On The North Side Of Salida, Colorado

Last night's sunset was so-so. Then this evening, I thought I'd hold out on posting the photo above, hoping there would be spectacular colors over the mountains. Instead, the colors were even worse. Kudos to the beautiful colors that happened over Sheep Mountain last night though. You can view it here.

-Steve (January 25, 2012)

Today's mountain photo was taken west of Buena Vista. My 40,000 tweets party with cupcakes and dancing to 1980s music happens in five days in Victor, Colorado. If you're interested in attending, all details are here.

-Steve (January 23, 2012)

For the first time in the five years and nine months that I've run this website, today I broke the biggest rule. In this photo, Mount Princeton is nowhere to be seen. Instead, that's Mt. Shavano, a fellow 14er, on the far left with some other 13ers in the center and right. For the past few days, clouds have hovered over Mount Princeton, and I grew tired of waiting and waiting for the mountain to clear. Then, as I was driving from Salida to Buena Vista, I snapped this pretty mountain shot and thought, "Oh heck, I'll just post this!" ;)

-Steve (January 22, 2012)

Today, while driving between Salida and Buena Vista, I captured this shot of Mount Princeton. It's your average mountain scenery shot in the Arkansas River Valley. Not bad!

In other news, yesterday I took a "mental health day" and spent some time putzing around Fairplay. It was a well needed day off.

-Steve (January 18, 2012)

Today's Mount Princeton photo was taken as I was pulled over on U.S. Highway 285 near Nathrop. I love how I got that one steer in the foreground.

In other news, I made a photo gallery of a number of old classic cars that I've recently spotted in Chaffee County. Check them out!

-Steve (January 15, 2012)

Today I did something different. Above is a video of me driving on Chaffee County Road 306 (west of Buena Vista). Enjoy the usual mountain views, including Mt. Princeton, and then I turn at the old drive-in movie theater. This was the Comance Drive-In that was in operation until the early 00s, I believe.

Oh and lastly ... let's go Broncos! We're hopeful the Denver Tebows can pull off an upset victory over New England! :)

-Steve (January 14, 2012)

Today I traveled on Chaffee County Road 321 (southwest of Buena Vista) and pulled into a private dirt road. I snapped this picture a few steps ahead of the cattle guard on the Wild Rose Ranch. To the owner of this ranch, I owe you a beer, coffee, breakfast, whatever. Isn't it a nice picture of the mountain? :)

In other news, much of Colorado has been concerned of late with the lack of snowfall. Some of the ski areas are really needing more snow. Monarch Mountain is very much open, but the snow base is nowhere near what they'd like. Pray for snow! Think Colorado! Think snow!

-Steve (January 13, 2012)

The lighting was harsh, but above is a photo of Mount Princeton taken yesterday as I cruised on Chaffee County Road 306 into the mountains. At the time, I was very happy and excited because the used camera I bought on eBay arrived in the mail. It is a Canon SD 1200 IS, which is the same model as my old camera. Oh how I love this camera so much!

By the way, I've made two new videos of mountain scenery in the past 24 hours. Yesterday's is titled Snow, Mountains and Snowmobiles. Today's is titled Colorado Winter Morning.

All the best, Steve (January 11, 2012)

In a lot of ways, this is just your ordinary view of Mount Princeton from somewhere outside Buena Vista. This time, however, I didn't crop the photo. I wasn't sure how to present it, and I ended up leaving it alone.

In other news, I made a page dedicated to the Buffalo Peaks. When I hike that mountain, I'll update that page with my photos. :)

-Steve (January 9, 2012)

Above was the sunset over the mountains last night. Ahhhh so pretty! To be honest, I was due to capture a colorful Colorado sunset.

While in Salida, I captured a great shot of a fox. Of course, you probably already know this if you've joined my Facebook page. ;) Usually foxes are very quick and elusive, but this guy was limping. One of his legs was hurt. He was only about 50-60 feet from the roadside, and I think he had given up running. Poor guy.

I also finished my 2011 summary page. Thanks so much for your love and support!

-Steve (January 5, 2012)

After many days in the 30s and a few in the 40s, finally we are back down to earth with a truly cold morning. Winter is in full swing in Colorado, although it sure would be nice if we had more snow.

Today's picture was taken in the Buffalo subdivision area, north of Buena Vista in the county. Not a shabby view of the mountain, don't you think? :)

-Steve (January 4, 2012)

The first photo for 2012 was taken west of Buena Vista this morning. As you can see, the snow is melting. It has been unseasonably warm in the past week, and we've had two days in the mid-40s!

Today I will be working on my list of goals for the new year. I also hope to work on a 2011 recap page ... something I do for myself. Here was my 2010 page, if you're interested.

