Bluff Spring Journal
July 2010
From June 13th to July 24 Gap in Journal
What an experience! I ordered a new computer in Feb. 2010. It arrived in May. I know this sounds like a long time but some things are worth waiting for. This one is a new model and they were hard to get. It finally arrived and that is where the gap in the Journal started. In brief, I spent about 30 hours over a few weeks installing software or talking to technical support about issues with the new computer. After sending it back twice I finally just told the company that I was not at all confident in the laptop and that I wanted to return it for a replacement. The replacement has arrived and so far I'm a happy camper.
July 18th
Headed out for Colorado to meet up with some friends to do some wildflower shooting in Colorado. I left Springfield at 5:40 am and made it to Fairplay, Co about 6:30 pm. The drive wasn't as long this year. My usual trip is about 1100 miles but Fairplay was only about 850 miles. I certainly felt better when I arrived not to mention how I felt the next day.
Here is a brief description of the trip.
Sunday July 18-arrived at Fairplay at about 6:30 pm, shot wildflowers and a plant that looks like miniature bamboo at small lake near where we stayed.
Poet’s Shooting Star “Dodecatheon poeticum”, and what looks like to be a member of the bamboo family
Monday July 19-up at 3:30 am to drive towards Breckenridge to Spruce Creek Drive on left towards Mohawk Lake. Shot the sunrise at Lower Mohawk Lake. Started the hike with headlamps. Gain of estimated 1000 to 1100 feet in elevation. Shot Columbines at Mohawk Lake.
Then back to cabin for lunch and a nap. Around 4 pm we headed up to Horseshoe Mountain Gulch to shoot the sunset.
Tuesday, July 20 up at 3:30 am drive beyond Buena Vista to Cottonwood Pass-Continental Divide to shoot the sunrise. The clouds didn't fully cooperate but there was good light on the distant mountains. While we were shooting a deer ran past us and stopped to look at us as if to say 'what are you doing in my neighborhood'. After shooting we went back down to Buena Vista and had a great breakfast at Jan’s. Then up to Chalk Creek falls near the Colligate Peaks-Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia. Harvard is the highest at 14,427. The sunshine was too bright to shoot the falls but occasionally the sun would go behind the clouds and give us the opportunity to capture a few frames. Then it was our normal back to the cabin and take a nap. We left a little early this afternoon to drive to McCullough Gulch. This place is towards Breckenridge. On the way from Fairplay to Breckenridge just look for the Blue Lakes Road. It is also marked as Quandary Peak Trail Head. We first took photos of Fire Hydrant Falls at the base of the hike. These falls literally look like they are shooting straight out of the rocks like a fire hydrant. We hiked up past a private cabin with Colorado, POW and the American flags flying. There were also 'No Trespassing' signs in abundance. We were about 3/4 the way through the 1 mile hike when a vicious storm blew in. We hunkered down for it to pass. It was some show of lightning, hail and distant rock slides. Tom commented he felt a rainbow coming on and we laughed at him just trying to be optimistic. The rain and lightning finally let up and we hiked on to Sapphire Falls. Low and behold a rainbow did appear and Tom had the last laugh. All day we talked about having Pizza on the way back from our hike from the Pizza Hut in Fairplay. After surviving the wet hike up McCullough Gulch we called at 8:30 pm and they were closed. What a bummer. Fortunate for us the South Park Saloon in Alma was open where we had some great cheese burgers and fries. We were in bed by 10:30 pm. Quite the long day.
Wednesday, July 21st Slept in Wednesday and headed towards Crested Butte. We went up Gothic Road, which was socked in by rain and clouds and not much luck with flower pictures. We came back to Crested Butte and ate at the Last Steep Bar and Grill. I had an Ahi Tuna Salad which was really good. Then on to Lake City where we took the Alpine Loop Road and a side trip to American Basin. There were great wildflowers with lots of Columbine. The rain set in but then cleared off to give us great light on the peaks with clouds rolling in. I couldn't find the name of peaks on any map so far. The maps just list the elevation of the peaks at 13806 and 13744. The American Basin is road is also ends at the trail head to Handies Peak, a 14'er, the 41st highest peak in Colorado. The moon came up and was really bright with the dramatic background of the mountains. We had our usual ham sandwiches and chips for dinner that we usually had for lunch. Since it was raining hard we slept in our vehicles. About 5:30 am the next morning we got up for sunrise pictures. I stayed in my vehicle because I wanted to make sure there was going to b a sunrise. No luck the clouds wouldn't cooperate. So we made the best of it and just shot wildflowers in the rain.
Then is was back down American Basin road to Cinnamon Pass Road. Very dramatic with several tight switch backs. We stopped at Animas Forks Ghost town. They had the highest printed newspaper in the US when the town was occupied. It was also the county seat before Silverton. Once a judge handed down a verdict to which the lawyer replied that he would appeal to a higher court. The judge correctly stated that 'Sir, there is no higher court in the land'. The local mill was built with steel instead of lumber which was unusual for the area. Then it was back to Alpine loop and down to Silverton. We ate at Brown Bear Café. It was a really good breakfast but most anything tastes good after being out in the wilderness. Next we acted on a tip from Jason and went back up to Maggie Gulch and shot some great wildflowers. Then back to Silverton which was overrun with tourists. We didn't stop fearing an avalanche of T-Shirts and exotic jerky meats. We headed on to Black Bear Pass road on the way to Ouray. There were great wildflowers and two tall cascades. On my way through Ouray, pronounced U Ray, I heard a debate on Medical Marijuana in Ouray. They didn’t want it under any circumstances. I found out that Medical Marijuana distribution centers in Denver outnumber the Starbucks. Over 400. Hmmm, Colorado Rocky Mountain High takes on a whole new meaning.
We reached our destination in Ridgway (without an e). The hot shower felt good. Afterwards we ate at the True Grit Café. True Grit with John Wayne was filmed in this area. True Grit has connection to Ft. Smith, Ar I think. Something about taking prisoners back. We also saw the Ralph Lauren Ranch. A huge ranch with Mt. Sneffels as a back drop. After dinner and true to most photographers we couldn't accept that the trip was over so we went scouting for places to photograph in the fall..
It was a great week with good friends.
July 24th to 30th
On to a great week in the Snowy Range of South Eastern Wyoming. We based camped at Reservoir Lake near Medicine Bow Peak and did day hikes into the Routt National Forest.
Sympathetic tree to the fate of many a ill fated steer.
The wildflowers were better this year than I've seen in quite some time. Ample moisture during the winter provided us with a colorful blanket of blooms.
Columbine
Snowy Range Reflection
Our stay at Reservoir Lake provided us with opportunities to hike to several other scenic spots in this area. We dealt with the occasional rain but stayed dry during much of the trip. Each day started with getting the bear bag down and then quickly firing up the two jetboils to get our early morning java. Then as the rest of the crew sleepily wondered into the cooking area we would fire up the other camp stoves and have a hearty breakfast. After breakfast we would hang the bear bag again and head out with day packs to explore the area. What a great group of kids. Everyone pitched in to do their part of the many chores around the campsite. Pumping water out of the lake, gathering firewood, cleaning up the cooking gear, hanging bear bags and on and on. No one ever complained and usual jumped in to complete the tasks before being asked to help.
Kudos to the leaders who provided just enough guidance to keep us from getting into trouble. But, let the kids do and learn on their own. A special thanks to Randy, Steve, Annette, Dave, Carol and Sue.
We ended the week with a summit hike of Medicine Bow Peak. It was a 1200 ft elevation gain along the 2 mile hike. The summit is at 12,013 feet.