colorado: The Wild Mustangs of the Little Book Cliffs Range - 11/05/11 04:01 PM
  The Wild Mustangs of the Little Book Cliffs Range Wild and free, thundering hooves pounding across the plains, billowing dust in their wake. They are the epitome of what we think of when we consider the wide open spaces of the old west, and we are drawn to their romance and mystery. Known as 'mustangs', the English version of  the Spanish word 'mesteno' which means wild or stray, the wild horses of the West are descendants of the horses of the Spanish, the American Indians, and the settlers. At the turn of the twentieth century their numbers were estimated to … (31 comments)

colorado: The Hayman Fire Reclamation - 09/11/11 05:20 AM
 
 
 
 
The Hayman Fire Reclamation The long road to recovery Story and photos by Debi Boucher Looking west through an area of the Pike National Forest that was damaged by the Hayman Fire in 2002. Few who lived on the Front Range of Colorado in the summer of 2002 have forgotten the fear, anger and heartbreak they felt over the Hayman Fire. In its stead is a surreal wasteland—138,000 acres of blackened tree trunks, all that’s left of what had been a beautiful ponderosa pine forest. And damage to the environment didn’t end when the fire died. Heavy … (13 comments)

colorado: St Elmo and Tin Cup Ghost Towns - 08/17/11 03:14 PM
 
St Elmo and Tin Cup Ghost Towns This past weekend I visited two places I have wanted to see, but in nearly 19 years in Colorado had not made the trip to do so. I went with two friends, one also a photographer, and we had a GREAT time!  St Elmo  and Tin Cup are both what remain of once thriving mining towns, high in the mountains of Colorado. St Elmo, at 10,006 feet in elevation, was founded in 1880 and at one time had a population of 2,000. It is one of Colorado's best preserved examples of a 'ghost … (26 comments)

colorado: The Road Less Traveled - AAA Colorado Encompass eUpdate Article - 06/12/11 10:55 AM
 
 
The Road Less Traveled - AAA Colorado Encompass eUpdate Article Over the past several months I have been freelancing as a writer and photographer for AAA Colorado's Encompass Magazine. My articles are about travel in Colorado - where to go, what to see, and what to do when you get there. This is my most recently published article:  The Tarryall Road
Most folks traveling west on Highway 24 from Colorado Springs drive through Lake George and pass by the south end of Park County Road 77 without ever knowing what an incredibly beautiful stretch of road leads from here … (23 comments)

colorado: Sandhill Crane Migration - Monte Vista Colorado - 03/23/11 03:29 AM
Sandhill Crane Migration - Monte Vista Colorado  
In late February every year, some 20 - 25,000 sandhill cranes migrate to the small farming town of Monte Vista in Colorado's San Luis Valley.  I was at the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge before dawn  hoping for some great shots of the cranes as they began their day. It was worth getting up early and braving the 25 degree morning to be there.
Sandhill cranes are big birds. They have a 6 foot wingspan, are about 4 feet tall, and live to be around 20 years old in the wild. These birds mate … (25 comments)

colorado: Blue Snow in Your Listing Photos? Get Rid Of the Winter Blues! - 12/12/10 02:11 AM
 
 
                       Blue Snow in Your Listing Photos?
                   White Balance Tutorial -  This will help!
 
                                         It's winter time, and we'll be taking alot of photos with snow as the subject, or with snow as part of the image, as is often seen in winter listing photos. This will also help you when photographing white buildings.   Photographing white objects can be tricky. In many cases, you will find when photographing white buildings, or images with snow in them, that your whites have a very blue cast. It's an easy fix - whether you do … (38 comments)

colorado: World's Wonder View Tower - Genoa, Colorado - 11/29/10 02:54 AM
 
 
World's Wonder View Tower - Genoa, Colorado
 
Colorado has no shortage of the wild, the wonderful, and the just plain kooky. And being a bit 'off kilter' myself, the just plain kooky holds lots of appeal! Take the "World's Wonder View Tower" in Genoa, just outside Limon, Colorado off of I70 for example. This roadside amusement was built in 1926 by Charles W. Gregory as a 'one stop', a place where travelers and locals alike could enjoy the convenience of a motel, gas station, dance hall, and restaurant. 

