Category: Colorado

Black Canyon of the Gunnison – North Rim

From Ridgway we traveled to Hotchkiss, Colorado, where we planned to visit the North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  Years ago we had briefly visited the south rim, but this was the first visit to the North Rim.  After checking into our motel, which was surprisingly nice for such a small town, we drove to the north rim.

It is a fairly long drive from Hotchkiss to the canyon, but I wanted to do a bit of scouting, prior to returning for late day or early morning photos.  It was early afternoon and the sun was high in the sky.  We stopped at a number of canyon overlooks, where I snapped iPhone scouting photos.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone Photo
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone Photo

Since this is a deep canyon, direct sun light penetrates to the bottom for only a few minutes each day.  The best time to photograph the canyon is probably not during the typically preferred golden hours of early morning and late day, so timing when to be here is a problem for those of us that are not highly knowledgeable of the lighting variation across the seasons here.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone Photo

Much geology is revealed in the rocks of the canyon walls.  One can find lots of information on the canyon’s geology via many online sources.  Here is one link to check out, if interested, and another here.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone Photo
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone Photo
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone Photo
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone Photo
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone Photo

The last photo in this post shows a feature referred to as “The Camel” (left of center and just above the vertical center).

My original intention was to return to the canyon with my DSLR either later today or the next morning, but given the travel time from our lodging and the uncertainty about the best time of day to be here,  I decided more effort on this visit might not be adequately fruitful.  Instead, we changed our travel plans and decided to move on towards home a day earlier than planned.

I know these iPhone photos are not very good, but these are all I have for this trip.

Ken

Salvaging the Day

After a day of browsing and walking around in Ouray and Telluride, quaint, old Colorado tourist towns, we had dinner in Ridgway.  I had hoped to be able to rush up the highway toward or over the Dallas Divide from Ridgway, after dinner for sunset photography,  but we were a little late getting out and the service was slow at our restaurant.  By the time we finished dinner, it was too late to go anywhere.  Arriving back at our lodging and resigned to having lost my opportunity for sunset photography today, I hoisted my camera backpack, grabbed my tripod and camera and began to walk into the lodge. Then I noted golden sunset light on the nearest mountaintops.  So I jogged down the road past the inn to get past other buildings, power lines and trees to try to get into a location to shoot the rapidly changing scene before the light faded away.

Eventide
Eventide 2
Day’s Final Performance
Finale
Moon, Sunset Clouds and Fading Mountain Light
Day’s End

As the sunset light faded away, I walked back towards the inn, stopping to photograph grass and wildflowers in the dim evening light.

Grass and Wildflowers
Grass 1
Grass 2
Progression
Fuzzy, old head

What will tomorrow bring?

Until then,

Ken

Telluride, CO, August 2022

After a morning of browsing and shopping in Ouray, we traveled over the Dallas Divide to Telluride, another quaint, old Colorado town that is popular with summer tourist and winter skiers.

In route along Colorado 62, I kept an eye out for potential photography sites, hoping to return for sunset photos.  I stopped at one location to get a few shots of the afternoon storm clouds building over the mountain tops.

Afternoon Storm Clouds 1
Afternoon Storm Clouds 2
Afternoon Storm Clouds 3

In Telluride, I only used my iPhone to shoot a few images in the old town.

Holding it Together
Storm Clouds, Telluride, CO 1
Storm Clouds, Telluride, CO 2
Watchful

There must be a story behind this mural painted on the side of a Telluride building, but I don’t know it.

Storm Clouds,Telluride, CO 3
Building Plaque, Telluride, CO

Butch Cassidy reportedly took over $24,000 in the robbery of the San Miguel Valley Bank.  That was quite a bit of money in those days, equivalent to about $857,000 in 2022 money.  Butch should have retired after this haul.

So much for this quick visit to Telluride.

