June 6th

The month started with some visitors who wanted to go horseback riding! It was something I’d never done as an adult and I really enjoyed it. My horse Gypsy did a great job carrying me across the landscape and we even did some river crossings at a few points!

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June 8th

On the evening of June 8th, Sophie and I were tired and looking for a change of scenery. We drove to a nearby haunt of ours out on a river and walked around – it was a place we’d never been in the pleasant weather.

It was a wonderful way to break up the day and we each enjoyed it immensely. My favorite photo from the evening (disregarding the light which was stunning) was this image of some wildflowers on the riverbank. Their contrast against an otherwise fairly uniform scene works well for my tastes, and I was glad to have captured it before the light was gone.

June 10th

Revved up after the success of the night out the 8th, a few days later we decided to take an adventure further away. We went to Mt. Blue Sky!

The summit was incredible and the views were unforgettable. The wind was as chaotic as the views were grand and we decided quickly that waiting there for sunset would be more an exercise in patience than enjoyment. So we drove back down the mountain and found a hike we could start, not knowing where it lead. I’m glad we did.

The above view was waiting for us just maybe a quarter mile (exactly a quarter mile just mapped it) into the trail. Truly it was unparalleled, the alpine scenery was sublime and the sun ignited the foreground with perfect tones to compliment the cool shade encompassing the background.

After the best of the light passed as we drove down the mountain I managed to get one more image I’m proud of being this below shot. The clouds work well as an anchor in the scene.

June 13th

That weekend we’d be going camping – and the weather tricked us! When we arrived it was perfect conditions – 65º with sun warming us up. We never get lucky camping so this was a huge change of pace! But unfortunately the weather wouldn’t last.

Clouds rolled in and it began to rain. The temperature accordingly dropped, overnight hitting as low as 39º. Our sleeping bag did a good job of keeping us warm but it didn’t end up being the calm camping weekend we hoped for.

June 14th

However the fog the next day made up for it. Fog is a rarity in Colorado, I rarely get it (nowhere near as regularly as I did in Western MA), so when I do I’m excited. This morning was no exception.

I explored a part of the park I had gone to the night prior – and that’s where I captured both of these images.

On the car ride home there was a fleeting view of a cabin – I took a quick snapshot and while it’s got a bit of motion blur in the foreground I think it adds to the mood of the image.

June 19th

My oh my did Crested Butte deliver. Sophie and I were concerned about the wildflowers as the snow this year was particularly bad – however we ended up having an incredible amount of wildflowers shown to us!

This first image was taken on the side of the road as we were driving to our first hiking destination of the trip.

As we began hiking the sun began to crest over the mountain range in the left-hand side of the image below illuminating the valley in front of us.

Lupines were all over the entire we hiked around.

We even managed to get down to the river at one point – it was so relaxing and the babbling of the river was calming. The river is snow melt and it’s so incredibly clear. You can clearly see all of the rocks along the base of the riverbed. That’s where I took the below image.

Later That Day

That evening we were planning on photographing sunset near some hikes we’d be doing the following morning, but ended up deciding to instead venture back to the “ghost town” of Gothic.

Beyond that town was a wonderful stretch of National Forest that we wound up settling in at for the evening’s sunset.

The river winding through the landscape was stunning and this canyon was where Sophie and I sat and waited to see how the light would unfold. It was a wonderful way to spend an evening together.

Surprisingly, my favorite image of the evening came on our way out. There was not too much light directly hitting this range of mountains below however the light in the clouds was dramatic enough that hints of it were reflecting on the scene offering a hint of warmth.

June 20th – Snodgrass

The following morning we’d be hiking a famous trail within the area we were visiting that ended up living up to the astronomical expectations we’d placed on it. As we drove out we weren’t sure if the sunrise would materialize but it ended up manifesting wonderfully. The mountain ranges in the distance ignited in the amber tones of an early morning at altitude. It was gorgeous.

As we began hiking through the western meadows on the trail we were hiking I stopped to get this stunning panorama of the lupines in bloom alongside a copse of aspen trees.

After that we ended up seeing a Dusky Grouse! I have never seen one before even though they’re apparently fairly common.

June 21st – Kenosha Pass

On our way home we stopped at a favorite trailhead of ours and walked around to stretch our legs for a bit. The views were great and it was incredibly lush that high up. I managed to get my favorite image of a lupine from the whole trip then.