2014 Adventures

Updated:11-Apr-2015

January

Not much snow here in Longmont, Colorado in early January, but the air is rather chilly. I don't know how cold it was during the night, but at 8 AM, with bright sunshine, the temperature is only -23 deg C (-10 deg F)... brrrr.

Too chilly here. So, I'm going to head somewhere warmer for a while.

February

Off to Puerto Morelos, Mexico for a couple of weeks. View from my hotel room balcony:

Went snorkeling near the reef, about 500 m (1/3 mile) from shore. Visibility underwater was not very good, perhaps 10 to 15 m (30 to 40 ft). Here are a few of the creatures that I met along the way:

Trumpet Fish:

Trunk Fish:

 

Yellow Stingray... color changing camouflage:

Puerto Morelos beach:

The old lighthouse (foreground, damaged by hurricanes) and the new lighthouse (background, set back from beach-front):

Dances of Universal peace in Puerto Morelos:

Sunrise view from my hotel balcony:

 

 

March

Fantastic shapes in Kasha-Katuwe (Tent Rocks) National Monument, near Santa Fe, New Mexico:

Spring flowers emerging near Carlsbad Caverns, new growth emerging from the clutter:

 

Ancient sea-bed and coral, now mountain tops, in the Guadalupe Mountains, near Carlsbad, New Mexico:

A few spring colors in the mountains near Carlsbad, New Mexico::

   

 

Devil's Hall, in the Guadalupe Mountains, cut through the rock by a seasonal mountain stream:

 

April

Hmmm.... not much going on in April in Colorado. A few wildflowers are emerging: 

 

May

Heading to the magnificent red rock of Moab, Utah.

This is Delicate Arch, a 20 m (65 ft) sandstone arch, with the snow capped La Sal Mountains in the background:

Brilliant Claret Cup cactus near Delicate Arch:

And a beautiful Ball Cactus, also near Delicate Arch:

Some wildflowers in and around Arches National Park in the merry month of May:

Petroglyphs along the Mill Creek Trail, just outside Moab, Utah:

Magical rock formations, Fisher Towers, a few miles east east of Moab, Utah:

Some May wildflowers in Colorado: 

June

A very content butterfly:

 

Blue Heron looking for a snack:

I can't help it... these Penstemons look like a couple of odd creatures with eyeballs on stalks, and white tongues:

A few June wildflowers in Colorado:

Big Horn Sheep contentedly sunning themselves at an altitude of 3700 m (12,100 ft) along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park:

And this is the magnificent view that the Big Horn Sheep are looking out across:

North Saint Vrain creek filled with snow-melt runoff, as well as some left-over bits of trees large and small, in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park in mid-June:

Beautiful Fairy Slipper Orchids along the Ouzel Falls trail in Rocky Mountain National Park... surprising treats hidden in the shade of the forest:

Also along the Ouzel Falls trail in Rocky Mountain National Park were these tiny Spotted Coral-Root Orchids, nearly hidden in deep shade under the evergreen trees.... magnificent little flowers on dead-looking brown stalks. These tiny flowers are only about 3 mm (1/8 inch) across the spotted white tongue:

On the Mesa Trail in the foothills near Boulder, Colorado, it seemed that I was hearing some very delicate, very faint footsteps behind us. And when I turned to look, a little fox was following patiently about 4 feet behind us, just waiting for an opportunity to get past us. So we stepped a few feet off of the trail, and the bushy-tailed little fox trotted right on past us, happily headed homeward with dinner for the family:

And shortly after that lovely encounter, a passing rain shower produced this exquisite (and faintly double) rainbow:

 

July

A lot of rain this summer in Colorado. Not so much fun for hiking, but the plentiful wildflowers are a delightful treat.

 

On the way homeward after a hike.... beautiful double rainbow sweeping through the dark sky:

 

Native American cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park:

About 30 Turkey Vultures roosting in a tree, near one of the cliff dwellings. Apparently very social critters::

Another view of a Native American cliff dwelling:

This is an odd sign... if we're supposed to overlook something, why would they point at it with a sign? Gees, if I wanted to keep someone from looking at something, I surely would not put up a sign!

Magnificent mountains near Telluride, Colorado:

Oh, the Blue Columbine flowers are so magnificent:

August

This pesky Marmot was chirping loudly at anything and everything along the Fourth of July hiking trail, near Nederland, Colorado. This large rodent, a relative of squirrels, was perhaps about 1/2 m (20 inches) tall:

Hummingbird Moth having dinner from some lovely Larkspur along the Fourth of July trail:

August in Colorado has been very wet and cool, which makes the wildflowers very happy:

 

An ever-curious (and apparently ever-hungry) Chipmunk munching on a grape (a snack from my hiking pack), near Lake Isabelle  in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, near Ward, Colorado:

Beautiful Blue Columbine flowers near Lake Isabelle:

 

A splendid field of wildflowers on the south side of Long Lake, in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, near Ward, Colorado:

A beautiful bouquet of Indian Paintbrush flowers, along Long Lake:

Elephant Head flowers ( I wonder why they chose that name) along Long Lake:

Tiny Wood Nymph flower, near Long Lake. This shy little flower is about 12mm (half inch) across, and hangs with the flower "face" pointed toward the ground:

A very unusual wildflower called Spotted Touch-Me-Not (or Spotted Jewelweed) discovered along a creek in north Boulder, Colorado. The 25mm (1 inch) long tubular orange flower (with a cute little curvy little tail) hangs beneath the leaves of the plant:

A wild Turkey meandering through the woods, along the Green Mountain hiking trail, near Boulder, Colorado:

 

 

September

Lovely Ouzel Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park:

A few wildflowers are still happily blooming in Colorado in September:

Magnificent red rock countryside near Moab, Utah:

A few photos of an area called Fiery Furnace, in Arches National Park:

These cacti greatly amused me... the one in the middle looks like a chubby alien being, with two very sharp eyes:

 

October

Beautiful autumn day, brilliant blue sky and the leaves are just beginning to change color. The view out my kitchen window:

A sure sign of fall arriving, lovely St John's Wort in bloom along a favorite hiking trail:

 

November

Spectacular sunset, with mammatus clouds appearing beneath a mountain wave cloud:

 

December

This pesky coyote just kept standing in the middle of the hiking trail. He was so unconcerned about humans approaching that I wondered if he might be rabid, but after I did some yelling and arm waving, he finally made a leisurely retreat into the nearby brush:

Well, winter finally seems to be arriving here in Colorado, with it's own unique manner of wonder and beauty: