behind the house

My friend's house backs onto US Forest Service land filled with trails and wonderful views. After a stop at the house for lunch and a warm up it was time to head up the hill behind the house for a quick view.

By the time we headed out the temperature had dropped into the teens, the wind was howling, and snow flakes were in the air. My desires to stay out a while to absorb the views conflicted with the difficulty I was having standing still. Brrr! that wind was cold!

looking towards Colorado Springs

remnants of trees burned in the fires of 2012

I know I will need to return here to visit and to wander.

from natural to man-made

A higher than expected temperature (in the high 30s!) this morning gave me hope that today would be a repeat of yesterday from a weather standpoint. That wasn't to be; by the time we headed out it was at least 10 degrees cooler and still dropping.

Garden of the Gods called again. It tends to be more crowded there on weekend days but the chill wind must have convinced some to stay in warmer spaces so there were plenty of parking spaces. We started in the same spot as yesterday, walking a slightly different loop. The wind was howling and the temperature continued to drop. We managed a full loop, laughing as we neared the parking lot to see a group of people turn around saying that they had gone far enough. Hmm... even though our walk was shorter than it would have been in different conditions, it was good to be outside absorbing the sun.

Next stop, still in Garden of the Gods, was Balanced Rock. Luckily my eyes (and camera) were drawn to the trees standing tall on red rocks wearing a foreground of snow - the very large rock was the focus of many people who wanted pictures standing in front of the rock. Focusing on the trees, the angles of the rocks, and the snow decoration made me happy. I walked to the other side of the rock finding interesting patterns of color in the tilted (ground) sandstone. Waiting for a bit allowed the rock to pose for me without people decorations; hopefully I will be happy with one of the rock only photos! If not, I'm always happy with my memory - and it will give me an excuse for another visit, a chance to try again. I'd love to experience Garden of the Gods in different light conditions.

Yesterday Harvey handed me a copy of the book Oddball Colorado to see if there were any places that jumped out at me. I was intrigued by the section titled Kempf's Kreations. It described some large kinetic sculptures placed in front of the sculptor's house that caused a bit of a zoning controversy and the eventual removal of some of the sculptures. There are still some in place though and the description fascinated me enough that I had to see them!

The sculptures are quite large, with a lot of the pieces in a rather small yard I can understand the neighbor's reactions. From the few we saw today that are still in place it seems that the art would be better placed in a sculpture garden. I was glad to be able to see some of Starr Kempf's creations moving in today's strong winds.

For more information about the artist and the sculptures, click to the Wikipedia article Starr Kempf and to the Colorado Springs Independent article Falling Starrs Kempf sculptures removed (dated June 5, 2003).

an introduction

When I landed in Denver last night Arctic air was still in place. It moved out overnight, giving us an early morning temperature that was much higher. By the time we headed out to wander this morning it felt quite warm under bright sunlight with the temperatures hovering in the mid- to high-40s.

Today was my introduction to Garden of the Gods. If I lived in Colorado Springs I think this park would be a regular wandering location. It's a good place for hiking and a good place for absorbing beauty.

westward bound

It was 50 degrees out this afternoon when I left home, heading for Logan Airport and a flight to Denver. The Southwest WiFi access point tells me it is currently 10 degrees in Denver, brrr...

I'm looking forward to a visit with friends who moved to Colorado recently. I figured that mid-November would allow for walking on dry surfaces but the weather wizard apparently didn't agree; it sounds like I will find snow on the ground when I arrive.

I'm westward bound, heading for a good visit with friends.

layered

Bands of color form layers as I look out over the ocean from high on the Gorham Mountain trail in Acadia National Park.

dressed in red

The bright red leaves of a Japanese Maple pop in front of more muted autumn colors.

late season

Late autumn leaves, dry and brown, cling to a tree.

ever green

A lone evergreen stands close to the edge of the water highlighted by the white trunks of bare birch trees. A small swath of color remains for a while longer.

curves

Let your eye follow the curves of the water, looking back to the mountains and the puffs of clouds.

light through leaves

Many trees are wearing bare branches but there are still some with brightly colored leaves. Sunshine and leaves create a wonderful splash of gold.