Fox Run Park - Tree

About a mile and a half from my house is Fox Run Park, a 410-acre forested area with playing fields and pavilions in the far south section, and trails running through natural terrain in the rest. I often take my dog Socks for a walk here, and sometimes I take my camera along. The light was flat today, but I was able to get this shot of a tree which had been struck by lightning many years ago. The spiral split running up the bark is common among such trees.

Snow At Night

Finally, a real snow! This picture was taken in front of our house tonight.

Pancake Rocks

Today I hiked up to Pancake Rocks, on the back side of Pikes Peak. This is one of my favorite hikes although I don't do it that often, since it's further from my house than several other hikes that I enjoy. It's about a six-mile round trip, with a good amount of elevation gain, about 1,500 feet, and some gorgeous views.

As you can see from the ice on the stream, it was a chilly morning.

The trail still had some snow in spots from last week. If the weather forecast is correct, it will have a lot more tomorrow!

Here's one of those stunning views - pictures don't do it justice.

Here are a couple of shots of the unusual rock formations at the top of the trail.

And finally, I found this old log at the top intriguing.

First Snow

It's a little later than normal, but we finally had our first snow. It snowed lightly much of the day yesterday but the ground was too warm and it all melted. It was cold enough last night for the snow to stick, so I took this photograph from my front door this morning. It's not much but it's a start to the long winter...

Mount Cutler Trail

This morning I went for a hike on the Mount Cutler trail, on the west side of Colorado Springs. The weather was overcast and misty but here are a couple of highlights.

At various points on the trail you can see the Seven Falls area off to the side.

I though the mountains fading into the mist was a lovely sight. Usually it's either very clear or thundering intensely, so we don't often see sights like this.

Finally, I managed to get a shot of a flying bird. I'm no bird expert but I suspect it's a hawk.

First Post!

Welcome to my photography blog. I like to take my camera when I go hiking in the nearby mountains, and occasionally I get a photograph I like. Here are a few from the last couple of months.

On the west side of Colorado Springs is a city park that runs up North Cheyenne Canyon. This contains some of the city's most beautiful scenery, and it probably ranks with the best scenery in any city in America. These first couple of pictures are from that area.

The first photo shows Helen Hunt Falls, an easy to access waterfall in the park. The second was taken from a bridge on the Seven Bridges Trail just above the park. In both cases I was experimenting with a neutral density filter to slow down the exposure and get the curtain effect on the waterfall and stream.

This last one is from the yearly Colorado Balloon Classic, held in Memorial Park in Colorado Springs over Labor Day weekend. Each morning just after sunrise they have a mass balloon ascension, and the riot of color and sound as you're among all these balloons taking off at once is astounding. When the wind is right, the balloons try to dip the basket in the lake right after they take off, and that's what this picture shows.