I think this is my favorite photo. I'm not sure why I'm so fond of it other than it looks like a rock slide, but really it is a rock glacier.
Here is a photo of our jeep. My camera shutter didn't like the altitude so I missed a lot of shots from this vantage. I thought about it later and realized I was really befuddled up there. We were just below the Imogene pass. I'd guess at about 12,000 feet. I couldn't seem to set my camera right and then the shots that did happen the shutter is partly closed. Also there were a lot of wildfires burning in the southwestern states and it made for so much haze we really couldn't see so far.
This is an old house. Yes, a miner's house. Imagine having to live with a fine mesh on your floor so that the pack rats wouldn't come inside. Oh, and did I mention it's location - Imogene pass -elevation 13,114 feet. There are people who run (like in jogging) over this pass. - We saw one and later I wished I'd taken his picture - it seems as amazing as seeing a wild animal. We saw some marmots up there - but they hide as soon as you spot them. The tour guide said they were sometimes called whistle pigs because of the sound they make.
After a lunch in Telluride we returned via Ophir pass which isn't as high. We went through some very lovely old growth aspen forests. I'm sorry I don't have a photo but it was a gentle view to look straight up and see these 100 foot aspens fluttering above. As we came up on Ophir pass I would have to say it looks like I imagine the moon to look. And I was most amazed to see nothing much growing - but some columbines. Columbines are the state flower of Colorado. When I saw those flowers I thought - yup -they deserve the honor of being the Colorado state flower indeed.
My last photo is of another set of mountain peaks. I regret I don't have their names. I took this photo accidentally in a sepia tone setting. Oddly though I'm fond of this photo too because after seeing all of these old mining sites this photo captures that old time feeling for me.
Okay, it'll be a busy weekend and I don't expect to post again until next week - but when I post next I want to show you all some wild flowers and other photos so please check back. Have a great weekend!
