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Wednesday July 10, 2013
Luckily, there aren’t many sunrise or sunset opportunities on this trip, so we could sleep in a bit, compared to the average photo workshop. We assembled in the parking lot by 6:30 am for our first location shoot.
We’re heading for Yankee Boy Basin this morning. The road up there is a bit on the rough side and requires a vehicle with good ground clearance and all wheel drive (minimum). This ruled out most of the passenger cars that people had driven in. One person had a Suburban, so he had six in his vehicle. Don, one of the leaders, had a four-seater pickup truck, so he took two people plus Rod (the other leader). Linda volunteered her Lexus SUV for the third vehicle and the rest of us piled into that.
Yankee Boy Basin is not far from town, so the drive wasn’t very long. It winds past several mines, some of which are still being worked. In places, the road narrows drastically with a cliff on one side of the road and a drop-off on the other. Luckily, there wasn’t any traffic on the way up to the site. There would be on the drive back to town...
We parked at an area just above Twin Falls and spent the morning working this area. The wildflowers are fantastic this year! And we were able to spread out far enough that we were seldom in any one else’s way. Most of the morning was spent shooting macros, the waterfalls, and the overall scenery.
The three photos above were taken in Yankee Boy Basin. The photo on the left shows some paintbrush in front of the cascades just below Twin Falls. The center photo shows Upper Twin Falls and the surrounding scenery. The photo on the right shows just one of the meadows loaded with wildflowers that we could choose from.
The photo on the left shows some of the lovely Columbine in the meadows. The center photo shows an orange paintbrush peeking shyly from the foliage. The photo on the right has a group of orange paintbrush near an orange rock.
The photo on the left shows the view looking down the valley from our area. The center photo shows Mt. Sneffels, which towers over the upper portion of this valley. The photo on the right shows the view looking up the valley from our area with Mt. Sneffels on the right.
The photo on the left shows some larkspur with the valley walls behind it.
By 10:30, the light was starting to get a bit harsh, so we packed back up and headed back to town. On the drive back down, there was traffic coming uphill. We managed to avoid most of the conflicts, but, at one point, we were almost trapped. The car coming uphill was insisting on his right of way, Linda was trying to back back up the road, but there was another vehicle right behind her that refused to move!!! Luckily, she was able to back up enough that the uphill car could get by, but it was frustrating!
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So, where was Carl during all this? Well, he had read about a trail that circled Ouray, so he had set off to explore that. He started at Box Canyon, which is not far from the hotel, then climbed up to the Perimeter Trail. Along the way, he saw the cliffs they use for ice climbing in the winter and the water jets that supply the water that freezes into the ice for climbing. The photo on the left shows Canyon Creek as he started his hike with our hotel on the other side of the bridge. The photo on the right shows the beginnings of Box Canyon and Canyon Creek from the trail.
The photo on the left shows the Box Canyon Trail as it enters Box Canyon. The center photo shows Canyon Creek as it winds its way through Box Canyon. The photo on the right shows some of the steps needed to go from one level of this trail to another!
The photo on the left shows Box Canyon and Canyon Creek from the Perimeter Trail. The center photo shows the town of Ouray from one of the vantage points along the Perimeter Trail. The photo on the right shows a view of one of the climbing walls of the Ice Park.
The photo on the left shows Cascade Falls, a tall waterfall inside the city limits! The photo on the right shows a miner's bicycle that fits on the ore tram rails. The bicycle was displayed outside the museum.
I called him when we got back to the hotel and he was almost exactly across the town from the hotel and would take a while to get back. So, I walked into town and had a quiet lunch alone with my book at the Beaumont Grille. Good salad!
Carl got back to the hotel shortly after I returned from lunch. So, we got some groceries (more supplies that we hadn’t thought of last night) and he made me a sandwich for supper.
About 2 pm, we assembled in the breakfast area again to show off some of our images. Everyone brought about six images to share. Some of these were really fantastic!
Then, about 5 pm, we assembled at the cars again for the evening shoot. This time, we were headed for Molas Lake.
The photo on the left shows some campers at Molas Lake and the decent reflections we were getting there. The photo on the right shows clouds reflected in Molas Lake.
It was an interesting area and there was a man paddling a bright red kayak that obliged us by paddling up and down the small lake while we all took photos.
The three photos above show our cooperative kayaker and reflections.
Action slowed at one point, so I sat at a picnic table to eat my sandwich. But then the clouds moved in and the expected sunset shot disappeared. So we went back to the motel to collapse for the night.
While we were out, Carl walked up to the Beaumont Grille for dinner.