An advantage of walking along a forest roadway in the rain is getting photos like these, while passerbys stop to make sure you are ok, because nobody in their right mind walks around in the rain with a camera.
I made a number of images at this location, while walking around in the drizzling rain, along Forest Service Road 250, which follows the Conejos River for a long way in Rio Grande National Forest.
Valley, River, Mountainside, Mist
This was not the kind of weather I wanted, but I knew before I began this trip that there were significant chances of rain for each day here.
With the recent and continuing rains, the local streams were flowing again after a long dry spell and there is something irresistible about a mountain stream in every season.
It had been years since I visited Colorado in the fall. Not because I didn’t want to be there in the fall, but because the timing never worked out. This year I had a narrow window of opportunity to visit Colorado and I took advantage of it.
I knew in advance that this year might not be a great year for fall color in Colorado, due to a wide spread drought; but I knew that if I passed up this opportunity, I might not get another for years. So I went.
On the second day of travel, as I neared my destination in Southern Colorado, it began to rain. Mostly, light, intermittent showers, but sometimes heavy downpours. It rained and was overcast most of the time I was there with only the last couple of days partly sunny with occasional light rain.
I’ve driven past these peaks numerous times in my trips to and from this part of Colorado. Today those heavy clouds above the peaks inspired me to stop and shoot this image.
I arrived at the south end of Forest Service Road 250 in the late afternoon and I stopped a few time along the road to shoot a few images, while looking for a place to overnight in my vehicle.
This time of the year is not only leaf peeping season in Colorado, but hunting season as well. So there were many hunters in the Rio Grande National Forest, taking up many of the open campsites. I was also surprised to see that a number of forest campgrounds that were closed the last time I was in this area were still closed. I don’t know why, but I suspect budget cuts by the current Washington regime is responsible.
And the rains made some dispersed camping areas difficult or impossible to use. Fortunately, I found a suitable place to stay overnight, although I did walk into the area first to make sure I could navigate the muddy dirt roads and puddles.
First Night’s Campsite
This is an iPhone photo with the wide angle lense distortion making it look like those evergreens are leaning in to protect my vehicle from the inclement weather.
View from CampsiteBent Aspens
I found it interesting that this group of small aspens near my campsite are all bent in the same manner. Perhaps these were deformed when very small by a snow load and maintained that shape as they have grown.
More Colorado fall photos to come. Thanks for following,
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 PhotoBlack 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 PhotoBlack Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone PhotoBlack Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone PhotoBlack Canyon of the Gunnison, North Rim, iPhone PhotoBlack 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.
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.
EventideEventide 2Day’s Final PerformanceFinaleMoon, Sunset Clouds and Fading Mountain LightDay’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 WildflowersGrass 1Grass 2ProgressionFuzzy, old head
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.
In Telluride, I only used my iPhone to shoot a few images in the old town.
Holding it TogetherStorm Clouds, Telluride, CO 1Storm Clouds, Telluride, CO 2Watchful
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 3Building 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.
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 TopRed Top and CloudsRed Peak and CloudsRed Pate
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 PlaceBelow PeakNo Delivery TodayForlornRIP
Wildflowers and clouds seem to be trying to comfort this old, rusting, abandoned truck in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.
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.
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 BoardsBare 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?ChimneyWindow and CeilingWall BoardsWho’s Been HereMountain View 1
The inhabitants here had magnificent mountain views.
Mountain View and StreamMountain 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.
