Monday, October 19, 2009

Gondola closed yesterday at Midnight

Gondola closed yesterday at midnight, rode it one last time until November 20. Took so photos.

gondola is Closed


Long exposure on these two make an interesting photo:
2

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Tuesday, October 06, 2009

After the first real fall snow 2009 in Telluride

Monday during the day it was cold enough the the snow level reach town. Went up Tomboy road with the boys and took some sunset pictures during golden hour. Will post a few of my favorites individually, but you can see the whole slideshow at the bottom.

Enjoy...

TellurideFirstSnow2009
Composite of all of my favs. To view these click on the slideshow at the bottom.


After the snow storm on Tomboy Road
This photo was taken just a bit up Tomboy Road. Love all the colors at play.

After the snow storm on Tomboy Road
Smokie posing for me in front of the aspens.

After the snow storm on Tomboy Road
Valentino chewing on a stick

After the snow storm on Tomboy Road
The town glistened in the late evening sunlight

After the snow storm on Tomboy Road
Tomboy Road is very scenic. AND this is just the start of it. Note 4 Wheel required as you get higher up.

After the snow storm on Tomboy Road

Snow on the peaks at the end of our valley. Zig Zag of the road that goes up to Bridal Veil Falls
After the snow storm on Tomboy Road
Peaking thru the trees.

After the snow storm on Tomboy Road
Maze of white

After the snow storm on Tomboy Road
Golden hour on some late turning aspens.

Ok, that should be enough for the curious to see the whole slide show.

Slide Show of ALL the photos.

(Note: First click the view above to start the slide show, then click on the bottom right icon (one with 4 arrows) to go full screen.)

Monday, October 05, 2009

Fall Colors during Mom and Dad's Visit

Mom and Dad visited me (and the furry kids) this past weekend. On Saturday, we went for a drive over Last Dollar road and East and West Dallas roads. We did not take that many pictures, but it was a wonderful day.



Note: To start slide show click above, also to make the slide show go full screen click on the icon in the lower right (one with 4 arrows) on the slideshow viewer.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Early Season Dallas Divide Fall Colors 2009

Just a couple photos to wet the appetite for the fall colors yet to come. The first week of October is usually peak for the fall colors in the Telluride region.


Note: Click on the icon in bottom right to go full screen.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Backpack trip up to Ice Lake Basin

Last weekend, Mary Dawn, Smokie and Valentino went backpacking up to Ice Lake Basin.

Ice Lake Composite

For being as close to Telluride, I had never been. From the map and the descriptions it looked amazing. It is a realitivly short hike but with 2400 feet of elevation gain. We have not been backpacking for several years (Valentino and Smokie's first time), so we knew it would be "up".

To get there from Ski Ranches, the shortest route is over the 4-wheel road Ophir Pass. Another first for me, Mary Dawn had down this route before.

The first couple of photos were of trip over Ophir Pass. It is the easiest of the 4-wheel roads into Telluride.
Drive over Ophir Pass

We did a quick stop in to Silverton, and the we drove to Clear Lake Trail Head. I had been by here when I had done the Colorado Trail, gosh ~15 Years back.

Lots, and lots of vehicles at the trailhead. Which was expected. We loaded up, put Smokie's pack on and headed up the trail.

Backpack up to Ice Lake

The trail switch backs up Clear Creek, then turns left across a meadow.
Backpack up to Ice Lake

Then a non-stop climb up to Lower Ice Lake basin. We had lunch there. The boys got their normal chicken necks for lunch.
Backpack up to Ice Lake


We pass thru the "corn field", and rested before the last climb up in the Ice Lake Basin. The trail here as a little bit of exposure, nothing serious, but we were watchful for the dogs getting to close to the edge.
Backpack up to Ice Lake


Once we got up on top, we were treated to the most stunning blue lakes I have ever seen. And I have seen quite a few alpine lakes, but Ice Lake was amazing. The sky and the lake where the same shade of blue.
Explore around Ice Lake Basin

Speaking of the sky, that weekend weather was incredible. Not a cloud in the sky. You have to understand that August is monsoon season. It typically rains for a bit in the afternoon. Not this weekend.

The wildflowers were incredible!
Explore around Ice Lake Basin

We scouted around for a spot to set up camp. Found one, setup the Walrus tent, and then went exploring around Ice Lake Basin. Our destination was Fuller Lake. We rested there for a bit, and headed back for dinner.
Explore around Ice Lake Basin

Dinner:
Explore around Ice Lake Basin

The pups were so tired. Big day for them.
Explore around Ice Lake Basin

Went to bed early, during the middle of the night, the dogs started to bark, so into our tent they came. A bit cramped, but it made it warmer. :) Maybe they were barking at the Alpine "elves"
Next day exploration and backpack out

The next morning we did our chores, packed up, and went for a small day hike up to some of the Upper Ice Lakes.
Next day exploration and backpack out

Nice hair!
Next day exploration and backpack out

We both had full weeks the next week, so we headed back down to the truck. Mary Dawn was a bit sore in the shoulders, we might need to invest in a backpack for her next time.
Next day exploration and backpack out


Overall it was a GREAT, AMAZING trip.

There is "a few" more photos that are interesting if you want to dig deeper.

As usual for the full slideshow, you click on on the photo below to start the slideshow. Enjoy.
[note: there is 86 photos here, you can use the arrow keys to advance, or if you hover over the slideshow, you can advance thru the thumbnails. If you want to view it full screen click on the icon in bottom right.]



If you want to see some of the descriptions that go with the pictures, click here.

For the map of the geo tagged photos click here.


Other photos can be found here. www.michaelmowerymedia.com


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