Heavy runnoff in the Colorado Backcountry swells this creek.

A closup of a flower in the spring.

A full basket of people heading up into the sky at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

Teig rolling in the snow just below the summit of La Plata Peak near Aspen Colorado. You have to play a bit after hiking a 14er!

A portrait of a Mountain Goat on the summit of Mount Evans in Colorado.

We had an enjoyable exploration through a ghost ranch in Northwest Colorado. I came across a story on the web by Jerry Spangler published in June of 1991 about this ranch that I am going to provide below that you might find interesting: Everyone loves the courageous soul who, against all odds, stands up to an overwhelming opponent. And legends are made when the underdog wins. Maybe that's why everyone in Brown's Park still loves Ann Bassett, a fiery young woman who spearheaded the turn-of-the-century resistance against Ora Haley, a wealthy and politically powerful cattle baron who used ruthless means to snuff out smaller cattle operations in northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado.In the stuff of television Westerns, Bassett fought back. And won, earning herself the name "Queen of the Cattle Rustlers" in the process. She also carved herself a niche in Utah and Colorado history as one of the most colorful characters of the Wild West. Born in 1874 (the first white child born in Brown's Park, Daggett County), Bassett was a willful character, a lifelong resident of the grassy paradise nestled in northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado. Brown's Park was home to Bassett, and she defended it with a passion bordering on obsessive. As American cattle operations reached monolithic proportions in the 1890s and early 1900s, smaller ranchers from Montana to Texas were intimidated into selling out. But Bassett and other ranchers in Brown's Park refused to sell. And when Two-Bar Ranch cattle owned by cattle baron and millionaire Ora Haley pushed at the borders of Brown's Park, the more Bassett's herd and other local herds grew and prospered (albeit, some say, with altered brands). To residents of Brown's Park, the appropriation of Ora Haley's livestock was not only a matter of survival, it was justified under the code of the Old West. Haley's cows were trespassing, leaving nothing but grass stubble in their wake. Haley coveted the lush winter ranges in Brown's Park, and h

A view on the Sandia Crest Trail to the Kiwanis Rock cabin above Albuquerque, New Mexico. This short trail along the top of Sandia Mountain from the Crest House to the Tram is beautiful in October. Teig and I try to do one of the trails on Sandia whenever we are in Albuquerque. This time we caught a silhouette of person in the rock house.

Where can a trail lead you? This trail on Mount Falcon outside of Morrison Colorado led me into a wonderful world of winter and a gate to my imagination. Winter offers the naturalist a different world to explore with wonderment and peace

A billowing storm cloud was brewing of the snow crested alpine ridge at Jones Pass in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Bisecting Transportation lines in Red Cliff Colorado

Snow hanging on to the stems of wild grass in the foothills outside of Denver Colorado after a spring snow storm.

Chile Pepper Ristras and cattle skulls at a local vendor in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

A couple of Bucks foraging in the grass of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal outside of Denver, Colorado.

A window at the Taos Puebloin Northern New Mexico. A ladder a chile Ristra to boot.

While hiking to Rosalie Peak in the Mount Evans wilderness of Colorado, a group of Rocky Mountain Goats came over to check out Teig and I. They were curious and a little apprehensive of this hiker and his dog. This mom and her billy watched us from the very top of a large granite rock on a peak. They never lost sight of us. We stayed nearby and ate lunch and watch these very cool goats feed and play on the peak.

Nothing better than a late afternoon desert storm in northern New Mexico. If you never seen a storm with the sun shining on you in the desert southwest, you need to add it to your bucket list. This one was outside of Abiquiu and brought a smile to my face.

A raven looking for food in the high desert outside of Moab Utah.