Bookcliffs and Mt Garfield From a Distance

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Memories: A distant view of Grand Junction, Colorado with the snowy Bookcliffs & Mt. Garfield in the background. ~ Saturday, March 9th, 2013.

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Moonset from Johnson’s Corner

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Memories: Moonset from Johnson’s Corner - on I-25 in Johnstown, Colorado - looking over the Rocky Mountains. Pics taken on a cellphone; wish I had my real camera to capture the scene. - Friday, March 2nd, 2018.

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Colorado Signs

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Memories: A couple of signs from a customer’s ranch (taken with the customer's permission) from back in the days when I was working with Schwan's in Colorado - and a set of pics of the truck parked on the rural road in front of his place - somewhere in the hinterlands between Silt and Collbran, Colorado. ~ From Thursday, January 31st, 2019. 

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Memories: Vail Pass Summit - April 7th, 2019

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Vail Pass Summit

April 7th, 2019

7:45pm

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Fort Morgan Thunderstorm from Platteville

An amazing looking thunderhead over Fort Morgan, Colorado on June 25th, 2018 (as seen from HW66 west of Platteville, Colorado).

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Platteville Thunderstorm

Yesterday as I was heading home from Denver, this thunderstorm was passing over I-25 in Wyoming and northeastern Colorado. I waited as it passed through Greeley and barely missed the area I had chosen to wait it out, as it headed to the southwest. The picture is from the "My Radar" app, which we use all the time whenever there is a concern about the weather.

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Thunderstorm in Crook, Colorado

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My wife and I were in for quite a treat from the cab of the truck in Crook, CO on the night of May 29th, 2016. We witnessed this amazing, silent, lightning show. We were expecting that the storm would probably pass right over us, but it actually missed us. This was a spectacle that neither one of us will ever forget.

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Sad for the Victims in Longmont

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The more that I think about the horrific events in Longmont, Colorado over the last week, the more I feel that nothing I could say is enough, or just right, or well-placed. I am horrified by the facts of what happened. I can't imagine being the victim of such terrible crimes. It is incredible, the amount of suffering that one human being can inflict upon another. I do hope that the victims are able to find some form of peace, somehow, in their future lives.

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Sunrise in Fort Collins

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The view from our street on the morning of January 10th, 2015

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Marmots and Pikas at RMNP

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We saw marmots and pikas on our drive through Rocky Mountain National Park on July 12th, 2014. These photos were taken near the Rock Cut turnout, which is at an elevation of 12,090 feet. Rock Cut is the only area in RMNP where blasting was necessary to build the road. The views from that area are absolutely stunning. We saw several marmots and a few pikas. One marmot in particular was bullying the nearby pikas, waddling over to commandeer whatever rock they were sitting on at the time.

A marmot in the flowers.

Photogenic marmot.

Video of a marmot posing.

Marmot wedged in the rocks.

What a view this marmot has!

Pika on a rock.
If I didn't know better, I'd name it the Colorado Rocky Mt. Chinchilla.

Marmot and pika in the pic above.

Video of pika and marmot.

Flowers, Clouds, Trees, Marmot, View.

Marmots running away from the camera...

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FYI:  Just a few minutes before these pictures were taken, several people were injured, and one man was killed by a lightning strike at the Rainbow Curve, which is just a short distance from the Rock Cut turnout. We were (naively) oblivious to the extreme lightning danger at this altitude. Being above the tree-line in CO during the month of July after noon is one of the worst possible place/month/time combos, as far as the risk of being struck is concerned. If you're going to be that high in the summer - it's safer to plan your adventure before noon, when the risk of lightning is lower. Don't become a statistic. In the future, we'll either go before noon, or stay in the car on cloudy days, after noon, above the treeline.

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Forest Canyon Overlook - RMNP

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On July 12, 2014, we drove through Rocky Mt. National Park.

Forest Canyon Overlook

Driving through clouds at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Cars headed towards the Forest Canyon Overlook.

The clouds were coming over the rise, just over there.

To give an idea of scale, there is a jeep headed out into the clouds.

Notice the tree line below us.

Wildflowers in the foreground.

Fantastic views of the mountains and the clouds.

My first ever (bad picture) far off view of an elk.

Taken from the Forest Canyon Overlook parking lot.

I was thinking, "that guy is way too close."

Still, it was cool to check another animal off of my bucket list,

and this sighting was just a small precursor of what was in store.

Up the road, around the corner, we saw a small gang of elk bulls.

Just a short distance further, we would see marmots and pika.

(Keep an eye out for future posts to see those.)

All were first ever sightings for me.

FYI:  Just a few minutes before these pictures were taken, several people were injured, and one man was killed by a lightning strike at the Rainbow Curve, which is just around the corner from Forest Canyon Overlook. We were (naively) oblivious to the extreme lightning danger at this altitude. Being above the tree-line in CO during the month of July after noon is one of the worst possible place/month/time combos, as far as the risk of being struck is concerned. If you're going to be that high in the summer - it's safer to plan your adventure before noon, when the risk of lightning is lower. Don't become a statistic. In the future, we'll either go before noon, or stay in the car on cloudy days, after noon, above the treeline.

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Evening at Pineridge Natural Area

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We took the dogs for a walk at the Pineridge Natural Area in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Prairie dogs are a normal, and entertaining sight there. Our chihuahua thinks that they're calling him to join their tribe.

Prairie Dog Video

A group of four American White Pelicans landed in the reservoir.

I got several bad pictures of a killdeer 

that followed us a short distance along the path.

We did spot some mystery ripples in the water near a group of ducks that we decided might be from a muskrat, but a long wait with the binoculars didn't reveal the source. Eventually, the light was fading fast, and it was time to head home.

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Bighorn Sheep - Lower Monument Canyon Trail

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We hiked the Lower Monument Canyon Trail on June 14th, 2014. We saw 2 groups of bighorn sheep (pics and video below). The first group had about 14 individuals. The second group had at least 10.

The sign at the trail-head.

Petroglyphs on the trail hint at what is to come.

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View of Independence Monument from the trail.

Looking back towards Grand Junction.

Mt. Garfield and Grand Mesa are in the background.
There are people on the trail near the middle of this photo.

 To give an idea of scale, now we're closer in.

Look for the people on the trail in the lower right hand corner.

 And closer still. Now those folks are on the bottom left.
A second group is walking in a line near the center higher up.

Closer still.

Bottom right corner again. Mt. Garfield in the distance.

And then the bighorn sheep appeared.

Video # 1 of the first group of bighorn sheep.

Video # 2 of the second group.

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