Until next time,

Ken

U.S. 550, August 2022

The drive from Durango, Colorado via US 550 to Silverton and Ouray has to be one of the best road trip drives in the U.S. with magnificent mountain views, many sharp switchbacks with slow speed required to safely navigate those sharp curves.  The road is often on the very edge of steep drop offs.

There are prominent red top mountain peaks that can be seen for miles along this roadway.  Somewhere between Durango and Ouray, I pulled off at a dirt road going into the forest to get a few shots of red top mountains with the typical afternoon storm clouds gathering above them.

Red Top
Red Top and Clouds
Red Peak and Clouds
Red Pate

Until next time,

Ken

Abandoned Truck in Colorado Mountains

After photographing an abandoned mine mill near Animas Forks, CO, we drove back along a 4 wheel drive road towards Animas Forks, keeping an eye out for an abandoned truck we had been told about.

We soon spotted the truck a short distance up a spur road.

Final Resting Place
Below Peak
No Delivery Today
Forlorn
RIP

Wildflowers and clouds seem to be trying to comfort this old, rusting, abandoned truck in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

Later,

Ken

 

Old Mill

Determined to find an old abandoned truck, that we had been told about, along a 4 wheel drive road, we continued on past Animas Forks.

We had been told that the old truck was just beside the road about a quarter of a mile past Animas Forks.  Yet we drove much farther than a quarter of a mile, passing the old mill we had been told about, too.

At some point past the old, abandoned mill, we decided that we had either missed the truck or that it was much farther along the roadway than we had been told.  We turned back and stopped to photograph the old mill.  As I was getting my camera out, the retired photographer, who had told us about the truck, drove up and informed me that he had been mistaken about the abandoned truck being right next to the road.  Instead, it was up on a hill at the end of a short spur road.  He even pointed to the truck that was barely visible in the distance.

I shot a few photos of the old mill, before back tracking to the old truck.

Mill Reflection
Abandoned Mine Mill
Old Mine Mill 1
Old Mine Mill 2

Next abandoned truck,

Ken

Animas Forks, CO

We finally arrived in Animas Forks, where we did not intend to linger for long, since we still had to drive back to Silverton, then on to our lodging in Ridgway, CO. and the day was slipping away.

Plaque

One of the best remaining old structures in Animas Forks is the old home of William Duncan.  This site was completely covered by an avalanche a few years ago and I was curious to see how it had survived.

Old Home Interior

Water damage to the old wood structure is evident.  Maybe some of this was there before the avalanche, but I do not recall seeing such damage the last time I was here.

Ceiling Boards
Bare Walls

For its age this old home is in remarkably sound shape.

Registration

Of course, many visitors have to scratch their names and initials into the wall boards, which have a nice aged patina.

Who Does Windows?
Chimney
Window and Ceiling
Wall Boards
Who’s Been Here
Mountain View 1

The inhabitants here had magnificent mountain views.

Mountain View and Stream
Mountain View 2

As we were getting back to our vehicle to begin our return trip, the couple we had met on the road at a waterfall, drove up and we chatted again.  I learned that the driver was a retired photographer, who was happy not to have to continue making school photographs.  He told me about an old mill nearby that his dad had made a painting of many years ago and also about an abandoned truck just a short distant past Animas Forks.

My wife was reluctant, having had enough of this rocky road, but relented to allow me to try to find that old truck.

Stay tuned to see if I was successful,

Ken

 

The Road to Animas Forks, CO, August 2022

Since we were in the neighborhood, I made a spur of the moment decision to take a 4 wheel drive road to the ghost mining town of Animas Forks.

I’d been to Animas Forks with my oldest son a few years ago, accessing it via other 4 wheel drive routes.  I thought I recalled the route from Silverton being very easy and suitable for even regular passenger vehicles and it is a well maintained gravel road for the initial few miles out of Silverton.  However, where it begins to climb into the mountains, it becomes rocky and rough.  This route is still classified as an easy 4 wheel drive route, but it is not safe for regular passenger vehicles.  But we did encounter a young female driver in a low clearance small passenger vehicle, returning towards Silverton.  She was either a skilled driver, crazy or stupid.  A bad move could easily result in undercarriage damage or a punctured oil pan, punctured gas tank or high centering on rocks.

