Are these our friends?

As we were leaving Warm Springs ranch, we noticed these two familiar individuals that resembled a couple of our friends back home. We knew they wanted to be here, and wondered if they had adopted a disguise to sneak out here. But we couldn't figure out which one was Vic and which one was Tom. Oh well, it doesn't matter,they were entertaining and we enjoyed them nonetheless.

Ben's Pics

As mentioned before, observing Ben and Heather manning the cameras, we picked up some helpful hints on taking photos. They each were consumed by the photo ops out here and produced hundreds of images. I offered them an opportunity to send me some of their favorites for inclusion on the blog - although we can't post all, I will include a sampling. Ben's are included here, Heather's will be added when she emails them to me after she gets home. Notice the animals in the first three photos: Something in the conversation Ben and Myka were having with them must have elicited some disbelief - probably something to do with them leaving.

Camping near Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Leaving Fairplay, we had intended to traverse Gore Pass, a scenic byway over to the Yampa area. Our plans were derailed by a truck that had turned over, resulting in a closed highway. Luckily, we had not gone far on Highway 134, before we got the news, so we had to backtrack very little. The happy result was that we ended up in Meadows Campground, a Forest Service property atop Rabbit Ear Pass, at an elevation of a little over 9,000 feet. We grabbed a nice campsite at the edge of the forest, within a short distance of an extensive meadow. The campground host advised of an opportunity to see some moose a short walk up a trail that begins near our campsite. We intend to give this a try in the 3-4 days we will be here. We are about 13 miles out of Steamboat Springs, a very pleasant burg surrounded by the Routt National Forest. We are benefitting from another fantastic library. Luckily, Charlcie is somewhat of a library addict, so she can entertain herself for the several hours necessary for me to update the blog. I hate getting this far behind, but it is kinda cool getting to spend time in all of these wonderful libraries - maybe some knowledge will rub off thru osmosis while spending time here. Notes: Sorry for so many pictures of the campsite, but it is so cool, I couldn't resist. Also, note the yellow flower - it is only 1/2" wide, but a lot of beauty is packed in that small frame. But not a match for the beauty that follows it!

Kite Lake: Other alpine wildflowers

As we often say, even though the pictures are enjoyable, they simply do not fully capture the magnitude and beauty of the subjects, whether it is the scenery, wildlife, wildflowers, etc. REMINDER: By clicking on each photo, you will get the full size with all the detail!!!Some professionals do a much better job. In fact, one such pro is Tom Kennon, a man of many talents, from being the CEO of Boyd Metals, the author of the definitive book on kayaking and canoeing Ozarks streams, to his photographic work. To see some dazzling photographic art, visit his website: tomkennonphotography.com - a collection of images of Colorado, Arkansas, and points beyond. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from the Kite Lake area.

Kite Lake Columbine flowers

The columbine,I think, has become our favorite flower; a blend of simple and complex, and subtle colorings that are difficult to pull away from,especially since the opportunities to enjoy them are so infrequent. We've included a bunch of pics, but they deserve it.

Kite Lake

With apologies to Ben and Myka (because weather and scheduling conflicts denied us the chance to take them to Kite Lake). Although a rougher than usual ride up and back, the rewards are spectacular scenery (including being surrounded by four fourteeners (Colorado holds the record for most peaks of 14,000+ altitude), opportunity for wildlife viewing, incredible alpine wildflowers, and fishing in a high-mountain lake at an altitude nearing 12,000 feet. Charlcie and Heather spent most of their time exploring and taking photographs (I got to do some), while Jaden spent her time exploring all over. Charlcie did find some time to read while Jeff and I fished. The cutthroat trout here are small but as you see, they are as deeply colored and pretty as any fish you will see - the thrill here was sight-fishing a dry-fly to a cruising fish and watching them approach and take the fly. And considering the environs,in my view, this is as much fun as any other fly-fishing experience. Did I mention wildflowers? Charlcie was able to locate an area of Columbine flowers, the official flower of Colorado, and special enough to warrant a separate display of them alone. Charlcie deserves credit for many of these and other photos - I wanted to make sure to get that in. So the Kite Lake series will be broken down into three segments: this one including fish/fishing/scenery, a separate one devoted to Columbine, and yet another featuring other wildflowers of this area.

Eleven Mile Canyon

Eleven miles of sheer beauty that is enhanced by a challenging and exciting wild trout fishery. This is a place that has been designated a favorite destination of most of our friends and family that have experienced it. The water was higher and murkier than last week when we visited with Ben and Myka. Again, Jeff figured it out and was the fly-fisherman of the day. Heather also caught some nice fish. We all tallied on this day! Jaden entertained herself by snapping 500 photos of the various chipmunks that she individually named - well maybe not 500 shots, but quite a few!

The Ponds at Warm Springs Ranch

One of the nice features of Warm Springs Ranch are the several stocked ponds on the property. Sometimes it is surprisingly difficult to catch these fish due to the preponderance of many insect hatches that provide an abundant natural food source. Other times, you can figure them out and have some great success. After our day on Fourmile was shortened by yet another thunder and lightning display, we had Charlcie join us on the ponds after the front had moved through. The fish were very active, cruising and feeding just under the surface, creating wakes that looked like torpedoes cruising through the pond. Jeff soon figured out that a black wooly bugger fast-retreived just under the surface elicited strong strikes. He caught large fish after large fish and put on quite a show. Seeing the torpedoes stalking his fly and striking convinced me to join the party, and I had a some success also. We're talking Kamloops variety of rainbow trout, none of which were under 15",and fat, healthy, and in a fighting mood. I turned the rod over for Charlcie to land one of the largest, a reward for her many hours of tough fishing.