After we exhausted the possibilities of watching the young bull moose, we drove on into the Deer Lakes campground area, hoping to catch sight of more wildlife, specifically moose. From the parking lot area and the lower lakes, nothing was around, so we quietly hiked to the upper lake, a more isolated location and all uphill. Though no wildlife appeared, the early morning stillness of the lake provided this lovely reflection scene.
Down below again, this panorama caught our attention. Though we've never had any luck fishing here, we always appreciate the relative peacefulness of the spot. Kinda like being in church, people always seem to be quiet when they are here, and the lack of through traffic and boats on the water add to the serenity.
On our walk to the upper lake and back, we spotted this large (@5" in dia.) fungus growth. We don't know a mushroom from a hayrake, so leave them alone for someone much more knowledgeable than we are!
The shortcut to the upper lake took us through a dense aspen stand; the light was ethereal as we approached the top of the grove of trees.
These delicate, but hardy, flowers blanketed the high meadow as we walked back downhill to the parking area.
In Missouri we called this Queen Anne's Lace; it grew as a weed on country roadsides. My book tells me it looks more like Yarrow. But unless you're into identification bigtime, it doesn't matter--it's pretty by any name.
A large family of these critters alternately frolicked and froze as we walked by their home territory.
The smallest ones, babies, were tiny, no bigger than my thumb, we sighted them only by their movement, and man, are they fast little buggers!
The wildlife hunting over with, we stopped on the way back into town at a high overlook called Windy Point. We hadn't actually stopped there for a couple of years, so the vista was awesome all over again, especially in the early morning light. By this time it was around 9 am, our shadows were still long as the sun was warming our backs.
This is Uncompahgre Peak, at full optical and digital zoom with our equipment. It has a broad summit plateau, rising abou 1500' above the surrounding alpine basins. The north face has a 700' cliff; the rock, volcanic in origin, is of poor quality for climbing.
And this is Red Mountain, again at full zoom.
Here you can see the distinctive silhouette of Uncompahgre, at 14,900', the sixth highest mountain peak in Colorado, and the highest peak of the San Juan Mountains. It's located in a wilderness area in northern Hinsdale Co., about 7 mi. west of Lake City. Though the cliff face side is virtually inaccessible, the mt. can be accessed by hikers from the east-southeast; the trail is a strenuous hike rising 2919' elevation in @3.5 mi. Needless to say, we're satisfied to view it from a distance!
Here's a view with Red Mountain on the left, and Uncompahgre on the mid-right. The sign says it all!
After we exhausted the possibilities of watching the young bull moose, we drove on into the Deer Lakes campground area, hoping to catch sight of more wildlife, specifically moose. From the parking lot area and the lower lakes, nothing was around, so we quietly hiked to the upper lake, a more isolated location and all uphill. Though no wildlife appeared, the early morning stillness of the lake provided this lovely reflection scene.
Down below again, this panorama caught our attention. Though we've never had any luck fishing here, we always appreciate the relative peacefulness of the spot. Kinda like being in church, people always seem to be quiet when they are here, and the lack of through traffic and boats on the water add to the serenity.
On our walk to the upper lake and back, we spotted this large (@5" in dia.) fungus growth. We don't know a mushroom from a hayrake, so leave them alone for someone much more knowledgeable than we are!
The shortcut to the upper lake took us through a dense aspen stand; the light was ethereal as we approached the top of the grove of trees.
These delicate, but hardy, flowers blanketed the high meadow as we walked back downhill to the parking area.
In Missouri we called this Queen Anne's Lace; it grew as a weed on country roadsides. My book tells me it looks more like Yarrow. But unless you're into identification bigtime, it doesn't matter--it's pretty by any name.
A large family of these critters alternately frolicked and froze as we walked by their home territory.
The smallest ones, babies, were tiny, no bigger than my thumb, we sighted them only by their movement, and man, are they fast little buggers!
The wildlife hunting over with, we stopped on the way back into town at a high overlook called Windy Point. We hadn't actually stopped there for a couple of years, so the vista was awesome all over again, especially in the early morning light. By this time it was around 9 am, our shadows were still long as the sun was warming our backs.
This is Uncompahgre Peak, at full optical and digital zoom with our equipment. It has a broad summit plateau, rising abou 1500' above the surrounding alpine basins. The north face has a 700' cliff; the rock, volcanic in origin, is of poor quality for climbing.
And this is Red Mountain, again at full zoom.
Here you can see the distinctive silhouette of Uncompahgre, at 14,900', the sixth highest mountain peak in Colorado, and the highest peak of the San Juan Mountains. It's located in a wilderness area in northern Hinsdale Co., about 7 mi. west of Lake City. Though the cliff face side is virtually inaccessible, the mt. can be accessed by hikers from the east-southeast; the trail is a strenuous hike rising 2919' elevation in @3.5 mi. Needless to say, we're satisfied to view it from a distance!
Here's a view with Red Mountain on the left, and Uncompahgre on the mid-right. The sign says it all!
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