In route from the Ridgeway, Colorado area to the southeastern portion of Colorado, I stopped by North Clear Creek Falls. This is a popular place with tourists, maybe because it is easily accessible and just off of Colorado 149 between Gunnison and Lake City. There is a marker sign along CO 149 and a large parking lot with restrooms near the falls.
North Creek Waterfall, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 32mm (before crop), f/11, 1/60s, ISO 64, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
I photographed the falls from a number of view points, first from a distance perched on rocks away from the crowd, where I could get a downstream view of the falls.
Then I moved to the nearest view point along the fenced off area, keeping my distance from others and wearing a mask, since there were people coming and going in that area. Most people were wearing masks, but a few were not.
North Creek Waterfall, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm (before crop), f/22, 1/6s, ISO 31, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
It was mid day, but overcast, which was fortunate, since I did not have filters with me. Still I had to use a small aperture to get a slow enough shutter speed to get the silky smooth water effect.
I think these two photos are the best ones that I got of the falls. The heaviest flow is in the spring, due to snow melt; but the flow was good here even in July.
Whenever we saw something curious during our drive along Colorado 141 in July of 2020, we would stop to take a closer look and review information signs, if such were available.
An old charcoal kiln seen along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 27mm, f/11, 1/500s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
It appears that someone has used this old charcoal kiln as a campsite or at least enjoyed a fire inside it.
An old charcoal kiln seen along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 24mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
We spotted the ruins of an old home and stopped to check it out.
Remains of the Driggs Mansion along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 38mm (before crop), f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
An information sign at the pull out told the story of this old house, although there seems to be some uncertainty around exactly how long this house was in use. More information can be found at here or by doing an internet search for Driggs Mansion.
Remains of the Driggs Mansion along CO 141. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm @ 70mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 200, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
This post marks the end of my visit to this portion of Colorado. From here I travel to the southeastern portion of the state. Stay tuned for more on that part of July 2020 in Colorado.
My original trip plan had me traveling from Bandelier National Monument to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, then on to my son’s house in the Denver area, where we would make a final decision, based upon weather patterns, for a final destination.
This spring the snow fall in the Rockies has been very heavy with a number of avalanches. With the avalanche danger being high, we did not want to take our normal route across the Rockies into any of our favorite spring trip areas of Utah, New Mexico or Arizona. With another storm coming, we decided that the Bisti Wilderness and possibly Angel Peak in northwestern New Mexico, with a mostly benign weather forecast was the best target for the balance of this trip. So instead of driving to cold Colorado (night temperatures in the 20s), I would drive directly to New Mexico and my son would meet me there, saving me much extra driving.
I briefly looked at a map and chose the shortest route from my location in Bandelier to Farmington, New Mexico. It was a simple route and looked so straight forward, that I did not bother with using a navigation system.
Setting out about mid morning, I began driving along scenic NM Route 4 through mountainous, national forest areas. Shortly after getting underway, it began to snow lightly, then more heavily in the higher elevations, where snow began to accumulate on the roadway and vehicle as the temperature dropped below freezing, requiring me to drive more slowly.
A snowy scene in Bandelier National Forest, New Mexico. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
I passed a number of scenic, photogenic areas in the higher elevations, but there were no safe places to pull over. Even though the traffic was very light, I did encounter other vehicles, so I did not take any chances stopping on the roadway. As I got into the lower elevations, where the snow was not accumulating on the roadway, I noted high piles of accumulated snow, indicating how heavy the snowfall has been this year. I pulled out at one view area and took a couple of shots with my iPhone.
A snowy day along NM4 in Bandelier National Forest. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Color Efex Pro 4. The numerous dark spots in this photo are caused by snow melt water drops on the iPhone lens.
The snow limited visibility, so one could see little from the view points.
A snow scene along NM4 in Bandelier National Forest. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4. I did not bother trying to remove the numerous spots caused by snow melt water drops on the iPhone lens from these photos.
I continued along, enjoying the scenic drive. I turned onto route 126 from route 4 at some little mountain community.
I turned onto route 126 from route 4 here.
Route 126 was a curvy, scenic paved roadway, but somewhere along the way, I saw a sign that indicated there was an unimproved, mountain roadway ahead. I had not noted that on my map, but I continued ahead, thinking I had nothing better to do than to check out this area. There were a number of national forest camping areas along both route 4 and route 126, which I made a mental note of for future possibilities.
A short cut that wasn’t. iPhone Photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Just after passing a state fish hatchery, I encountered a “Pavement Ends” sign and a barrier across the roadway. Even had this road been open, I would probably have turned back, since I had no idea of the condition of the unimproved portion of this road.
Route 126 was closed just past the fish hatchery, where the pavement ended.
I turned back here, going back to Route 4 and continued on to US 550 at San Ysidro.
Where I expected to intersect US 550 from NM 126.I planned to get to US 550 at Cuba. Instead, I ended up at San Ysidro.
Had I looked at my map a bit closer, I would have noted the non-paved portion of Route 126 or had I used a navigation system, I would have avoided this unnecessary detour, but I would have missed a scenic drive. So in the end, it was not a big deal. I later encountered someone that had driven the unimproved portion of Route 126 and they said it was a good road and I would have had no problem driving it, had it been open.
I continued onto Farmington via US 550, making a reservation in route for a room in a local motel, so that I could get a proper shower and one night in a big bed, before heading to Bisti, where there were no facilities and I would be staying for a number of days.
