On Thursday we did what is undoubtedly our last atv ride to American Basin on our current machine; we may do it again in September when we have the new machine, but actually the changing aspens aren't prominent in this particular area, it's mostly pine forest up there. But who knows? We change with the wind sometimes! We were a bit late getting started up the trail (left the staging area at 9:30 am, at least an hour later than normal for this venture), and as a consequence we encountered heavy traffic both going up and coming back. And at the Basin, itself, the available parking spaces and pulloffs were jammed...people and DOGS wandering everywhere we looked. It was like the whole world knew that the weather was going to turn rainy starting the next day (which it didn't, despite the forecast) and everyone for miles around decided to make the trip before bad weather set in.On Thursday evening we participated in a Mexican potluck, called "Mexican Pile Up", meaning that a great variety of traditional and nontraditional 'fixings' were available, and you just pile up your plate with whatever you'd like to try. The ingredients included such items as pecans, flaked coconut, fluffy white rice, along with the more expected: ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, onion, black olives, salsa, etc etc etc. And, of course, tortilla chips of all varieties. We took a large dish of King Ranch Chicken, always a hit, and contrary to several experiences with our contributions to potlucks here, we brought none of it home....it was slicked up very quickly. I couldn't help but think that the Mexican Pile Up concept would work well at a Vistoso Village monthly social gathering.
As we sat eating and visiting with a friend, we talked about our Am. Basin trip that day, and we all agreed that you never know what you'll see on one of these ventures. And our experiences on this trip bore that out.
For example, we came upon an unexpected scene on the way up: 6 artists were located at various positions on a hill, all working on a scene of the mountain valley we had just ridden through. I found this sight especially enchanting, the lady looked like a watercolor painting, herself, or like something out of a Renoir painting.
To reach American Basin we take a left just before the trail steepens, winds and switchbacks its way up and over Cinnamon Pass. If you continue to follow the Alpine Loop, it leads to Animas Forks (headwaters of the Animas River and at one time a very active mining site), from there the Loop circles up and over Engineer Pass and back to Lake City. On this trip we turned into the Basin, forded the creek and drove all the way to the terminus of the "road" (for a short stretch this becomes a very narrow 4wd rocky trail), and from this point on only foot traffic is allowed. A number of walking paths lead visitors to key viewing/photography points and provide access to the farthest reaches of the Basin.
We always feel somewhat wobbly at this altitude so are careful to walk slowly, pick our way about, and respect the terrain's inclines. There's plenty for us to see without doing any serious hiking, but many people do venture the distances in quest of even better sights. Trekking poles, backpacks, tripods, cameras and camelback water supplies were in evidence everywhere we turned.
As mentioned previously, intensity of color is a hallmark of these alpine beauties. I find the blues and purples most spectacular.
We're certainly happy that we made the trip when we did; though the next day's weather was fine, Friday typically is a day when even more lookers, or I guess you'd call us 'flower peepers' (like leaf peepers?), arrive and congest the area to the max. Available parking becomes the limiting item.
Though the native Colorado State flower, the columbine, is the star of the show, I find that this year their color is rather anemic compared to previous years, and Edmund just agreed with this assessment. Still....even at this level, they ARE beautiful, and well worth the effort to see.
They grow singly, in patches, in clumps, in throngs, in paths that snake up the mountainsides and draw your eyes to the top where the sun silhouettes the peaks against skies that today vary from clear to cloudy.
Just as I get the camera focused for what seems like a good shot, a gusty breeze sets the bloom heads a-bobbing and flicking on their slender, delicate stems.
An emerging sunflower is a sturdier subject, standing stick-straight through all the gusty conditions.
Even with clouds and intermittent breezes, the sun at this elevation is intense and quite hot at this season. Of course, that's one good reason why this botanical show exists, along with the normal almost daily showers, plus the heavy winter snow blanket and resultant melt....all promoting prime germination conditions.
Friends in the rv park who were at the Basin before 7 am report that they saw both elk and moose during their outing the same day we went. A couple of hours, or the time of day, or a different day....any of these factors can bring a surprise. Like a giant hailstorm! Up in the mountains, it's not at all uncommon to experience hot sun, sleet, rain and hail all on the same day. Deer can appear at almost any time, but elk, moose and bears do have a more predictable pattern of behavior; seeing these is most common either very early or very late.
There's not a lot more to say about the flower show; I did try to include here some examples of the fast-changing light conditions. In addition to crowd avoidance, an early arrival provides better light for photography as the skies are more clear, the rising sun illuminates the face of the mountains that form the backdrop of American Basin, and the flowers are beautifully backlit.
On this occasion, we didn't make it early enough for the best conditions, partly because the trail was so crowded, requiring us to go into a wait mode in a pulloff a number of times when larger, slower vehicles were coming or going on what is frequently a one lane road. Trying to hurry or rush isn't advisable, could be dangerous to your health!
I do love the coloration of this particular columbine; this periwinkle blue is the deepest color of any we saw, many, many were simply white.
One last shot as Edmund patiently waits for me to quit....this time it was a dimming camera battery and a full bladder that sent me back to my chariot and driver!
