View allAll Photos Tagged frontrange
A supercell rolls off of the front range and starts to become better organized as it still struggles to become surface based in rural Colorado. It seemed cows knew what was coming as they all grouped together as the mesocyclone passed over head.
It seemed like it took this storm an eternity to get its act together as cycle after cycle failed to produce a tornado, and updrafts were still battling each other. After chasing this storm for several hours it eventually produced 4 tornadoes that we documented in Eastern, Colorado.
DDC "So good looking"
You can see the mirror behind Shyla but she wouldn't look at it. She likes to keep her eye on me so we have a reflection of the back of her head!
DDC "ID"
I have this fear that, if Shyla were ever to get lost, she'd be too scared to let any people (besides us) approach her. One thing I've done (aside from socialization) is get her a tag with her name written really big so it can be read from a distance. My hope is that hearing her name will help her if she ever is lost (but I hope it never happens). You can see her name on her purple tag in this photo.
... because it's a wild ride. A mass of evening thunderstorm clouds skates over the Front Range and heads out to the Great Plains, nothing left to impede the flow of colored brilliance. I took this not far from home on the summer solstice, a day which produced some of the more remarkable light in recent memory.
I'll be traveling in Wyoming and Montana for the next couple of weeks, so won't be in contact for awhile. Enjoy the summer everyone, and thanks for your comments and favs!
The high ridges of James and Parry Peaks (13,300 ft / 4054 m and 13,391 ft / 4082 m respectively) show the wind gusts blowing the newly fallen snow off, enhancing the potential for avalanches in the weeks to come. A storm the previous couple of days dropped 18 inches (46 cm) of snow, with temperatures around -12° F (-25° C) and wind chills as low as -25°F (32° C).
James Peak is named for Edwin James, one of the first classically trained naturalists to visit the Front Range of the Rockies with the Stephen Long expedition in 1819/ 1820. Parry Peak is named for Charles Parry, a botanist and mountaineer who explored the southwestern U.S. in the mid 19th century, and whose name is found on several plants in the Rocky Mountain flora (e.g. Parry primrose).
I like the way snow transforms this landscape by adding contrast and texture, seen best imho in black and white.
Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado.
Numerous waves of a fall storm moved through the area on this day and provided great lighting all the way from pre-sunrise, through the final occlusion of the landscape with fog and snow nearing the end of the day. The real alpine experience though came on a hike up to Isabelle glacier, with the incredibly rugged peaks surrounding the mountain cirque. One could only imagine what stormy conditions might have been like here during past glacial episodes. Thanks for looking everyone!
365: the 2015 Edition (286/365)
There is nothing more hope-inducing to me than being out in nature with Shyla as the sun rises. Her reddish glow is from the soft light of the sunrise.
A big male bear on the mating trail. He's laying down his scent so that receptive females can track him down.
Gate Keeper: North American Hobo Spider (Agelenidae) with large, flat funnel web, complete with a front entrance and back door exit. Seen in a field on a summer morning, Rocky Mountain Front Range, Colorado.
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Arachnida
Family Agelenidae
Genus Eratigena
Species E. agrestis
Mule deer buck with one remaining antler rests under a pine tree, Rocky Mountain Front Range, Colorado.
The pearlescent Full Cold Moon sails toward the horizon as sunrise illuminates the Longs Peak massif near Lyons, Colorado. From left to right the massif comprises Mount Meeker (13,868 ft; 4,227 m), Longs Peak, with its signature diamond cloaked in shadow (14,259 ft; 4,346 m), and Mount Lady Washington (13,245 ft; 4,037 m). The tangerine glow of morning was astounding for a few fleeting moments. A flock of Canada Geese also bore witness as they huddled on the ice of McCall Reservoir in the foreground.
"First Light on Pawnee"
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Fresh off the 2019 Polar Vortex, it's time to turn back the clock to the first time this term entered into the widespread American lexicon.
The new year of 2014 introduced most people to the term "polar vortex." Just days into the start of the new year and most of the central and eastern United States was plunged into bone-chilling sub-zero temps, with many seeing the coldest temps in 30 years, while others saw the coldest in recorded history. In the Upper Midwest, the polar vortex was accompanied by blizzards that saw heavy snow, high winds, and total white-out conditions. This extreme cold went on for a few days. It wouldn't the the last polar vortex of 2014, but it was definitely the worst.
The effects were very visible on Lake Michigan. Most of the lake was covered in ice. Large ice boulders built up on the shores. On the eastern shores on the west side of Michigan, people were walking on the ice a mile out from shore. The lighthouses were frozen tombs of encased ice.
So it was good timing when a week later I embarked on my previously-scheduled first lighthouse tour. In St. Joseph, the piers were impassable without crampons. The catwalks were encrusted with windblown ice. Despite the cold, the beach was surprisingly crowded. But after what came before, no one was complaining when the high temps hit 5 Degrees! By then it was practically shorts weather!
DDC "Superstition"
I believe that finding feathers is "good luck". Shyla and I found a turkey feather!
Photographed Thursday, January 15, 2015 at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area located on North Overland Trail, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Equipment used: Sony Alpha SLT-A58 and Sony 18-55mm SAM II lens mounted on Focal tripod.
DSC01052
Bear Lake Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Nikon D7500, Sigma 18-300, ISO 200, f/7.1, 50mm, 1/400s
366: The 2016 Edition (185/366)
It's such a short season when I can ride my mountain bike through aspen groves whose floors are covered in Columbines. It's a true joy of living in the Rockies.
Mount Blue Sky Wilderness, Colorado.
Beautiful early morning light accentuated the transition from high alpine tundra at 12,800', east across the Front Range to the high plains. Seasonal monsoonal storms were already building, leading to gorgeous fans of crepuscular rays and patches of light on the vertical cliffs and the Summit Lake Flats. A very awe inspiring scene to witness. Thanks for looking !
I like to go out and take photos when it's foggy, which doesn't happen very often where I live in Colorado, USA. So when it was foggy earlier this week I headed to Sandstone Ranch Park and just walked around taking photos. It was once a big ranch along Saint Vrain Creek and still has some of the original structures. This is my favorite shot from that day.
Hoarfrost is so beautiful! This morning we were lucky have the right conditions for it. This tree is along the St Vrain River near Longmont, Colorado, USA. The river in the background has a lot of geese that rested there overnight.