Yellowstone Sulphur Cauldron & Soda Butte

One of the minor stops along one of the roads in Yellowstone is the Sulphur Cauldron. The view from the road is nice by itself.

The Cauldron is down below, and was certainly smelly. It doesn't come across very well in this photo, which was the best I could do from the road.

Elsewhere, another minor attraction is the Soda Butte, formed by this tiny spring (which used to be larger).

The butte isn't huge but is certainly photogenic from the right angle.

And that's my Scenic Sunday entry for this week.

Cloudy Pikes Peak and Sunny Day

For this week's Skywatch Friday post, here's a little illustration of our weather. Although winter can sometimes be cold here, it's nice living on the downwind side of a major mountain chain. The mountains tend to catch the worst of the weather, leaving us with sunny skies most of the year, and this was obvious on this morning's hike. I started around dawn, and it was cold at my house (21 F or -6 C). But the sun quickly warmed things up - at this altitude, there's heat in the sun year-round.

The most obvious peak to our west (upwind) is Pikes Peak, and it was clear how it was catching the weather this morning. The mountains further west are out of sight but the weather was even worse there. The first photo was taken at the start of my hike, the second near the end, and the weather is visibly deteriorating.

But where I was hiking, just a few miles east (downwind) of the mountain the weather stayed sunny the whole day, without even one cloud overhead.

For a wide variety of skies, mountainous and otherwise, visit the Skywatch Friday site.

Fiery Balloons

For this week's My World Tuesday post, here are the last of my photos from the Balloon Glow at the Colorado Balloon Classic. The first is a close-up of where the fire comes out, the second is looking up into a balloon with the flame.

For more worlds, visit the My World Tuesday web site.

Peaceful Palmer Lake Reservoirs

For Scenic Sunday, here are the last of my posts from last Saturday's hike around the local Palmer Lake Reservoirs. I guess that makes it Scenic Saturday?

The morning started off cold enough that there was ice on the puddles.

But it turned into a beautiful day with lovely views.

The Scenic Sunday meme contains lots of beautiful views from around the world.

End of Summer Trees

I spent a little time in Pueblo last weekend watching my son play tennis. Pueblo is only an hour south of our house, but it's almost 3,000 feet lower in elevation (specifically 2,840 feet or 865 meters lower), and this can make quite a difference in the weather. It was still summer-like with temperatures above 80 F (27 C), and the trees hadn't yet started to turn. So here are a few skyward-looking photos from that trip - I particularly liked the shape of the third tree.

For more skyward photos, visit Skywatch Friday.

Final Fall Foliage

In my world, fall is quickly coming to an end and winter will be here before long. Here are the last shots of colored fall foliage in my area.

These shots were all taken on a Saturday hike up the Palmer Lake Reservoirs trail.

Most of the leaves are already gone.

Still, by picking carefully it was possible to find an occasional impressive tree.

The My World Tuesday meme contains links to many interesting and fun blog posts.

Socks on the Thomas Trail

Here's my favorite Camera Critter, Socks, on a recent hike on the Thomas Trail, as he rests on a rock.

This little guy will hike for miles with me. To see lots of other furry friends, visit the Camera Critters meme.

Three Years Blogging - Lightning

I've been blogging for exactly three years today! So here's my little speech.

First, lots of thanks to my followers and those who comment on my blog. I started doing this for myself, but it's the knowledge that other people are enjoying my photos that makes me continue to regularly post and drives me to try to improve. I wouldn't have imagined three years ago that dozens of people would be interested in my photography - I can't even get most of my family to care!

I've found lots of interesting blogs, and that's one of the pleasures of blogging. Whether its the ones that I actively follow, or the ones I find by going through the comments, it's so much fun to see other parts of the world and other peoples lives. I feel real connections to some of the people in the cyberworld.

Now it's time for today's Skywatch Friday photo. For the anniversary, I thought I'd post an interesting lightning photo taken this summer. It's cropped a little from the original. The lightning is striking behind the house, so no damage was done!

For more cool sky-themed photos visit the Skywatch Friday meme. You can find more of my lightning shots by clicking on the Lightning label just below this post or on the far right of the blog.

Pikes Peak Cog Railway

One of the ways to get to the top of Pikes Peak is the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. It's been operating since 1891 and claims to be the highest cog railroad in the world., topping out at 14,110 feet (4.3 km) above sea level.

It climbs grades up to 25%; instead of using the friction of wheels against rails, it uses a cog in the middle of the tracks to climb.

Needless to say, the views are spectacular.

For those who don't want to walk 13 miles and who aren't comfortable driving to the top, this is another great way to get to the top of Pikes Peak, the most visited mountain in North America (and second most visited mountain in the world, behind Mt. Fuji).

This post is for My World Tuesday; for other interesting blog posts visit that meme today!

Yellowstone's Tower and Undine Falls

Yellowstone has lots of waterfalls, ranging from small, pretty ones to much larger and more impressive ones. For this week's Scenic Sunday, here are two mid-sized beauties in the northern section of the park, both easily accessible from the road. First is Tower Falls. The trail to the base was closed so this is the best I could do.

Next is Undine Falls.

I'm sure you'll see more waterfalls, and many other sites, over at Scenic Sunday.

Orange Spring Mound at Yellowstone

I'm reaching back to the end of June and our trip to Yellowstone for this week's Skywatch Friday photograph. I like the sky in the background of this photo of Orange Spring Mound, a spring at Mammoth Hot Springs in the northwest corner of the park.

Visit Skywatch Friday for lots more sky-themed shots.

Balloon Glow 2010 (Part 2)

For My World Tuesday, here are some photos from the balloon glow on Sunday night of Memorial Day weekend (September 5).

This is a fun part of my world every year, as it's been held in Colorado Springs the first weekend of September since I've lived here. For other fun and informative photos from around the world, visit the My World Tuesday meme.

Deer and Moose (Yellowstone)

Today I'll post something for a meme I've never joined before, Camera Critters. Just outside the cabin we stayed at for our last couple of days in Yellowstone, we saw a lot of deer. They were remarkably unafraid of people, although it's suggested that they not be approached, since they can be quite dangerous.

The whole time we were there we wanted to see a moose, but we didn't while we were in the park. On the way to Jackson we passed through a tiny town called Moose, and that's where we saw not one, but three! They were a little way away so it's not a great shot, but at least we saw them.

For lots more creature photos, visit the Camera Critters meme.