IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Saturday & Sunday, June 16-17, 2012

Amanda has been wanting to get back into the mountains for a while, so that’s where we went this weekend. Saturday morning we left the heat of the Grand Valley behind and drove up into the San Juan Mountains. Back in 2009 I visited an area called Gray Copper Gulch situated between the Red Mountains and Brown Mountain. I have wanted to get back up there again to take some new photos and figured this weekend would be a great time. After driving through Ouray we drove over Corkscrew Pass and then into Gray Copper Gulch. We found a nice campsite between a few of the ponds that I wanted to photograph.

When we arrived in Gray Copper Gulch, clouds were rolling in and the wind was blowing pretty good, as you can tell from the ripples in the water.

Ripples & Clouds by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Camp setup with Red Mountain #1 in the background.

Home for the Night by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Once our camp was setup we left Gray Copper Gulch to drive a few of the high passes in the area.

Leaving Gray Copper Gulch by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

I’ve visited the Yankee Girl Mine many times in the past, yet I’ve never really taken a good photo of it. On Saturday evening Amanda and I decided to head over that direction to try and finally take a good photo. Because of the wildfire near Mancos there was a lot of smoke in the air which was adding a bit of color to the sunlight. As we drove to the Red Mountain Mining District, I stopped along the highway and took this photo with my long lens before getting closer.

Friday – Sunday, June 8-10, 2012

This weekend I met my friend Philippe and his wife on their annual trip to the Southwest from France. This year we planned a day to do a little hiking and exploring on Cedar Mesa (Last year we spent a day hiking in the San Rafael Swell). We spent Saturday hiking together and searching for a few ruins and rock art sites. That evening I ended up camping at their campsite in Natural Bridges. We also had an unexpected visitor to camp that evening when Laurent Martres and one of his friends stopped by. It was nice to meet him since I used his Photographing the Southwest books when I first started getting into photography a few years ago. We also got to see a sneak peek of a new book he will be publishing soon. On Sunday I went off on my own to do a little more exploring before heading back home. Here are plenty of photos from the weekend in no particular order.

After work on Friday I drove down to the Mule Canyon Towers and set up camp nearby. I managed to get there just as the sun was setting and striking one of the towers.

Cave Tower Sunset by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Philippe taking photos of the Bigfoot Ruins. The ruins are named the Bigfoot Ruins because there is a footprint in the mud next to the doorway of one of the structures.

Philippe and the Bigfoot Ruins by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

A pile of potsherds found at the Bigfoot Ruins.

Bigfoot Potsherds by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Bigfoot Ruins by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

I just picked up my copies of the 2013 Colorado National Monument Calendar this evening. One of my photos from this past winter was selected to be used for the month of January.

So if you find yourself at the Monument or one of the local shops selling the calendar, feel free to pick up a copy 😉

I wish I was hiking back to the Solstice Snake again this year, but unfortunately I just couldn’t make it out there this year. Since I can’t be there, here’s a photo from last year’s solstice.