IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Saturday, July 7, 2012

This weekend we left home on Saturday morning and headed back up into the San Juan Mountains. I had received reports that the wildflowers were in full swing a few weeks early because of our dismal snowpack and dry spring, and I wanted to try and get some photos of them. I have never really set out to specifically photograph wildflowers before, so this would be a learning experience for me. In the end I came home with some decent wildflower photos and I learned a lot in the process. Hopefully next year I can do a little better!

As a side note, I’ve also been trying to identify the wildflowers that I’ve been seeing and learning a little bit about them. If for some reason I have misidentified a flower in one of my photos, please let me know in the comments. I would appreciate it.

After reaching Ouray and turning up the Camp Bird Road we drove up to our first destination in Governor Basin. We made a few stops along the way to photograph some wildflowers when we saw them. The sky was already overcast all morning and would pretty much stay that way all day…which was good photo for taking photos of the wildflowers.

Into Governor Basin by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Here’s an all white Columbine that Amanda spotted in Governor Basin.

White Columbine by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

We passed the Virginius Mine on the way up, and the sign was surrounded by little flowers.

Virginius Mine Sign by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

As I was hiking back from Bullion King Lake in Porphyry Basin on Saturday, I was treated to this view of a rainbow in front of Red Mountain #3.

Amanda and I headed up into the San Juan Mountains yesterday to try and photograph some wildflowers. They have appeared a few weeks earlier this year because of the dismal snowpack and dry spring. There was no shortage of precipitation yesterday, which is good. Here’s a photo I took along Porphyry Creek.

Saturday & Sunday, June 23-24, 2012

After spending a few hours in the morning at the Shavano Valley Petroglyph Park near Montrose, we continued driving into the San Juan Mountains to get out of the heat for the weekend. Shortly after crossing over Red Mountain Pass we turned down the road along the South Fork of Mineral Creek and found a campsite for the weekend. After setting up our camp we drove through Silverton and made our way up Cunningham Gulch to the trailhead for the Highland Mary Lakes. As soon as we passed through Silverton the valley started filling up with smoke, and by the time we reached the Cunningham Trailhead the smoke had become pretty thick and there was even a little ash falling from the sky. We would later learn this smoke was from a wildfire that had started near Mancos.

A view of the smoke in Cunningham Gulch from the trailhead.

Smoke in the Gulch by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Entering the Weminuche Wilderness.

Weminuche Wilderness by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Smoke fills the sky with a view of the trail below through some pine trees.

Trail Below, Smoke Above by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Saturday, June 23, 2012

On Saturday I was invited by my friend Greg to visit the Shavano Valley Petroglyph Park near Montrose. I’ve been wanting to visit this site for quite a while, but never got around to getting permission to go, so I jumped at the opportunity. Amanda and I planned to head back up into the San Juan Mountains again this weekend, so it worked out perfectly since we would be driving through Montrose on our way. We left Grand Junction very early so we could meet Greg at the park around sunrise. We ended up spending a few hours searching the cliff faces for petroglyphs and taking photos. Here are a few photos of the petroglyphs…

Our favorite petroglyphs at the site were at the Bear Dance Panel.

Ute Bear Dance by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A closer look at the bear climbing a tree petroglyph. Very unique and cool!

Bear in a Tree by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

This was another large panel of petroglyphs next to the Bear Dance Panel.

Big Panel by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr