Crested Butte, CO

[sparker1]

Crested Butte has been officially designated as the wildflower capital of Colorado. Besides this, it has some amazing mountain scenery. I hope these photos show both aspects of that area.

The first was with the kit lens at 18 mm, F8, 1/40 sec, CPL. The second was with the 10-22 at 22 mm, F8, 1/100, CPL.

[tumb]

Excellent!

Were those taken recently? Seems a little early for the flowers to be in bloom. CB is my favorite place in the world, I'm going up there myself in 3 weeks with my 20D.

Here's a shot of (I think) the same mountain I took last year with an el-cheapo Casio:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/mdwsr/GothicMountain.jpg

[Harold_L]

Lovely, Stan!

Harold

[sparker1]

Thanks, guys.

Mike, those were taken 6/28, which I think is a little early for the peak wildflower season. Their annual festival starts 7/11, but I wanted to get there before the crowds arrive. It was a relief that we found as many as we did.

[jopfin]

Hey Stan, again lovely shots, wheres the next stop? .................Joe

[sparker1]

Hi Joe, We are now in Ouray, have been doing the standard jeep trails and stuff. Found masses of wildflowers along Last Dollar Road today on our way to Telluride. Tomorrow it's Yankee Boy Basin. I just don't know when I'll catch up with processing.

[jopfin]

Stan I would worry about all that later, right now enjoy yourself. See the sights, have fun......Joe

[tumb]

Stan - Let me know how Black Bear Pass is.

hehe

Edit: I just realized that my wife and I were in Ouray on July 3-4 last year. Great fireworks show there every year if you get the chance you should try to catch it.

[sparker1]

Mike, I really wanted to do Black Bear Pass on this visit (rain prevented it last time), but the Bear is still closed. Also, Imogene is closed on the Ouray side, can only be done part way from Telluride. We plan to be back in Ouray in time for the fireworks show, but will miss all the other festivities.

[Spirit]

They're both lovely, but that first one?? WELL DONE.

[sparker1]

Thanks, Spirit.

[Leorooster]

Lovely shots.

[Richard51]

Beautiful shots, Stan. I love to visit Colorado, just don't get there often enough. Thanks for sharing.

[RbnDave]

Stan,

Nice shots. Looks like you picked the right place and time of year for wildflowers. I am jealous. The colors in the first photo are really nice. Keep um coming.

Dave

[sparker1]

Thanks, Dave. We have been fortunate with the wildflowers and are going crazy taking pictures. We have two guests with us, so four photographers going ape at every turn of the trail sometimes. In other words, we're having a blast. Right now, I'm a week behind in processing because we are touring so much there's no time for Photoshop. Back to Colorado springs Friday so our guests can catch a plane home. We'll have a week to get ready for the next arrivals.

[ayotnoms]

Excellent images Stan.
...always have my eye out for the "Sparker1" posts :-D

[cfcRebel]

Wow, the scenery is just breathtaking! Of course, they were captured well by you Stan. :)

[tumb]

2 1/2 weeks to go and I'll be up there too. I can't wait, I really need my mountain fix...

[MarkoPolo]

Stan,
Great photos as usual. You might consider American Basin. Pretty easy to reach from the Lake City side and you can get there coming up Engineer Pass from Ouray. Spectacular spot and very similar to Yankee Boy. Hope this helps.

[sparker1]

Thanks, everyone. Mark, after going to Yankee Boy (disappointing because it was too early for wildflowers) we did the Alpine Loop over Cinnamon and Engineer Passes, stopping at American Basin. As you say, it was totally spectacular scenery and the wildflowers were beautiful. Unfortunately, I'm running a week behind in post-processing due to taking so many shots every day. We also did a jeep trip over Corkscrew Gulch, Hurricane Pass, California Pass, Last Dollar Road, Ophir Pass, Owl Creek Pass and toured Telluride, Ridgway, Silverton and Ouray. Whew!!!

tumb, I hope your visit is as fantastic as ours has been. We've still got lots to do before leaving CO.

[MarkoPolo]

Wow! I've lived in Colorado for 31 years and you've gone places in two weeks I've never seen. Good for you.

[sparker1]

We're back in Colorado springs for a few days (drove up Pike's Peak yesterday), will go to Idaho springs next, then Estes Park for a week of RMNP. Gotta say that retirement is wonderful, allows time to do all the things you want to do.

[bigun]

Man I cant wait till I retire. hehe.:D :D :D

Those are some wonderful pictures. Lots of color. Have fun!!

Bigun...

[tumb]

Man I cant wait till I retire. hehe.:D :D :D


Yeah, rub it in spark! 6 more years for me and I plan to have a hide-awy up there somewhere.

[sparker1]

Mike and Bigun, I wish you the best. There's room out here for lots more folks.

[tumb]

Sparker - from your experience up there, what are your favorite area's for photography?

I'm planning on making a big loop starting at Salida, then up through Buena Vista and over to Aspen, then back down around Crested Butte, but nothing is firmed up yet. We'll do some hiking and possibly try to tackle Mount Shavano & possibly Princeton. I'm going to try and take my Jeep but we might end up driving my wife's little toy SUV, if so we'll be a little more limited in where we can drive. I'm also toying with the idea of spending a day or two around Grand Lake and Winter Park. We'll probably be up there for 7-9 days.

Any advice appreciated.

[sparker1]

Well, Mike, 7-9 days will melt away here, so I'd try to stay in only a few places. From Buena Vista you can go to Cottonwood Pass and Aspen via Independence Pass. Be sure to visit the Maroon Bells while in Aspen. Ashcroft is a good ghost town near Aspen. Crested Butte has some great scenery and the wildflowers are good this year. You can actually drive most of the back roads there without a jeep, but Washington Gulch & Schofield Pass roads are blocked (up high) by snow. Still, there is so much to do around there, or down toward Lake City and along route 50. You'll love it all.

[Reigh Higgins]

The first one is absolutely gorgeous !