Teig and I were exploring the tree line below Kingston Peak in the Front Range Mountains of Colorado. The low clouds were moving up the slope to us and soon engulfed the ridge in it’s cool mist. The experience was calm and pleasant. I do love changes in weather when you are hiking in the mountains.
Traildog in Mountain Fog
Even photographers and their dogs have fun!
Wondering the backcountry of Badlands National Park in South Dakota is an adventure. When I am in between landscape shoots I get shots of Teig wondering around the rock formations. He becomes my main model or subject when I need some inspiration. He is definitely my artistic muse.
Badlands Labradoodle in Black and White
On a trip through Northwest Colorado we decided to explore Browns Park Wildlife Refuge on the Green River. We were visiting the Historic Ladore Schoolhouse and read some literature about the 2-Bar Ranch which was a mile hike from the schoolhouse. Teig and I decided to do quick jaunt over to the ranch and were thrilled to see how cool the ghost ranch was when we arrived. I had to get a shot of Teig near the corrals. I could imagine the “Old West” as we explored the ranch. A must see if you are in Browns Park.
Traildog at Historic 2-Bar Ranch
A sunny day to explore Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Teig squinting on a hill in the park as we explore the arid environment and search for the little treasures that come with exploring such a beautiful place.
Traildog in the Badlands
Traildog Teig on the Summit of Chief Mountain outside of Idaho Springs, Colorado. It was stormy morning with snow flurries on the way up to the peak at 11,709 feet above sea level. Snow drifts crossed most of the trail but the June morning was comfortable enough to wear a short sleeved shirt most of the way. The high peaks of Mount Evans area of the Rocky Mountains can be seen in the background.
Traildog on Chief Mountain
Adventuring the Rockies of central Colorado, Teig and I came across a beautiful alpine meadow and we had to stop and ponder the far off Mount Guyot and the valley below. This is our favorite place to be in the summer. Up above the trees you can see the peaks stretching off in the distance and the air is crisp and clean. The beauty fills the soul and the freedom to explore is fantastic.
Alpine Avens, Aspen Daisies and Traildog
Teig found a meadow of yellow Aspen Sunflower Flowers just off the trail to French Pass in the Colorado Rockies. Aspen Sunflower is a member of the Sunflower Family. The plant typically grows in meadows and clearings in pine forests at elevations between 5000 - 10000 feet. Teig blends in with this meadow and was almost ready to take snooze in the sunflowers.
Labradoodle in Sea of Yellow Alpine Flowers
Teig and I on our way down Mount Bross on a late August day after doing four 14ers that morning. Mount Bross is a high mountain summit in the Mosquito Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,178-foot fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 4.1 miles northwest of the Town of Alma in Park County, Colorado, United States. Mount Bross is named in honor of William Bross, who owned property in the area. Some of the history from wikipedia of the mining on the mountain is “On March 9, 1869, Daniel Plummer and Joseph Myers, both of Alma, Colorado, filed claim on the first silver mine on Mount Bross. They named their holding "The Dwight". The adjoining Moose Mine, which Plummer and Myers filed in 1871, became the most productive silver mine in Park County. A native of Pennsylvania, Myers later became a town trustee in Fairplay, the county seat of Park County. The Dolly Varden Mine, discovered by George Brunk and Assyria "Cy" Hall in 1872, ranked second in silver production to the Moose Mine but outpaced the Moose in the richness of its ore. At the time the Dolly Varden opened, Hall was the sheriff of Park County” The mountain was closed to hikers in 2005 but many still sneak to the summit on a beautiful day.
Teig was enjoying this slot canyon in southwest Utah. Willis Creek Slot Canyon is located off Skutumpah Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I enjoyed the shapely walls and delicate colors in the Navajo sandstone as it closed in above me. I also loved peering down rocks that the orange-tinted creek has smoothed over time. The smooth and curvaceous rock walls of the narrows, which have been carved by thousands of years of flash floods. I felt small as the narrow walls tower 100 feet above.