Colorado landscapes: Maroon Bells

 

One of the most photographed locations in the Rocky Mountains is the view across Maroon Lake to the peaks of the Maroon Bells. And if the sky is blue and a few clouds are in the air you can’t go wrong with this picture. It is a simple click, even with the camera in your phone. If after a day of rain in the valleys the first snow of the season has fallen at higher altitudes and the aspens start turning yellow, you even have a bonus for your image. The wind made a few ripples on the surface of the lake but that didn’t bother me a bit while making this photo. We hiked up to Crater Lake, just below the Maroon Bells, after this photo opportunity. The air was really clear after the rain in the morning, but it got a lot hazier and I didn’t like any of my shots I made up at Crater Lake later in the day…

Colorado landscapes: From South Mineral to Ice Lake

 

From South Mineral Campground near Silverton leads a wonderful trail up to Ice Lake at an altitude of 3736m (12,257 ft). We chose a mostly cloudy day for this hike, which was good for hiking and photography. No dealing with harsh light and hot sun!

We were told by the very nice campsite hosts that the lake had a wonderful and intensive color and we were not disappointed, despite the gray overcast. Although it was already late in the season we also found many alpine wildflowers up on the tundra.

Colorado landscapes: Great Sand Dunes - being on top..., priceless!

 

You can run around with your camera all day long in Great Sand Dunes National Park but nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the experience of being up on top of the dunes when the sun creeps over the ridge of the Sangre de Christo Mountains in the morning. It is easy to forget to push the shutter release button because of the spectacular light on the dunes that unfolds right in front of you. It takes about an hour to hike and climb up the 700 feet from the valley bottom to the top of the first ridge and the altitude of about 2,700m (~8,730 ft) may put you out of breath at times, but the rewards for this endeavor are priceless.