Sunday, July 12, 2015

Why we live here............



 AKA "tossed salad"...... and yes, I did scoop it up and we ate it !     But I DID NOT take it to the Hiking Club pot luck.    Instead, my cauliflower "wings' were gobbled up quickly and we only took home ONE bean burger.....    

( all of the pictures were taken with the iPhone and I could not  edit them or rotate in iPhoto )


This morning we headed out early to the Molas Lake trail ( part of the Colorado Trail ) as our destination.   It was 6 miles south of Silverton so about a 90 min ride.....but one of the most scenic in the entire US, so we didn't mind.  

We were at about 10,300 feet most of the hike but there were a lot of ups and downs so it felt like we were really climbing at times.     It was coolish (mid 50's ) when we started but with the sun, we were able to shed some shirts.  

This was a hike recommended for it's wild flowers.    Vera and Bonnie are the experts and altho they identified most of what we saw, I tend to forget the names so just enjoy the views.    Altho the iPhone is great for hiking, it just doesn't do close up focus really well (when I'm out of breath and grabbing a picture on the go ) and many of the flower pics are blurry and not blog worthy.

    

This is called a Death camus.....don't eat the bulb. !   We did see the Blue Columbine but it would have required  trampling tender vegetation  to take it's portrait and I have gazillions of pics of it.  



 The open fields were full of color.....



 We could hear the waterfall and rushing stream long before we saw it.....




 Our destination was this overlook, high above the Animas River and a view of the approaching Silverton-Durango steam train....note the smoke off in the distance.    The train stops down there to let off  hikers and fishermen and they can catch another train back.   There are no services....it is true wilderness. It was thrilling to hear the train whistle as it approached.   Bud estimated it was about 1800 ft below us.    I don't think I've ever been anywhere more beautiful than this spot.   It was breathtaking and serene and nature in all it's grandeur.    And we walked to get there !!




2 comments:

  1. It is beautiful Sue...wish we could have been there (sigh). We saw lots of blue columbine on our outings too!

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