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Auntie Jam has been taking some
pictures lately. Some are of pretty scenery. Some are of people I've seen.
A few are those people took of me, too.
First, some scenery. These pictures
were taken during a trip to Colorado.
The day was partially cloudy, but the mountains were still majestic. Real
mountains, compared to the ridges and valleys I'm used to in New Jersey.
Spectacular mountains.
When the sun was out, it was dazzling. This picture was taken at Sprague
Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, near the stables. This area is a
camping/activity area that his accessible for physically challenged people.
No one was around but Rosie, Katie and I that day. It was
COLD. I'd like to come back to see it again sometime in the warmer
months.
The skies were brooding, although every now and then a flash of blue could
be seen. The clouds hovered over the peaks, and the wind blew plumes of
fresh snow into the air. It was hard to know if the misty look was from
the snow crystals in the air or clouds. Maybe it was a little of both.
Not every sight was on a grand scale. The snow cover made even the simplest
still life of a rock and a tree seem more beautiful.
In 1976, a cloudburst in Rocky Mountain National Park, by chance, had virtually
all its waters funneled through Big Thompson River. A 17-foot wall of water,
trees, and debris swept down the narrow canyon. At least 139 people lost
their lives as cars and buildings were washed away. A power plant stood
at this location until 1976. Now there is a small memorial park. The skies
had cleared at this point, but the hushed quality of this area remained.
The walls of the canyon are actually quite wide apart here. In other places,
they come together so closely it is easy to see how a flash flood would
become even more powerful. The water had no place to go but up. Note the
color and texture of the rocks in the picture at the left. Most of the
rock faces in the canyon seemed much like this.
You barely get out of Big Thompson Canyon, and the look of the landscape
changes completely, to one which is more in keeping with what I imagine
"the West" should be like. A layer of red sandstone that I believe may
be the same one that makes the Red Rocks natural ampitheater and the Garden
of the Gods, which we were to see the next day, shoulders its way out of
the plains. The skies were clear here, too--picture postcard blue. And
no, I didn't slip in a postcard. I actually took this picture, coming out
of the canyon!
But just past the line of red rocks comes this:
The landscape changes with the line of rocks, looking something like the
plates along the spine of a stegosaurus in a line across the land. Another
cloud had descended, and although the rocks were lit with sunlight slipping
under the cloud through the opening to the west, where we'd seen the red
rocks with clear blue sky over them, here we had snow flurries falling
on our head from where we stopped to take the picture.
The next day, we drove south to Colorado Springs. Just outside of town
is The Garden of the Gods. Red sandstone, carved into fantastic shapes
by the wind, are scattered all around. It's a public park now.
Beautiful!
After traveling through the Garden, we returned to Denver and to the Star Trek convention. There, we saw some natural wonders of another kind.
For those pictures, go to the Stargazing page.
You'll find pictures of some stars at cons, alone with a few of Auntie
Jam enjoying their company.