Rocky Mountain Low (travails of a traveling clodhopper)
Way back when (when life was simpler than it is now), wife and I flew to Colorado to visit our older daughter Bella. A couple of days after getting there, the two of us decided to do a loop around and through the Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove out of Fort Collins on Route 14, up Poudre River Canyon Road (sadly, much of the scenery there has burned down since, but the place is still worth a visit – whitewater rafting is great!). We made a short stop near the top of Poudre and hiked to Zimmerman Lake, where we were greeted by the sight of an enormous bull moose feeding on the succulent weeds that grow on the edge of the lake. Unsurprisingly, he seemed utterly oblivious to us and went on enjoying his treat as blissfully as a drunken sailor that stares into a bottle of sweet grog.
Having been put in our place, we continued to Cameron Pass, slowed down just enough to avoid getting a speeding ticket in Walden, zipped as fast as the Devil down Route 125 to Granby, then traced a dog leg toward Grand Lake where we had a late lunch. I can hardly remember what I had for lunch yesterday, so please don’t ask me what we ate! I do remember, though, that after lunch we drove due north up a long flat valley and stopped a couple of times to admire large herds of elk chewing on the late summer grass as they lay down in it while staring blankly into the distance, completely oblivious to our presence (duh!).
Suddenly the road turned right and, hairpin after hairpin, we started our climb toward the Continental Divide. We stopped briefly for some coffee at the Alpine Ridge Visitor Center (from where a few years later I managed to snap my “almost famous” rainbow shot), then on we went, winding our way down the Trail Ridge Road. Like a child first time in Disneyland, I kept stopping the car every few hundred yards - the view getting more spectacular with every turn of the road.
Midway between Iceberg Pass and Sundance Mountain is where I took this shot (or, more precisely, the shots that comprise this panorama). I had two cameras with me: Canon 5D Mark III with a 35mm Canon f/1.4L lens attached to it and Canon 70D fitted with a Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom. I took a quick snap of my wife with the 35mm, had her snap one of me (posing confidently against the backdrop of the majestic valleys and cliffs), then grabbed my long lens and fired 8 shots in quick succession (handheld left two right), like a hunter trying to keep up with a zigzagging mountain goat. Success! With a broad smile on my face, I got back into the car, put out my right hand, expecting a firm high five (it didn’t come), stepped on the gas pedal (feeling like a million bucks) and started pulling away from the pullout. Suddenly … “I was half the man I used to be (just a second before -- good thing The Beetles didn't choose "Second Before" for the title of their arguably best song!)” – my wife screamed and I whipped my head to the right in her direction (involuntarily, like a man whacked in the head with a baseball bat), then just as fast (like a man whacked in the head with a baseball bat, again), seeing her hand pointing toward the hood of the car, I looked in front me and slammed on the breaks.
It was then that it happened – my Rocky Mountain Low! My beautiful 5D Mark III and my precious 35mm lens (an f/1.4L mind you!) came sliding off the hood of our rental car, crashed onto the asphalt (totally oblivious to the pain I felt in my heart at that very moment) and flew apart, this way and that, like two lovers who could no longer hold on to their love.
A minute later (probably less – there is no point dwelling on a few seconds here and there!), after I comprehended what had just happened, I collected their sad remains and got back in the car. I will spare you the account of the recriminations that happened between wife and I – needless to say, “sparks did fly”! After we finally calmed down, we drove on in silence, oblivious to the grandeur that lay ahead of us, down into Estes Park, down further still through Big Thompson Canyon toward Loveland (past Devil’s Backbone) and finally back up to Fort Collins.
We met up with Bella and Jake for dinner at Uncle’s Pizza (what a great place it was – you could get a free bottle of wine if you ordered a couple of large pizzas back then, but it is no more). We had a wonderful time.
All this happened at the start of our two-week vacation, so for the rest of our trip I was forced to use my 100-400 mm lens (and my iPhone) to record our travels/travails through Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. By the way, it only took about $1000 to fix my camera and lens. Who says money can’t buy you love!
