view from mountain drive andy, bela and i took on our first day of exploring near dolores.
pretty white aspen trunks
aspens and blue sky- what more can you ask for?
me and the aspens - ya know proof we were there...
and proof andy was driving
the CRV glamour shot #1
i liked these aspens - just a cool little clump
i liked these aspens - nice light
we found these huge mushrooms and had to show some scale with the water bottles
i plan on adding something with wings to this one :)
more aspen trunks
more aspen trunks - curvy this time
dunton - a restored ghost town right before it starts to pour
and its raining but we're getting a tour anyways
cute little cabins you can stay in
dunton bar with andy and bela
dunton bar
dunton dining area
dunton dining and kitchen - loved the lighting
dunton bar again
dunton hot spring - indoor bath house
dunton hot spring - outdoor spring
bath house cooling tub and weird wicker man on wall
another of the bathhouse
cute wagon wheels
the boys at a colors stop (i yell stop! and must take photos)
see colors!
more nice colors on our way up the mountainside
hard core bikers - we swear one of them might have been ed visteurs but we can't prove it i forgot to take a closeup pic darnnit
the boys enjoying puddles - ok i did too the first couple of times - this was on our last time thru after trying twice on this route and once on the road leading to the upper right. we had to back track but boy this was fun!
andy wanted to make it look like i was driving the whole time - tho i did have fun driving this section - no scraping (i think)
Neely and the cute doggies - grayson, figgy and chloe - natural leg warmers and required while in this chair.
John and Fiona - super cute!
the brothers Rogers - Jimmie, John, and Buddy
the boys enjoying the hot tub on the patio of the cabin
the usual scene in the evenings - hanging out in the cabin enjoying the chaos
pretty sunrise near telluride
more cool fog near telluride
cooler fog in ridgeway
box canyon in Ouray where they hold the ice festival
lots of viewing for when the festival is in full force
andy and neely on the edge of a cliff outside ouray
neely enjoying off roading in the mountains
pretty views up in the mountains
the CRV glamour shot #2
action shot #2
off roading - sort of - it felt like it and that was semi steep....
pretty aspens
nice backlit aspens
cool backlit aspens
pretty fall color near telluride
keystone ridge overlook tho we were near telluride
andy and neely at the non-bridalveil falls area. he started running somewhere near here.
more pretty aspens leaves
me and bela at bridalveil falls in telluride
neely overlooking the drive up and town
andy making a run for it- training for his ironman next year.
we kept busy waiting for him by doing fun self portraits in the conversation mirror
canyoning in arches NP - scrambling up to start "U-Turn"
more scrambling to get even higher
at the top neely looks around
we hike over to where our first rappel will be - up and around the corner - a bit of a drop off on either side
but andy runs anyways!
we get to the first rappel
it's not too far but has a great view
neely says "look ma, no hands!"
neely on the first rappel
not sure what andy is doing here - prepping for the 2nd rappel
flakin the rope
neely on the 2nd rappel
andy going all aussie style
"no we don't know what those black streaks are on the rock and we won't tell you" - but we will laugh hysterically while thinking about it!
me and bela under the balanced rock (not sure of the name)
andy tried to do a handstand or maybe a headstand - either way he fell over and neely just had to laugh at him :)
bela decided to do some handstands to show up andy - he looked a bit cooler haha
neely and andy went to check out the drop off and whoosh - off went andy's hat
our 3rd rappel was bit longer - 75' or so- i got to be guinea pig.
while waiting for the rappel to be set up neely decided to get check out the cliffs on the opposite side of the canyon - she got really small so i squooshed her!
andy on the rappel
Ute petraglyphs on the way to delicate arch
me and bela at delicate arch
delicate arch through an arch
bela and neely at delicate
delicate arch
delicate arch yet again
"I am smiling" no seriously that was his smiling face, he took many pictures and i'm sure they were all wondeful!
yet anohter delicate arch
sunset with balance rock and some other arches in the distance
sunset was beautiful on the hike down from delicate!
next day's canyoning begins - medieval chamber starting at the sand flats and working our way down to negro bill gulch
neely does an awesome jump!
it got narrow and wet- we decided to inch worm
our first rappel (unofficial due to not wanting to get soaked)
me getting ready for the 100' rappel into medieval chamber
bela went down first. we had to go into the first area with the water then work our way over to the 2nd drop
this is the view from the 2nd drop- bela is still small
neely on the 2nd drop
the cool slot canyon - our way out
bela showing how he tried not to get wet in the first pond
andy at the top of the 2nd drop
good view of the chamber
on our way out of the canyon
Morning Glory Arch (bridge) bela is on it checking it out.
Neely joins him - you can really see how its a bridge...
andy setting up our rappel - we didn't have 2 ropes so we couldn't simul rappel off the arch/bridge
he looks confident here
cool shot of me coming down
me rappelling the 100' or so
neely coming down
silhouette of neely
the cute couple post rappel
bela coming down
bela coming down yet again with a good view of the arch
neely making another jump across the stream ( we crossed like 5 times)
morning shoot near Ridgeway, CO
mountain view near Rideway
some hawks near million dollar ranch
hawk
for my kayaking friends - i've never seen a kayking dog quite like this! was called the "Adventurous Pet"
cute little outhouse we found while caching
and the muffler man - have you seen the muffler man? we did! ok we didn't but we saw all the muffler people. our final cache of the day and well worth it!
there were goats and they liked to follow bela as we looked for the cache
and we found it - tricksy but smart!
the rock eating tree... dangerous!
our bed for the week at the cabin - loved the woodwork and at least the owls weren't stuffed!
we stopped at petraglyph NM (or state park i forget) - cool view of a few petraglyphs with ABQ in the background.
some odd ones!