So, off we went downhill, stopping at a spot where I could find seclusion in the woods to do what I had to do and this sight popped into my vision. And I did have some camera battery left, after all. I found the growths within the knotholes in this log so intriguing that as I squatted there I attempted to get photos to share in this blog. I didn't linger long, but did get decent results from the short time I remained in that squatting position!
A zoom into the largest of the knotholes reveals a virtual fairyland! Can't you just see Alice in Wonderland? This was just an amazing sight.
Another view of the fairyland worlds that exist in this old dead log.
As we proceeded on downhill and back to the staging area where we left the SUV and atv trailer, a marmot hammed it up for us. This guy was up on a rock when we first sighted him, posed for a while, then ran away a distance. Then he actually turned, came back and sat up on the rock again, posing and turning this way and that. What a ham!
Marmots are members of the same rodent family as the groundhog (woodchuck), with which I'm very familiar....they are considered pests back in my part of Missouri. These Yellow-Bellied Marmots, however, are somewhat more appealing than their cousins with their distinctive "masked" facial markings, bushier tail, and colorful pelt.
We always feel somewhat wobbly at this altitude so are careful to walk slowly, pick our way about, and respect the terrain's inclines. There's plenty for us to see without doing any serious hiking, but many people do venture the distances in quest of even better sights. Trekking poles, backpacks, tripods, cameras and camelback water supplies were in evidence everywhere we turned.
As mentioned previously, intensity of color is a hallmark of these alpine beauties. I find the blues and purples most spectacular.
We're certainly happy that we made the trip when we did; though the next day's weather was fine, Friday typically is a day when even more lookers, or I guess you'd call us 'flower peepers' (like leaf peepers?), arrive and congest the area to the max. Available parking becomes the limiting item.
Though the native Colorado State flower, the columbine, is the star of the show, I find that this year their color is rather anemic compared to previous years, and Edmund just agreed with this assessment. Still....even at this level, they ARE beautiful, and well worth the effort to see.
They grow singly, in patches, in clumps, in throngs, in paths that snake up the mountainsides and draw your eyes to the top where the sun silhouettes the peaks against skies that today vary from clear to cloudy.
Just as I get the camera focused for what seems like a good shot, a gusty breeze sets the bloom heads a-bobbing and flicking on their slender, delicate stems.
An emerging sunflower is a sturdier subject, standing stick-straight through all the gusty conditions.
Even with clouds and intermittent breezes, the sun at this elevation is intense and quite hot at this season. Of course, that's one good reason why this botanical show exists, along with the normal almost daily showers, plus the heavy winter snow blanket and resultant melt....all promoting prime germination conditions.
Friends in the rv park who were at the Basin before 7 am report that they saw both elk and moose during their outing the same day we went. A couple of hours, or the time of day, or a different day....any of these factors can bring a surprise. Like a giant hailstorm! Up in the mountains, it's not at all uncommon to experience hot sun, sleet, rain and hail all on the same day. Deer can appear at almost any time, but elk, moose and bears do have a more predictable pattern of behavior; seeing these is most common either very early or very late.
There's not a lot more to say about the flower show; I did try to include here some examples of the fast-changing light conditions. In addition to crowd avoidance, an early arrival provides better light for photography as the skies are more clear, the rising sun illuminates the face of the mountains that form the backdrop of American Basin, and the flowers are beautifully backlit.
On this occasion, we didn't make it early enough for the best conditions, partly because the trail was so crowded, requiring us to go into a wait mode in a pulloff a number of times when larger, slower vehicles were coming or going on what is frequently a one lane road. Trying to hurry or rush isn't advisable, could be dangerous to your health!
I do love the coloration of this particular columbine; this periwinkle blue is the deepest color of any we saw, many, many were simply white.
One last shot as Edmund patiently waits for me to quit....this time it was a dimming camera battery and a full bladder that sent me back to my chariot and driver!
So, off we went downhill, stopping at a spot where I could find seclusion in the woods to do what I had to do and this sight popped into my vision. And I did have some camera battery left, after all. I found the growths within the knotholes in this log so intriguing that as I squatted there I attempted to get photos to share in this blog. I didn't linger long, but did get decent results from the short time I remained in that squatting position!
A zoom into the largest of the knotholes reveals a virtual fairyland! Can't you just see Alice in Wonderland? This was just an amazing sight.
Another view of the fairyland worlds that exist in this old dead log.
As we proceeded on downhill and back to the staging area where we left the SUV and atv trailer, a marmot hammed it up for us. This guy was up on a rock when we first sighted him, posed for a while, then ran away a distance. Then he actually turned, came back and sat up on the rock again, posing and turning this way and that. What a ham!
Marmots are members of the same rodent family as the groundhog (woodchuck), with which I'm very familiar....they are considered pests back in my part of Missouri. These Yellow-Bellied Marmots, however, are somewhat more appealing than their cousins with their distinctive "masked" facial markings, bushier tail, and colorful pelt.It was a delightful day, all in all, topped off by the community Mexican Pile Up potluck. We've decided not to chance any more rides on our atv before giving possession to the new owner, probably will culminate the deal this week and we don't want to risk running into a problem. So we're now in a waiting mode, hoping our new machine will arrive sooner, rather than later!
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