This was the first 4 wheel drive road that I have taken in my 4Runner TRD off-road Toyota.  I still have road tires on this vehicle, which are only a couple of years old with low mileage, so I was not overly concerned about the tires, but knew I needed to exercise more care in driving than if I had more suitable tires for such roads.

Waterfall and Mountain Stream
Convergence

This mountain road, like all here, is scenic with great views of mountains, mountain streams and waterfalls.

Mountain Stream
Streaming
Rocks in the Stream
Down Hill Rush
Downstream Rush

Just after shooting at this waterfall, another driver pulled in behind my vehicle.  He was “local”, being from the Durango area and knew this area well.  We had been driving for awhile, making slow progress and I had no idea how far we were from Animas Forks, but he assured me we were not far away now.

Next Animas Forks,

Ken

 

Silverton, Colorado, August 2022

Silverton, Colorado is a picturesque old town nestled below Rocky Mountain peaks along U.S. 550 between Durango and Ouray.  Silverton originated during mining boom times in the nearby mountains and was a rowdy place of saloons and bawdy houses, where the miners came to spend their wages, earned by their hard toiling in the mines.

It is now a major tourist attraction with lots of art galleries, antique shops, souvenir shops of all sorts and numerous restaurants and eating places to choose from.  Nothing here is inexpensive, food or otherwise.

Silverton, CO

When we decided it was time to have lunch, most of the restaurants were crowded, including the limited outdoor seating, which we required, since we were traveling with a miniature labradoodle.

We ended up purchasing sandwiches from a food truck that had picnic tables and umbrellas for shade.  The sandwiches were tasty.  In talking to the lady working in the food truck, we discovered she and the food truck were from East Texas not so far from our home base.  They trailer the food truck to Silverton for the tourist season, live in an RV, then back to Texas in the winter months.  There were lots of Texans in Colorado.  No doubt fleeing the excessively hot and dry summer in Texas this year.

Next up a spur of the moment decision to take a 4 wheel drive road to the ghost town of Animas Forks.

Rusty Truck

Let’s hope we don’t end up like this rusty truck in a Silverton alleyway.

Until then,

Ken

 

Durango, Colorado, August 2022

After departing Santa Fe, New Mexico we headed to Colorado, stopping for a couple of nights in Durango.

I had anticipated spending most of our time in downtown Durango, allowing my wife to shop to her hearts’ content; but she was not interested in shopping here.

Our motel was near the Animas River, with a walking/bicycle path along the river.  We checked out that path, but discovered that it was not a great walk at this location, being completely open with no shade and it was warmer in the sunshine than we expected.  There was a pedestrian bridge on this path with good views of the river and that was as far along this path as we ventured.

We drove a few miles into the downtown area, intending to have dinner at one of the many restaurants there, but we could find no available parking.  After a number of circuits through downtown, we abandoned it and finally found a decent Mexican restaurant in a small shopping center off of the main roadway between our motel and downtown.  We enjoyed our dinner at outdoor seating at that location and judging by the number of Hispanic customers, it appeared to be a popular restaurant with the locals.

There are numerous parks in Durango and long pleasant walking/biking paths along the Animas River, which we checked out the full day we had in the area.

Animas River 1, Durango, CO
River Rocks
Animas River 2,  Durango, CO
River Floaters

I noted that the two youngest kids in the front of this raft were more interested in me than the river.  It must have been the phone camera that I pointed at them.

Kayakers
Modern Art

There are modern art work pieces in the parks.

Modern Art

We drove around the local area to check out the countryside, driving up into a national forest and along numerous backroads.  Along one of these roadways, I spotted a large rafter or flock of wild turkeys, maybe a couple of dozen.

Wild Turkey – iPhone image

On to Silverton next,

Ken