Vail Mountain

Still sharing some of my Colorado pictures on the blog. This is the view from the top of Vail Mountain looking down into the "bowl." You can see a grove of aspen trees, and then bands of thick green pines and the cleared sky run areas. I was at about 10,500 feet for this shot. Canon 5D, Mark II, 1/100 sec @ f/18.0, ISO 200, 105mm focal length.

Morning Welcome

This bright yellow daisy provides a nice morning welcome. Canon G11, 1/1600 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100, in macro mode.

Garden of the Gods

When visiting this area of sandstone formations in 1859 Rufus Cable, exclaimed, "Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble." Charles Elliott Perkins, the head of the Burlington Railroad, purchased the area in 1879 and opened it to the public. After his death in 1907 his family conveyed the four-hundred eighty acres to the City of Colorado Springs. It would be known forever as the Garden of the Gods "where it shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park." Canon 5D Mark II, 1/160 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 100, 28mm focal length.

Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway

Spent my birthday driving from Vail to Manitou Springs, crossing the Continental Divide at Hossier's Pass, and then taking the Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway to the summit of Pike's Peak. Here the cog wheel trains await at 14,110 feet above sea level while we spend time exploring the summit. All in all, a pretty cool birthday. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/400 sec @ f/11, ISO 400, 35mm focal length.

Barney

The is Barney, a Belgian draft horse who along with his partner Fred pulled our wagon for a twilight ride at the 4 Eagle Ranch. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/3 sec # f/4.0, ISO 3200.

Piney Lake

Piney Lake is the highest elevation lake you can drive to in Colorado at 9,350 feet. The journey is just a spectacular as the view from the lake. You drive 10 miles on a dirt road full of switchbacks and white knuckle, right on the edge turns. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/250 sec @ f/14.0, ISO 200, zoom at 88mm focal length.

Aspen Glow

The aspen trees just glow in the fall afternoon light near Vail Colorado. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/100 sec @ f/22.0, ISO 400, 65mm focal length.

Home on the Range

The Colorado range at twilight. We visited the 4 Eagle Ranch for dinner and a night sitting around the campfire. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/640 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 105mm focal length.

Sawatch Range

The Sawatch Range in central Colorado taken from atop Vail Mountain. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/200 sec @ f/16.0, ISO 200, zoom at 70mm focal length.

Remembering

"This is not what our soldiers die 4" A memorial to the victims at the Century Cinema shooting in Aurora Colorado. A very emotional site honoring the victims of a senseless act of hostility. Canon G11, 1/500 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.