Autumn above Durango
Aspens on fire, the deepest of blue skies, evergreen trees, and fields with horses grazing. Welcome to autumn in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
Taken on my Olympus OM-D with the 12-50mm M.Zuiko lens, hand-held, with a Hoya circular polarizing filter to help manage the late-morning light. Mostly straight out of the camera here, with some very minor work with levels in the digital darkroom to get it as close as I could to how it looked to the naked eye. From just off of the San Juan Skyway, during an epic drive in late September of last year. For more from the Colorado portion of this trip, see my set "Autumn" to the right. To see this shot big on a black background, click on the photo or hit your "L" key. Then, if you're really feeling it, try clicking on "Fullscreen".
The San Juan Skyway is an "All-American Road" and a component in the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway System. It forms a 233.0-mile (375.0 km) loop in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Colorado traversing the heart of the San Juan Mountains. It roughly parallels the routes of the narrow gauge railways: Rio Grande Southern (US 160, SH 145 and SH 62); and the unconnected Ouray and Silverton Branches of the Denver & Rio Grande along US 550 with the Silverton Railroad bridging a part of the gap. Its origin can be traced to the Around the Circle Route promoted by the D&RG.
For the stretch between Ridgway and Durango: From Ridgway, the byway turns south onto US 550 following the Uncompahgre River into the Victorian mining town of Ouray. From Ouray south back to Durango, the highway is referred to as the Million Dollar Highway. The first 7.0 miles (11.3 km) south of Ouray, the byway follows through the Uncompahgre Gorge. Just past the only tunnel on the route, just south of Ouray, the road crosses over Bear Creek Falls on a bridge at the location of an impassable toll booth on the original road. The Alpine Loop National Back Country Byway, a four wheel drive jeep road takes off in the gorge south of Bear Creek Falls. Before leaving the gorge, the byway passes through a snow shed under the Riverside Slide avalanche zone. A monument stands near here honoring those who have lost their lives in the avalanche, including several snowplow operators. At this point the byway enters Ironton Park, a nice flat valley in contrast to the gorge. The road ascends several switchbacks, or S-curves, past the Idarado mining operation to the 11,018-foot (3,358 m) summit of Red Mountain Pass, providing views of Red Mountain (Colorado) and several ghost towns. Back into the San Juan National Forest, the highway descends through the Chattanooga Valley to Silverton. From Silverton, the byway passes over the 10,910-foot (3,330 m) Molas Pass and the 10,640-foot (3,240 m) Coal Bank Pass descending past the ski resort of Durango Mountain. From Hermosa, the road parallels the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad before returning to Durango. (Wikipedia)
Thanks again for all of your continued views, comments, notes, and favorites, everyone. I really appreciate you taking the time to check out my work.
Autumn above Durango
Aspens on fire, the deepest of blue skies, evergreen trees, and fields with horses grazing. Welcome to autumn in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
Taken on my Olympus OM-D with the 12-50mm M.Zuiko lens, hand-held, with a Hoya circular polarizing filter to help manage the late-morning light. Mostly straight out of the camera here, with some very minor work with levels in the digital darkroom to get it as close as I could to how it looked to the naked eye. From just off of the San Juan Skyway, during an epic drive in late September of last year. For more from the Colorado portion of this trip, see my set "Autumn" to the right. To see this shot big on a black background, click on the photo or hit your "L" key. Then, if you're really feeling it, try clicking on "Fullscreen".
The San Juan Skyway is an "All-American Road" and a component in the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway System. It forms a 233.0-mile (375.0 km) loop in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Colorado traversing the heart of the San Juan Mountains. It roughly parallels the routes of the narrow gauge railways: Rio Grande Southern (US 160, SH 145 and SH 62); and the unconnected Ouray and Silverton Branches of the Denver & Rio Grande along US 550 with the Silverton Railroad bridging a part of the gap. Its origin can be traced to the Around the Circle Route promoted by the D&RG.
For the stretch between Ridgway and Durango: From Ridgway, the byway turns south onto US 550 following the Uncompahgre River into the Victorian mining town of Ouray. From Ouray south back to Durango, the highway is referred to as the Million Dollar Highway. The first 7.0 miles (11.3 km) south of Ouray, the byway follows through the Uncompahgre Gorge. Just past the only tunnel on the route, just south of Ouray, the road crosses over Bear Creek Falls on a bridge at the location of an impassable toll booth on the original road. The Alpine Loop National Back Country Byway, a four wheel drive jeep road takes off in the gorge south of Bear Creek Falls. Before leaving the gorge, the byway passes through a snow shed under the Riverside Slide avalanche zone. A monument stands near here honoring those who have lost their lives in the avalanche, including several snowplow operators. At this point the byway enters Ironton Park, a nice flat valley in contrast to the gorge. The road ascends several switchbacks, or S-curves, past the Idarado mining operation to the 11,018-foot (3,358 m) summit of Red Mountain Pass, providing views of Red Mountain (Colorado) and several ghost towns. Back into the San Juan National Forest, the highway descends through the Chattanooga Valley to Silverton. From Silverton, the byway passes over the 10,910-foot (3,330 m) Molas Pass and the 10,640-foot (3,240 m) Coal Bank Pass descending past the ski resort of Durango Mountain. From Hermosa, the road parallels the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad before returning to Durango. (Wikipedia)
Thanks again for all of your continued views, comments, notes, and favorites, everyone. I really appreciate you taking the time to check out my work.