Best wishes to all of you! -Steve (January 2, 2012)

Yesterday afternoon, my friends Ed and Patrice of Longmont were driving through town and bought me lunch at Los Girasoles in Buena Vista. We had a nice time talking and yapping away about all sorts of things. Patrice was one of my financial supporters of my 2011 bike across America ride. What a friend!

After lunch, we drove to the overlook east of Johnson Village to take pictures. The photo above was taken with my timer, and the afternoon lighting was terrible. Thankfully, Kimberley Williams in Texas did a great job tweaking the colors and lighting to make my picture a winner.

Happy New Year! I wish you an amazing 2012 and hope all your dreams come true.

With Love, Steve (December 31, 2011)

I wasn't planning it, but I ended up including myself in today's Mount Princeton mountain photo. It was fairly windy, and so I put my hood up. That road is Chaffee County Road 339, a very quiet and isolated thoroughfare. :)

As I was driving home, I spotted a large group of about 100 antelope on the west side of town. I captured one semi-decent shot of three of them grazing with the Buffalo Peaks standing magnificently in the background. You can see that photo here.

Thanks again for visiting my website. I hope I can give you a little piece of Colorado online with my efforts. By the way, you are welcome to make a donation to show your appreciation. There's never any pressure or expectation for anyone to give, but it does improve morale to get things in the mail now and then. :)

-Steve (December 30, 2011)

Today's shot was taken from Chaffee County Road 371. This is the road that's north of Buena Vista that leads to the Midland Tunnels. You may notice the railroad tracks in the foreground. I hiked on those tracks on Day 2 of my Chaffee County Walk last year. Sweet memories!

Best wishes and happy climbing, snowshoeing and skiing if you're out there in the mountains today! :)

-Steve (December 27, 2011)

I wasn't sure where to take today's mountain photo, and then I said to myself, "When in doubt, travel east of Johnson Village and then turn back." Ahhhh yes, the spectacular view of Mt. Princeton can't be beat from this spot! :)

Today is the start are arguably one of the busiest weeks of skiing and snowboarding in Colorado. Let the skiing, snowboarding and winter activities commence! I make no promises, but I hope to snowshoe before the year is over.

-Steve (December 26, 2011)

This morning I went for a short hike on the Whipple Trail, which offers spectacular views of the mountains across the valley. A white Christmas is very common for our region, but it is still well appreciated. Then again, we've had a white Easter and a white Mother's Day since I've lived here. :)

Recently I've received a flurry of friendly comments on my Facebook page. They mainly come from two types of people: Those who formerly lived here and miss the mountains, and those who long to move and/or vacation in Colorado soon. Whoever you are, I am honored you check into my humble Colorado photography sites. I try to entertain. I carry my camera with me nearly all the time. And these sites give me an excuse to go out there and hike, climb, bike, etc. Best wishes and Merry Christmas to you! :)

-Steve (December 25, 2011)

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukah! And Happy New Year!

Today's shot was taken between Salida and Buena Vista. (I broke down and used my Canon A2200 that I will be selling soon.) We've gotten plenty of snow and it's been wonderfully cold. By now, all of the ski and snowboarding areas in the state are open. Vail, Beaver Creek and Steamboat Springs have opened nearly all of their slopes with the latest snowfall. Of course, our local ski areas, Monarch Mountain and Ski Cooper, are open as well.

Best wishes to all of you. I am so honored that this humble mountain photography website gets so much traffic. Thank you for your friendship.

-Steve (December 24, 2011)

It has been extremely cold in Colorado lately. This morning, when I snapped this shot from Chaffee County Road 306, it was about -4 degrees. Isn't the snow pretty though? :)

P.S. All of my recent photos have been with my cell phone, and I can partially thank Perfectly Paired Jewelry (sarcasm) for that.

-Steve (December 23, 2011)

Another photo of Mount Princeton with my cell phone. This was on Chaffee County Road 317 on the southeast side of Buena Vista, Colorado.

-Steve (December 21, 2011)

Today's Mount Princeton photo was taken by my friend and neighbor Mark Shaw. We had more snowfall overnight and Mark captured a great one from his backyard. What a view of the mountain!

Mark has his own photography website and sells his images. If you like going through my pages of Colorado content, I'm certain you will like what he has. His website is markshawphotos.smugmug.com. All of his profits for the month of December are going to a cancer charity.

So sorry I haven't been taking as many shots of Mount Princeton lately. My new (used) camera should be arriving in the mail any day now, which should help. Then again, I make no promises. See my November 21 entry for details.

-Steve (December 4, 2011)

Photo taken somewhere east of Johnson Village in Chaffee County.

I can't stand this new camera. Just look how bland the colors are in this shot. My camera doesn't have the features to let colors pop, especially when photographing landscapes. Granted, it was 1 p.m. when I snapped this photo, and so the sun wasn't fully cooperating, but nonetheless this should be a better shot.

-Steve (November 22, 2011)