Up a Winding Road and Crossing the Divide

I crossed the Continental Divide just to the northwest of Fitzpatrick Peak on a little dirt track called forest road 267 that runs between St. Elmo & Tincup, Colorado. The pass itself is called Tincup Pass and the western side of the pass has possibly some of the most delightfully horrible sections of road I have been on to date. Some bits had two or three tracks and I had to get out & walk them to decide which of the choices was least likely to damage the vehicle. Down Upon the River

But it was beautifull nonetheless. I don't think I will ever tire of driving amid woods of birch and aspen trees, but that was earlier in the drive and the road was in much better shape when I was amongst them. Once I got to Tincup it was rather late in the day the crossing had taken quite a bit longer than anticipated, which is just how it should be... Many miles yet to go.

Mountain Rivulet

This little stream emerged from the base of a tree.

Mountain Stream

Further down it chortled between mossy banks between fir & spruce trees

The timing was right enough so that the local lichen decided to give a shot at releasing some spores. the orange bits are debris mad by a squirrel processing conifer cones. Under some trees the debris formed a a soft mat that felt to be over a foot thick... busy little squirrel.

In spots the lichen seemed to form little communities. Something about this reminds me of a Dr. Seuss drawing.

It only needs a roof and a few other things.

Pyrite

Pyrite crystals on some quartz

This is the headwaters for Woodchopper Creek. We are right up about the tree line now.

Variegated Granite

When I reached the height of the pass I got out and crawled up to the top of the mountain... One must achieve greater altitude than ones vehicle on any day... What I found interesting is that at lower altitudes the Granite erodes into round boulders & other lumpy things... Up here at about 12,500 feet the granite was all angles and planes... fractured. At the top of this mountain was some nice pink & black granite.

The weather was not quite bright & sunny. Sleet began to fall when I reached to top, but I did manage to snap a pic with the phone. On my decent I came across a group of what I can only guess to be White Tailed Ptarmigans in their Beige & Tan summer dress. They, too, seemed a little put out by the sleet.

Thistle

There were thistles up there too... looking quite medieval in their thorny glory

Tree Root

While clambering up from checking out an old mine I spied this root... The pattern was quite interesting.

Guard Chipmunk

Of course every good abandoned mine is guarded by a fierce chipmunk. This one was no exception and the resident chipmunk stood watch.


Photography Posts
Out of Gunnerson, CO
Sep 04, 2016
After leaving Gunnerson, Colorado I took a detour through the San Juan National Forest.
  Up a Winding Road and Crossing the Divide
Wildlands of San Francisco
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What are you going to do in San Francisco anyhow?
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Recent Pictures
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May & June get lumped together. Lots of packing. 56 years of house to deal with. Getting my replacements at Gryphon up and running.
Some Recent Pictures
May 19, 2015
April was an interesting month. Packing things up. A few shots testing a new Canon 100-400mm lens. Of course when packing things can get messy... I knocked over a pile of empty film reels. It looked so nice I just had to take a picture.
A Colorado Crawl
Aug 27, 2016
From Limon, Colorado I headed west. Back across the plains, through the forests of Ponderosa Pine. There was a bit of business to conduct in Castle Rock and then onward to the West. A dirt road "short cut" surpriosed me with this formation... Upended strata , almiost free standing!
The Windmills of Colorado
Aug 17, 2016
"The Windmills of Colorado" sounds poetic doesn't it? There are a whole lot more windmills in the Midwest since the last time I wandered through the area, Two of these pictures were taken from the ground... the rest from the air.
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