// Adventures and Photography from the Colorado Plateau, Rocky Mountains & Beyond
Fall Colors 2015
Color Sunday | Sunday, September 27, 2015
Since I had only spent the day in the San Juan Mountains on Saturday, Diane and I decided to drive up onto the Grand Mesa for a few hours to check out the fall colors up there on Sunday afternoon. We took the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway via Plateau Creek to the Land O Lakes Trail where we stopped and went on the short hike to the overlook.
Leave a CommentTuesday, July 14, 2015
After work on Wednesday, Diane and I drove up onto the Grand Mesa for an evening hike on the Crag Crest Trail. We started from the West Trailhead and hiked up to the highest point on the Crag Crest ridge (11,189), which is also the second highest point in Mesa County (after Leon Peak) and about 4 miles from the trailhead. It had rained earlier in the afternoon and much of the trail was wet and muddy, plus the mosquitoes were out in force when we started.
Leave a CommentSunday, January 4, 2015
After our trip to northern Arizona earlier in the week, we were looking forward to spending a lazy weekend relaxing at home, but we still felt the need to get outside for some snowshoeing on Sunday. We decided to drive up to Mesa Lakes on the Grand Mesa for a short loop on packed trails. We started following the West Bench Trail past Sunset Lake, then followed Mesa Creek back past the Ranger Station and circled around Sunset Lake to Beaver Lake before returning to the trailhead on the other side of Jumbo Reservoir. It was a nice short loop that got us outside into the snow for a little while.
Leave a CommentSaturday, December 20, 2014
After being lazy last weekend, Diane and I decided to drive up onto the Grand Mesa this morning so we could get in our first snowshoeing trip of the season. We wanted to go somewhere new and away from the crowds, so we parked near the Visitor Center and took the trail to Arch Slough Reservoir. It was certainly a good trail to get away from the crowds since no one had been on it yet this season. That meant we had the privilege of breaking trail through about three feet of fresh powder the whole way. It was a good test for my new snowshoes and I even got to try out the extension tails. Even with the additional length from the tails we sunk in the powder pretty deep. It was definitely a good workout and very tiring. Diane and I took turns breaking trail and it was a lot easier for the second person. After reaching the reservoir we returned to the trailhead the same way so we wouldn’t have to break even more new trail. The hike was a lot easier on the way back!
Leave a CommentFall Colors 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
After work, Diane and I headed up to Piñon Mesa near Glade Park to see how the fall colors were coming along up there. I had actually only been up to this area once before, many years ago, so I wasn’t too familiar with the area. I have heard that it might be a good spot for fall colors close to home and have wanted to get up there in the fall for many years, so it was time to finally do it. While there was still quite a bit of green around, there were also nice patches of yellow aspen trees and even some reds and oranges, too.
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