Guests could also climb the 87 or so steps … (36 comments)

colorado: Rifle Falls State Park, Colorado - 10/14/10 05:31 AM
 
Rifle Falls State Park, Colorado
Northwestern Colorado is not particularly known for it's scenic landscapes, (depending on how you look at it), but not far from Glenwood Springs off of I70, sits an almost tropical area made so by the spray from an 80 foot triple waterfall, surrounded by limestone caves. On a recent trip to Utah, I stopped to see what all the fuss was about. It was definitely a surprise! An easy walk from the parking area brings one out of the arid, dry landscape into a lush area of greenery that is as pleasing to the ears … (32 comments)

colorado: Let's Pretend for a Moment #2 - 05/23/10 02:27 PM
 
 
Let's Pretend for a Moment #2Alrighty then, you've found the perfect property, with a fabulous view of the Sangre De Cristo mountains. It has a lovely creek running thru it, and a wonderfully sturdy cement bridge that hovers over the creek.
You don't have alot of money to build your dream home, but it occurs to you that you can make do with what you have available. Surely you can save alot of money if only you did not have to spend so much excavating and building a foundation. Lucky for you - at this point in time, there … (39 comments)

colorado: SE Colorado, Part 4 - The Berwind Coal Camp Jail - 04/09/10 02:29 AM
 
 
 
SE Colorado, Part 4 - The Berwind Coal Camp Jail
In Part 3 of my series on back road discoveries in Southeastern Colorado, I shared the history of the Berwind Coal Camp, now a ghost town in Las Animas County, that once had a population of around 1000, consisting of miners and their families. In my story, I tried to show just how difficult life was during this period in Colorado's history, so it should come as no surprise that the Company had it's own jail.

But surprised we were when after stopping for photographs of … (40 comments)

colorado: SE Colorado, Part 3 - The Ghost Town Coal Camp of Berwind, Colorado - 04/04/10 02:19 AM
 
 
SE Colorado, Part 3 - The Ghost Town Coal Camp of Berwind, Colorado
 
On this trip into southeastern Colorado, we took off on dirt roads that we had never been on, and had no idea what to expect. One such road had lots of surprises, but none more exciting than when we stumbled upon this.

This is the ghost town of Berwind, the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal camp that began in 1888, and named after Edward J. Berwind, the chairman of the board of CF&I.  The coal fields were enormous, stretching for miles through the … (51 comments)

colorado: The Hayman Fire - Eight Years Later - 03/14/10 05:52 AM
 
The Hayman Fire - Eight Years Later
On June 8, 2002, a Forest Service worker burned a letter from her estranged husband in a campground fire ring within an area designated for 'No Fires' due to a long period of severe drought in Colorado. Her action resulted in the largest wildfire in the history of the state of Colorado. The fire burned 138,000 acres across four counties, from Lake George in Park County, all the way to Denver. It caused nearly 40 million dollars in damage, burned 133 homes, and over 5,300 people were forced from their homes. It burned … (42 comments)

colorado: 20th Annual International Snow Sculpture Competition - Breckenridge, Colorado - 02/03/10 01:04 AM
 
 
20th Annual International Snow Sculpture Competition - Breckenridge, ColoradoThe 20th Annual Snow Sculpture Competition was judged in Breckenridge, Colorado this weekend. Twelve teams from six countries came to Breckenridge to enter the competition, and the talent was phenomenal! The teams have one week to carve their sculptures from 20 ton blocks of ice, and no power tools or supports are allowed.
Thirty thousand people from all over the world attended the competition, and the town was PACKED with visitors and skiers.
Winning the Gold was Team Lithuania, with 'Milite Est Vita' - an intricately carved gloved hand … (31 comments)

colorado: 'Moonset' Behind Breckenridge, Colorado - 02/02/10 03:09 AM
 
 
'Moonset' Behind Breckenridge, Colorado
 
A friend of mine has a townhouse in Breckenridge, Colorado, and on Friday, we went up there for another girl's weekend. It was the 20th Annual Ice Sculpture competition, and the town was packed with people.
We left late afternoon, and headed out Hwy 24 through South Park, then out Hwy 9 through Fairplay and Alma, up over Hoosier Pass, and down into Breckenridge. The scenery along the way is breathtaking!
 
