This old shack is at an abandoned uranium mine site called the Luck Strike Mine, which is actually still classified as “active”, even though there has been no activity here for many years. The small structure on the right of this image is a powder (explosive) storage shed.
This sign near the shack give a brief and interesting history of the mine and the lives of the miners who worked the mine, many of whom developed illnesses related to radiation exposure before there were any significant safety regulations regarding such activity.
Most of the photos in this post were made via an iPhone camera.
Porphyry Basin, Colorado is accessed via a narrow, steep 4WD road off of US550 between Ouray and Silverton.
My oldest son drove us up the road to the basin in July, 2020. On the way up the mountainside, we passed a canvas tent with a stove pipe jutting from the top. It was obvious that someone had set up that tent for a long term camp. Upon arriving at the end of the 4WD road at an old mine site, it became apparent who was living in that heavy duty tent. First we saw a large flock of sheep spread across the high mountain meadow, then a horse staked out nearby the roadway, two sheep dogs, and a lone shepherd watching over the sheep.
Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 50mm (before crop), f/11, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm (before crop), f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.Sheep, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/16, 1/80s, ISO 250. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
We wandered around the old mine site with its collapsed wooden structure and other scattered debris, being careful to not step on old rusty nails or other potentially harmful items lying around on the ground.
K Marks The Spot, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
The basin is beautiful with an abundance of wildflowers, a mountain stream and a waterfall. It was bright daylight so I hand held my Nikon D850, shooting with a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of the flowers. It was too bright to get a long exposure of the waterfall for that silky, flowing water effect.
Wildflowers and Waterfall, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/320s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.Waterfall, Stream and Sheep in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.Waterfall and Stream, Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/200s, ISO 320. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.Waterfall and Stream in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/16, 1/250s, ISO 500. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.An iPhone image of wildflowers in Porphyry Basin, Colorado. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Effects Pro 4.
Higher resolution images can be viewed on my Flickr page by clicking on the images in this post.
