Small Waterfall at Cold Springs

This is one of two small waterfalls at the Cold Springs Campgrounds in the Flattops Wilderness. I've camped by these falls a least once each summer over the past few years. Year after year the flow of water down these falls is so consistent that they seem like fountains to me.

Flat Tops Wilderness

I took a short trip to northwestern Colorado last week to visit one of my favorite unspoiled areas of the state, I'm talking about the Flat Tops Wilderness, there isn't much there (in the way of civilization), and that's how I like it.

Frost has touched these ferns among the aspen here, in a couple of weeks the aspen will quake and exhibit their gold.

This photo was taken on a hike near Marvine Creek where I was camping.

Eight miles later, Big Marvine Lake, there's no road to this place, you get here on foot or horseback. Area outfitters have a nice business of bringing campers and fishermen up here on horses, dropping them off, then picking them up a week later.

I was struck by the image of these pines growing on the sides of this sheer cliff face, there can't be much room on those ledges. They appear to be good sized trees, 20 to 30 feet tall, I should think.

On the opposite side of the lake is another cliff at some distance, it's hard to judge the height of this feature, the scale of everything in the back country is a bit alien to a city dweller, but I have topographical maps that seem to indicate an elevation  gain of 1000+ feet. I was too tired to climb it anyway.

Rio Grande fishing/camping edition

I took some time off in early September to visit the Rio Grande River in south-central Colorado and I'm just now getting around to posting about it, I blame pennant fever.
A Stellar's Jay visiting my campsite, I've been trying to get a pix of one of these guys for some time, they're kind of rare and elusive. AKA mountain jay, pine jay and long crested jay.
On my way back to Denver I passed through Buena Vista and stopped just north of town by the Railroad Bridge section of the Arkansas River. This is the low water time of year, during spring and summer this part of the river and many miles downstream are normally teeming with rafts and kayaks.
Also during the homeward trek, a nice view from the top of Loveland Pass, obviously above timberline.