Into The Mountains – wk21

This week has something totally different. On Sunday, I took a trip into to the Rocky Mountains via highway 285. At the base of Kenosha Pass, I turned into the dirt road that follows Hall Creek. A few miles up the creek, a beaver dam holds back a large pond of water in the creek. The still water offers the opportunity to make many images with reflections.

Hall Creek Reflections

The beaver pond is surrounded with pine trees. Also, damming of the creek by the beavers has killed trees left stranded by the rising waters. Reflections of these trees may be seen in the image below.

Hall Creek Reflections With Clouds

The snow melt has added to the level of the water, temporarily submerging grasses at the pond edges.

Reflecting In Hall Creek

Occasional rays of sunlight penetrate the tree cover, to light up the pond floor.

Hall Creek Reflections No 2

After exploring Hall Creek, I headed back towards Grant, where another road follows Geneva Creek up to Guanella Pass. Stopping along the creek, one can appreciate the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies. This year, winter has been slow in losing its grip on the Rockies and Colorado.

Snow Covered Peak Above Geneva Creek

During the winter, parts of Geneva Creek are often covered with layers of snow. As the snow melt proceeded, this huge block of snow was stranded by the flow of water. The angle of the sun brought out the texture on the surface of the snow block.

Snow Block In Geneva Creek

Downstream, the creek flows down a canyon, forming waterfalls along the way. A long exposure in the shadowed creek, allows the water flow to appear as a mist flowing over the rocks.

Waterfall In Geneva Creek

A log had become trapped in the creek. The water was flowing vigorously around the log and surrounding rocks. Perhaps the flow of water prevents the log from dislodging to flow downstream?

Water Flowing In Geneva Creek

I always enjoy a trip into the mountains. The mountain air is fabulous. The rivers and creeks roar down, creating a cacophony of sound that allows one to be immersed in the experience. Enjoy these images as I have enjoyed making them.