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
