Balloons, Trains and a 400 mile loop – Traveling is awesome!

OK… I know I have been a bad blogger in that I have not kept up daily. Well… here are the highlights!

Tuesday I decided to fly high above the Pagosa Springs Valley in a balloon. This was an amazing trip that included a splash and dash on the surface of one of the local lakes. In the pics, you will find the balloon as well as shots of the reflection of the balloon in the water. The lakes are full of plant life so it makes for an interesting reflection. You may notice the mountains in the distance including Pagosa Peak are pretty hazy. This is thanks to the wildfires in California. It is amazing how dense this haze/smoke gets at times. On my way out Friday, I could barely see an entire range of mountains less than 30 miles away.

Wednesday featured a ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Train. This steam train runs on narrow gauge tracks through the valleys and mountains between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado. I chose a full day ride that started with a bus ride from Chama and picking up the train in Antonito for the ride back. One of the cool things about this train is that not only is it a steam locomotive from the 1800’s but it also has an open car near the end of the train that allowed me to get some great shots of the train as it rounded the bend. It also offered unobstructed views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Yes, I did get chased in at one point due to rain but most of the trip was spent watching the world slowly go by from one beautiful vista to the next. With a stop for lunch about halfway, the entire trip took most of the afternoon. This region of Colorado and New Mexico is filled with amazing volcanic structures, interesting layers of fractured lava outcroppings and jagged rocky formations. It also includes formations similar to the Hoodoos found in Bryce Canyon – formations that show the power of wind and water in giving them their shape. Just a beautiful trip through the mountains.

Thursday, I decided to drive a four hundred mile loop through the San Juans. My first target was North Clear Creek Falls about a hundred miles to the north just off of Colorado 149. This amazing falls, created by volcanic action, drops out of a valley floor into a crevasse a hundred feet deep! It’s quite amazing. You are traveling along on what seems to be a typical valley floor, when all of a sudden the water from Clear Creek disappears! I have included a number of pics of this amazing falls in the gallery.

My next major stop was Black Creek Canyon National Park. This 1000 ft deep canyon features rugged, sharp steep sides with vertical slabs of volcanic rock providing unique vertical streaks and layers in the walls. At the bottom is a beautiful river with aquamarine water. I didn’t spend a great deal of time here so I want to go back. My photos do not give credence to the magnificent and wild feel to the canyon. Definitely a small. little known jewel in the National Park system.

From the Canyon, I wound my way to Ouray, Colorado. There I attempted to get photos of the two falls that cascade into the valley. Cascade Falls was merely as trickle and Box Canyon Falls is extremely difficult to photograph because of the way it blasts out of the canyon wall. partially hidden behind a rock outcropping. It too, though still a powerful blast of water, was not as impressive as it is in the spring. I will definitely have to return in late May to get the full affect. I also want to spend more time in Ouray. This is a quaint mountain town with lots of small restaurants, brewpubs, boutiques and galleries. While I was there, I got photos of a beautiful 8+ point Mule Deer buck and a few of his baddies. Three bucks were eating the apples in the front lawn of one of the homes on the edge of downtown!

From Ouray, I traveled the narrow mountain roads weaving my way to Durango, one of my favorite Colorado towns. I arrived just in time for a late dinner at Seasons Restaurant, a wonderful small restaurant with an outdoor courtyard in the back that I have visited a number of times through the years. Durango is a great place to absorb the feel of a mountain town. It has a lot of great restaurants, galleries, boutiques and outdoor gear shops. In the winter it fills with skiers, in the summer it features mountain bikes, white water rafting and a host of mountain activities.

After a good meal, I made my way back to Pagosa, The next morning, I packed up and headed to St. Joseph. 13 hours later, I arrived and immediately hit the sack. Another wonderful journey through the wilds of Colorado completed.

Stay tuned for my next adventure. Don’t forget to check out the photo gallery!

A Lynx, Some Turkeys, Many Mule Deer, Oh My!

OK… So I didn’t get a shot of the Lynx. Yes, it may have been a Bobcat but it was as big as a midsize dog and hustling away looking like a furry cheetah! I was so surprised, my camera just lay beside me in the car. Today was a day of critters with deer, turkeys, the Bobcat/Lynx, Chipmunks, three different kinds of squirrels, a Great Blue Heron, a mouthy Magpie that was really blessing someone out at a picnic table and of course free-range cattle.

Today I explored Pagosa Springs. The town gets its name from the hot mineral springs that flow beside and into the San Juan River. I have included some shots of the springs as well as one of the big resorts built around this natural phenomenon that has been attracting people to its healing hot springs since the 1800’s. The water is crystal clear and very warm (around 110+). The minerals collect as the water evaporated forming domed structures. Interesting.

Not being the hot springs kinda guy, I headed to the mountains again, this time to Piedra Falls, a beautiful 65′ two level falls. This falls still thunders through the v-cut volcanic rock unlike the two falls I saw yesterday. As fortune would have it, the skies filled with clouds and I was able to get the cottony falls shot I was looking for. Check out the new additions to the gallery.

My trip back to Pagosa was rainy but beautiful. Another wonderful day in the San Juans of Southern Colorado.

Finally, Peace and Quiet in Colorado

After a marathon 17 hour drive from DC to St. Joe, I grabbed a few hours of sleep, took care of some business at the university and packed for Colorado. The next morning, I headed west through the plains of Kansas for another 12+ hour drive to Pagosa Springs, Colorado – arriving there in time to see a bit of the Perseids meteor shower.

Today I decided to check out a couple of waterfalls – Treasure Falls and Silver Falls. Unfortunately, Colorado has been fairly dry this summer so the falls were mere shadows of themselves. However, it was wonderful just taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the Colorado mountains.

As you see above, the country I was traveling through is gorgeous. I was also able to get a pretty fair stream shot in a protected little canyon below Silver Falls. Of course I had to turn my Ford Fusion Hybrid into a 4 wheel drive (I wish!) as I had to drive 8 miles of Forest Service road to get to Silver Falls. Unfortunately I was thwarted by a rather large puddle (you can’t really tell how big it is in the picture in the gallery) with a steep bank that I just couldn’t see my poor little car getting through. As luck would have it, the puddle was caused by the stream that is at the bottom of the valley from Silver Falls. I quickly found the trailhead and climbed to attempt a few shots. While the photography wasn’t that spectacular, the mountains, valleys and everything in between were awesome and I got my exercise climbing up to the falls.

After my mountain adventures, I headed to a great dinner and an attempt to catch up this blog. Make sure you check out the photos I have posted. Enjoy!