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| The "Castle" on Ohio Pass |
It WAS a cold night. Got down to the mid-20's. Managed to sleep but don't think my feet ever got warm despite all my protective measures. Crawled out at 6:00 and made our way to the beaver ponds at Horse Park to shoot sunrise. Nothing spectacular. We then made our way down the pass, taking a quick side trip along Ohio Pass road so that I could check out the formation called "the Castle". Aptly named as you can see from the photo.
We then made our way to Crested Butte for some of that good "Camp 4 Coffee" coffee. We had breakfast at Izzy's. A cute little shack that serves phenomenal bagel sandwiches. I had the classic (egg, lettuce, onion, tomato, mayo and mustard with avacado) and Rick had a cinnamon bun. Met up with Jimmy and Brent and compared notes again and then we took off for Silverjack Reservoir and Owl Creek Pass.
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| Scrub Oak Makes for Vibrant Fall Tapestry |
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| Views Heading into Silverjack |
Silverjack Reservoir had some good color in the scrub oak but the aspen were green. I love the mottled mosaic of the oak so took a few shots but for the most part there was nothing inspiring. Over Owl Creek Pass and into the Umcompaghre RIver valley he aspen were even more green. We were greeted with some nice views of the San Juans but without the gold of the aspen in the foreground it was a little hard to get inspired.
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| Intimate Fall Scene Along Silverjack |
We hit US 550 and turned south to Ridgeway and then onto the cute little mountain town of Ouray. Heard there was some good color on Red Mountain Pass and Ironton, just south of Ouray so we drove on through and up the pass. There was indeed some good color but we were seeing it in the harshness of mid-day light so we just took note and decided to check it out tomorrow morning.
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| The Quaint Victorian Town of Silverton |
Both Rick and I were getting pretty tired so once over the pass and into Silverton we stopped for a much needed nap at Mineral Springs Campground. Refreshed, we toured the two main drags of Silverton, a quaint but rugged Victorian mining town where I happened upon a store that sells just funnel cakes! Very hard to find those west of the Mississippi, so, despite my being somewaht full from snacking all day, I decided that I could not let this opportunity pass and had a funnel cake topped with powdered sugar. Oh sweet goodness. An aside here, noticed that a great number of Colorado establishments serve polenta fries. Haven't tried them to see how they compare to the ones at DeCarli's in Portland. Just thought it interesting how common they are.
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| Mt. Snowdon and Little Molas Lake |
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| Little Molas Lake and the Weimenuche |
We then headed up to Molas Pass, between Silverton and Durango, to set up for sunset. This pass gives you great views of the San Juans and the Weimenuche. Met up with the guys including Darren Kilgore! So great to see our Canada photo-touring buddy again. While we decided to set up at Little Molas Lake they went on to an overlook that provides good views of the Weimenuche Mountains.
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| At Long Last, a Colorful Sunset |
Sunset looked promising. Clouds over Mt. Snowden in the southeast, somewhat clear skies to the west. Pretty Little Molas lake in the foreground with some nice willows and grasses. It was a really pretty composition regardless of the sky, but what sweetness it was to get some color It wasn't perfect but it was pretty damn close. Rick was pretty happy, which you can tell when he says he thinks he got some "good" shots.
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| Fiery Sky |
Afterwards we met up with the guys again and camped down at Mineral Springs Campground. It was a little chilly but we stayed up until 10:00 reliving the antics of past trips and playing audience to Brent's i-pad slide show. Afer a dinner of tortellini, wine, and chocolate, and good conversation with great people, we bundled up (mid-20's again) and went to bed with stomachs satiated and hearts full.
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