I was able to take a lunch time ride and went up to the top of Buckhorn Mtn located near the campground.
I didn't spot the lakes for which Buckhorn Lakes Park is named but it was a pretty good offroad ride nonetheless. Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol charged (its the only way Urals can make decent headway up steep roads) its way to the top and didn't overheat its engine! (though it heat up a bit over 400 degrees Fahrenheit)
There was some Fall Color at the top but nowhere near peak really. The views weren't bad, just not great due to hazy conditions.
San Juan Mountains to the south
A bit of fall color at the top
I made my way slowly down from the top as the road is basically packed dirt with a covering of loose gravel, kind of slippery if you're going too fast.
Later, after work, and after a short ride into Montrose to get some dinner in the form of Chinese takeout (big surprise, I know), I headed back down towards Ridgway to see about sunset pictures.
As the sun went down behind a nearby hill, I posed Scarlett with the San Juan Mountains as a backdrop:
Scarlett in front of Mt Sneffels
From the same location where I shot the above pics, I could see the setting sun painting the clouds and horizon through a space between two hills to the west:
I thought, five minutes after the sunset had set, and the colors above had gone that I was done and so started riding back towards the campground while there was still some light in the sky.
Well, that "little light in the sky" produced gorgeous lighting over the lake in the nearby Ridgway State Park!
Waning sunset lighting by Ridgway State Park
Of course, I lost most of the light taking the above pictures so the ride home was in near darkness. However, as I approached the campground, the more open western horizon presented me with one last photo op:
Photo taken at the campground.
A good day for pictures, courtesy of Mother Nature.
6 comments:
More awesome photos. It just wets my appetite for some Colorado! The colors are great.
Thank you Thomas Osburn! It was a pretty good sunset...
Where are the pictures of the Chinese takeout? Isn't that a social media "thing"?
Nice photos! I can't really see any haze. I think the last photo from the campground is a favorite.
RichardM, thanks, the last photo was indeed quite the sight for miles as I approached the campground. As to the chinese food, it was quite terrible.
Great pictures Dom! The water levels look super low at the State Park - that's surprising!
Thanks Motoventures and yes, very low levels on the lakes.
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