That's my six foot three inch—body by CrossFit—son, Caleb, approaching "Bridge of Heaven" on a hike with Bobbie. The snow is about gone above timberline, which means the long-awaited wildflower season is upon us.
The afternoon monsoons have cranked up and I, for one, am thrilled. Daily storms now temper summer's heat to 70's instead of 80 something. I know "80 something" doesn't sound hot to most of you, but it's sweltering for mountain dwellers. To boot, we will be heading above timberline to take in wildflower season now; elevations of 12 to 14,000 feet account for another 10 to 15 degree drop in temperature. Ahhhh, Central Air in the Mountain Time Zone.
Of course we will be dodging thunder and lightening, so early starts are critical. So I best be going now. Check back in if you want to see some purdy rainbows of flowers, turquoise blue lakes, and frothy white waterfalls.
MoJo is slowly returning…I sure missed that guy.
Thanks to readers Leslie (Sunny) and Al Miranda for stopping by the gallery to say hi yesterday.
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| Caleb, Bobbie, and the ever mysterious, seldom photographed, Boonie…and, of course, Coffee Girl, his faithful companion. |
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| Red Mountain takes center stage. If you look close you can see the Million Dollar Highway stringing out at the mountain's base |
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| Caleb plays "lightening rod" at Bridge of Heaven. Halfway done, now for the hike down—five and a half miles of toe-jam |
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| Six Wheel Drive Swiss Army Transport |
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| Hot Springs Pool |
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| Above and Below: Mine Shacks One and Two, cliffside, overlooking Lovely Ouray. We live in the house with Imax Windows on the left. Looks like I need to mow the lawn... |
Ooh that toe jam comment woke up toe memories! So glad to see Mr MoJo again and yes. Gorgeous Caleb. You done good on that one!
ReplyDeleteI prefer temps in the 60's myself...makes it a heck of a lot easier to get outside. We've been sweltering in the 80's here in Portland, and it's not ready to cool down yet. Seems a little hot a little early in these parts.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more of your amazing "spring" flower show. I am hoping for some of the same around Mt St Helens...
We're happy to have the "old Mark" back. Great photos as usual.
ReplyDeleteGayle
Lovely mountain shots! Yes, wildflower season is beginning in our mountains too.
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome spending time with our adult children. We've rearranged our summer plans to be able to spend more time with our daughter and our son will be visiting from Phx. I was hoping to hike the San Juans this summer but alas will be in search of other mountains to climb. I look forward to your stunning wildflower photos and hope you're starting to feel better than ever.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos as usual. Glad to hear you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteI am in to that crossfit thing too. Hiking, biking, brewpubs, and yet I still don't look even close to Caleb. Whats up?
ReplyDeleteWe like to think of your current core group as Mark, the scary lady (SL for short} and kB.
Jim
Nice to see you shooting in the mountains again. And by the way, we're into the same kind of crossfit as Jim...we must be doing it wrong :)
ReplyDeleteNina
Good grief it's beautiful there. Beautiful photos. One of these days we're coming your way.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, it is possible to spend a day hiking with you guys when I come to San Juan soon this July?
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, is it possible to spend a day hiking with you guys when I come to Ouray this July?
ReplyDeleteYang,
DeleteOf course you (or any other reader) are always welcome to join in on one of our hikes. There will be many trips to view alpine wildflowers and glacial blue lakes in the coming weeks. A few other friends will be showing up to join in, so it should be a "high" old time in the mountains :).
Thanks very much, Mark. I will probably see you soon. Keep healthy, and heading up to the mountains :)
DeleteHi Mark,
ReplyDeleteThis is Yang again. I will go to San Juan Mountains tomorrow. I will stay there for a whole week (tomorrow to next Friday). In particular, I will first visit Telluride and then spend several days in Silverton and Ouray (Molas lake will be my base station). Considering hiking with you guys can be very funny. Would you please let me know how I can know your plan for hiking? I am very interested in joining. My most frequently checked email address is dyang@mines.edu. I look forward to seeing you at the Switzerland of America!