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.