Rocky Mountain Low (travails of a traveling clodhopper)
Way back when (when life was simpler than it is now), wife and I flew to Colorado to visit our older daughter Bella. A couple of days after getting there, the two of us decided to do a loop around and through the Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove out of Fort Collins on Route 14, up Poudre River Canyon Road (sadly, much of the scenery there has burned down since, but the place is still worth a visit – whitewater rafting is great!). We made a short stop near the top of Poudre and hiked to Zimmerman Lake, where we were greeted by the sight of an enormous bull moose feeding on the succulent weeds that grow on the edge of the lake. Unsurprisingly, he seemed utterly oblivious to us and went on enjoying his treat as blissfully as a drunken sailor that stares into a bottle of sweet grog.
Having been put in our place, we continued to Cameron Pass, slowed down just enough to avoid getting a speeding ticket in Walden, zipped as fast as the Devil down Route 125 to Granby, then traced a dog leg toward Grand Lake where we had a late lunch. I can hardly remember what I had for lunch yesterday, so please don’t ask me what we ate! I do remember, though, that after lunch we drove due north up a long flat valley and stopped a couple of times to admire large herds of elk chewing on the late summer grass as they lay down in it while staring blankly into the distance, completely oblivious to our presence (duh!).
Suddenly the road turned right and, hairpin after hairpin, we started our climb toward the Continental Divide. We stopped briefly for some coffee at the Alpine Ridge Visitor Center (from where a few years later I managed to snap my “almost famous” rainbow shot), then on we went, winding our way down the Trail Ridge Road. Like a child first time in Disneyland, I kept stopping the car every few hundred yards - the view getting more spectacular with every turn of the road.
Midway between Iceberg Pass and Sundance Mountain is where I took this shot (or, more precisely, the shots that comprise this panorama). I had two cameras with me: Canon 5D Mark III with a 35mm Canon f/1.4L lens attached to it and Canon 70D fitted with a Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom. I took a quick snap of my wife with the 35mm, had her snap one of me (posing confidently against the backdrop of the majestic valleys and cliffs), then grabbed my long lens and fired 8 shots in quick succession (handheld left two right), like a hunter trying to keep up with a zigzagging mountain goat. Success! With a broad smile on my face, I got back into the car, put out my right hand, expecting a firm high five (it didn’t come), stepped on the gas pedal (feeling like a million bucks) and started pulling away from the pullout. Suddenly … “I was half the man I used to be (just a second before -- good thing The Beetles didn't choose "Second Before" for the title of their arguably best song!)” – my wife screamed and I whipped my head to the right in her direction (involuntarily, like a man whacked in the head with a baseball bat), then just as fast (like a man whacked in the head with a baseball bat, again), seeing her hand pointing toward the hood of the car, I looked in front me and slammed on the breaks.
It was then that it happened – my Rocky Mountain Low! My beautiful 5D Mark III and my precious 35mm lens (an f/1.4L mind you!) came sliding off the hood of our rental car, crashed onto the asphalt (totally oblivious to the pain I felt in my heart at that very moment) and flew apart, this way and that, like two lovers who could no longer hold on to their love.
A minute later (probably less – there is no point dwelling on a few seconds here and there!), after I comprehended what had just happened, I collected their sad remains and got back in the car. I will spare you the account of the recriminations that happened between wife and I – needless to say, “sparks did fly”! After we finally calmed down, we drove on in silence, oblivious to the grandeur that lay ahead of us, down into Estes Park, down further still through Big Thompson Canyon toward Loveland (past Devil’s Backbone) and finally back up to Fort Collins.
We met up with Bella and Jake for dinner at Uncle’s Pizza (what a great place it was – you could get a free bottle of wine if you ordered a couple of large pizzas back then, but it is no more). We had a wonderful time.
All this happened at the start of our two-week vacation, so for the rest of our trip I was forced to use my 100-400 mm lens (and my iPhone) to record our travels/travails through Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. By the way, it only took about $1000 to fix my camera and lens. Who says money can’t buy you love!