Remember the TV show "South Park"? One of the guys that wrote the show grew up here, in South Park, Colorado. … (33 comments)

colorado: The Naked Trees of Winter - 01/20/10 02:05 AM
 
 
The Naked Trees of Winter When we think of beautiful trees, we usually think of them fully dressed, that is, with leaves. But I've come to appreciate the beauty of naked trees in winter :) 
This photo was tonemapped using 3 exposures, (+3, 0, -3), in Photomatix high dynamic range processing software. When tonemapping using this software, you can choose to use it to create a surreal effect to the image, or a realistic one. This one tends to the 'surreal' side.
Fountain Nature Center, Fountain, Colorado
Because this shot was not bracketed when I took it, … (22 comments)

colorado: The Windchill is 15 Below! Let's Go Fishing! - 01/10/10 02:24 AM
 
 
The Wind Chill is 15 Below! Let's Go Fishing!
 
 
Last weekend, I drove out to Tarryall Reservoir. While I have spent much time in the Tarryall Valley, I had never gone as far as the reservoir. So, since the weather folks said the day would be fair, (they lied), I went. On the way, I hit a snow storm, and almost turned back, but luckily it was short lived. The cold, however was NOT. By the time I got to the reservoir, it was a balmy 23 degrees, and the wind was blowing like it was it's … (41 comments)

colorado: Think You've Seen It All? Think Again! - 01/08/10 01:48 AM
 
 
Think You've Seen It All? Think Again!
 
Forty years ago, Jim Bishop bought 2 1/2 acres of forest near Wetmore, Colorado, with the intention of building a family cabin out of native rock from the area.
As construction went on, folks told him it looked like a castle. So, a castle it became. Towering 160 feet over the forest sits a medieval style castle, complete with a fire breathing dragon (made from recycled metal trays), towers, and wrought iron walkways and bridges. Every bit of it constructed by Jim Bishop, every stone laid, and every bit of iron … (40 comments)

colorado: Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep - Again? Must Be My Lucky Day! - 12/18/09 01:27 AM
 

Big Horn Sheep - Again? Must Be My Lucky Day!
 
I wrote a post recently about a visit to Georgetown, Colorado (Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep), where I was excited to have the opportunity to photograph big horn sheep in their natural habitat in the Rocky Mountains. Also recently, I wrote a post about my visit to the Tarryall Valley (Lost Creek Wilderness Area). This past Saturday, I took another drive through the Tarryalls. There had been snowfall, and I wanted to see this gorgeous valley as winter would present it. To my great surprise and delight, once … (41 comments)

colorado: Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep - Georgetown, Colorado - 11/23/09 01:29 AM
 
       
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep - Georgetown, Colorado
I spent the weekend with four girl friends at a townhouse in Breckenridge, (more on that later ;), and on the way home, we went over Loveland Pass and dropped down into Georgetown, Colorado.
Georgetown, "The Silver Queen of Colorado", is an old silver mining town established in 1859, with a colorful history, and lots of it's original character still intact, (or, mostly intact, anyway). The town sits at an elevation of 8530 feet, in the mountains of the Clear Creek Valley west of Denver. Before the collapse of the silver … (34 comments)

colorado: Horses Hamming for the Camera - Tarryall Valley, Colorado - 11/19/09 02:46 AM
 
Horses Hamming for the Camera - Tarryall Valley, Colorado On my Tarryall drive a couple weeks ago, I stopped to photograph an old homestead and saw there were two beautiful horses in the pasture.  I pulled over, got out got my camera, and went over to take my photos. As I was shooting, I noticed the horses heading toward me, and I was pleased - more photo ops!  They were hanging around at the fence, patiently waiting for me to finish and pay them some attention. 
But then one of them copped an attitude.

So I turned … (37 comments)