A view of the snow clouds over the mountains that I drove through. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Driving along US 550, I got good views of the snow clouds over the mountains that I had driven through. I then saw another storm front coming at me from the north. It is so wide open in this area, that one can see storm fronts from miles away. I drove through windy conditions, then pouring rain, then icy, slushy rain along this route. At some point, there was even enough slushy ice on my vehicle that I got a warning that my blind spot monitor was incapacitated. Other than that, the only other problem was that my anticipated night of rest in a soft bed did not occur. For some reason, I slept very poorly, even though the bed was soft and the crisp, clean sheets felt so good. Maybe I was too used to a more simple sleeping arrangement!
The second destination in my Spring 2019 road trip was Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GUMO). According to my map, the travel time to GUMO from the Sandhills via the shortest route should be about 2.5 hours. However, a backup due to road construction on US 285, just past a signal light at my turn off from US 285, resulted in an hour delay. The longer routes would probably have been faster, but I did not double check the traffic before I set out. My bad!
Guadalupe Mountains rising from the plains of West Texas. This is an iPhone photo taken from miles away from the mountains.
In the above photo the sharp drop off on the left end of the mountain range is a feature referred to as El Capitan.
After getting to GUMO, setting up in the RV parking lot and having a brief lunch, it was around 3PM. Since I had never visited here, I did not have any idea about where to go for sunset photos. After reviewing the trails and information on those trails, I decided to take the Guadalupe Peak Trail, but not to take my camera gear. It was overcast, so the prospects for good sunset light was slim and I knew the heavy camera gear would really slow my pace on the trail.
An image from the park websiteTrail information from alltrails.com
This trail is around 8-9 miles round trip, rated strenuous and the literature said to allow 6 to 8 hours for the round trip. By the time I made my preparations for the hike, it was well after 3PM. So even if I could make the round trip in only 6 hours (doubtful), it would be after 9PM and dark before I made it back. I took my headlamp and an extra flashlight and extra batteries, just in case, but I knew it was not a good idea to be on this trail in the dark.
Shortly after getting underway on the trail, I realized that not bringing the camera gear was a good decision. There are very strenuous portions of this trail, it is mostly steep with considerable rocky portions requiring care in hiking. As I met hikers coming down and heard their comments, I really began to realize that I would probably not make it to the top, if I expected to get back down before dark.
This image illustrates why this trail is rated as “strenuous”. (iPhone Photo)
The weather was good for this hike, since it was cool and overcast. Even so, I quickly worked up a sweat, hiking with only a shirt and t-shirt on my upper body. I had put a fleece, gloves and windbreaker in my backpack, since I knew it would be cold somewhere along the trail. Indeed, in some windy portions it got quite cool with even a light snow off and on; but the effort going up the trail kept me warm.
If only I had a mount from which to dismount. iPhone Photo
As I progressed and became hungry, I realized that I had forgotten to put my trail bar snacks into my day pack. Fortunately, I had a full reservoir of water in my Camelbak. Otherwise, I would have had to turn around. Wanting to go as far as possible, I pushed on and I was able to ignore the hunger and my decreasing energy level.
A portion of the cliffs past which equestrians were to lead their horses. iPhone Photo
The haze in the distance of the photo above is actually a light snow.
As I neared the upper portion of the trail, I even began to think that I might actually make it to the top. However, as it passed 6PM, even though thinking I only had about 30 minutes more to hike to the top, I decided it was best to turn back or I would surely be hiking down in the dark.
Elevation profile for Guadalupe Peak Trail
I went some distance past the campground, so maybe I was only a few hundred feet below the peak, when I decided to turn around. It was disappointing to be so close and have to stop before reaching the peak. I just needed to have started about an hour earlier in the day.
I think this is where I decided to head back down the trail. iPhone photoThis is at or near the point on this trail, where I decided to turn back to avoid being on this rugged trail in the dark. The trail goes from the lower right corner down around the scrubby vegetation. iPhone PhotoThis is a view from just below my turn around point on Guadalupe Peak Trail. iPhone PhotoA cloudy, cool day for a hike on Guadalupe Peak Trail. iPhone Photo
The feature on the mountain side at the upper right-center of the above photo is El Capitan.
Since the trip back was mostly steeply downhill, I was able to make much better time than I had expected. I was almost sure that I would have to stop and put on the fleece at some point, but I never wanted to stop long enough to do that. Even had I put the fleece on, I would have had to stop and take it off as I got back to lower elevation.
A view on the way back down Guadalupe Peak Trail. iPhone Photo
There is at least one trail visible along the mountain side in this photo. I think the one in the center is the Tejas Trail.
On the way down, I had to frequently remind myself to slow down on the more treacherous portions of the trail. There were plenty of places with tripping or sliding hazards. I was making such good time on the way down that I passed a few people that I had met on the way up as they were coming down.
Sunset glow on a peak across the wash from Guadalupe Peak Trail. iPhone Photo
The golden hour light in the above photo is what I looked forward to finding the following day.
Golden Hour Glow in Guadalupe Mountains. iPhone Photo
A zoomed in, noisy iPhone photo of the late day light on a peak opposite my route on Guadalupe Peak Trail is above.
A Scene from a lower portion of Guadalupe Peak Trail. iPhone Photo
I was greeted by a nice sunset scene over the plains from the lower portion of the Guadalupe Peak Trail.
I made it back to the RV lot just after dark, with sore, sensitive, achy feet, a strong appetite and no plan for where to go the following morning. I had been on the trail for about 5 hours, so I think I would have made it to the peak and back before dark, if I had started up the trail just an hour earlier.
