On our way back from visiting family in OK we took a route through New Mexico to visit the Capulin Volcano National Monument near Raton Pass. We lingered too long at a few stops along the way which put us there close to sunset. Just as we arrived, the park rangers closed the gate to the road that goes around the volcano to reach the top. Bummer. KD decided to be adventurous and hike up the entire road with me full well knowing that we would be hiking in the dark. The sunset was stunning once we got higher up on the road before going around to the back side. The winds really picked up making the hike quite cold and bitter. It was fully dark by the time we reached the top, but with the bright moonlight we were able to see down into the crater. It was a neat experience and a cool landmark to explore. How many 12 year old girls can say they climbed a volcano in the dark in the middle of winter?
Capulin from a distance
Sunset on the way up
On MLK day, a group of us decided to take the boys winter hiking in RMNP. This would be Kolby's first time trying out the snowshoes. We started at Bear Lake and headed north to a junction where we gave the boys a choice. They could go the short route to Bierstadt Lake or the long route to Two Rivers Lake. Of course they chose the long route. After a grueling windy adventure, lots of breaks for snacks and a stop to add extra socks for frozen toes, the boys finally reached the lake. We took a quick picture before our fingers froze then returned to find a good wind shelter to make some hot cocoa. Kolby learned that sometimes adventures require a bit of suffering and discomfort, but in the end it's worth it!
Here is a photo drop of some of my recent paintings from this past year. I've been working on painting faster without sacrificing too much on the details. Most of these paintings were completed in around 10 hours or less and were inspired by my own photographs from our mountain adventures. This summer, KD and I did a painting together of a rainbow trout. Hers is framed and hanging in our kitchen!
Brad, Tim and I set out in my manly minivan to a trailhead that didn't require 4 wheel drive to camp out the night before a more strenuous hike up Centennial 13er Mt. Hope and neighbor Quail Mountain. When we got there, Tim realized he forgot all of his sleeping gear. Fortunately, I brought enough extra gear including extra foam pads, extra pillow, and an extra sleeping bag, all of which I was intending to use for myself. So I shared these items with him, but it didn't really matter as sleeping in a tent is not usually very effective anyway.
We woke at 4:00 am as we knew weather was looking rainy. We hoped to beat the weather at least while we were above tree-line for safety. This trail from sheep gulch is relentlessly uphill. We moved at a steady pace conserving our energy knowing we had almost 5,000 feet of elevation gain today. We reached treelike just as the sun was rising with stunning views over neighboring 14ers Mt. Belford and Huron peak.
We reached Hope Pass and surveyed the route up Mt. Hope. Route descriptions I had read made it sound like most of the route up was on tundra until the top where there was a bit of scrambling. This was inaccurate as the terrain was a mix of steep gravel and loose rock for a majority of the climb and slowed us down a bit. There were a few fun sections, but overall a tad unpleasant. The way down required a bit of route finding, and we had to backtrack a couple times before getting into steeper sections. In general, staying closer to the ridge as much as possible is advisable.
La Plata Peak from the summit
Mt. Elbert
Twin Lakes
Once back down to the saddle, we felt good and the weather was cooperating nicely so we had a good workout up the steep trail to Quail mountain. There are some cool mining ruins up there. While we sat eating second breakfast, a few ptarmigan started harassing us for no apparent reason. maybe they had some little ones nearby where we were sitting? They are some beautiful but loud little boogers!
Ruins with Missouri Mountain (center) Belford (left of center) and Harvard (far left)
Fighting over who gets the hiking polls on the way down
This one was overal a great choice for a day hike. Though the forecast called for possible rain before noon, we were dry the entire time. As soon as we got in the car just after noon, it started raining. Perfect! K's Dariy Delight is now our go to burger stand in Buena vista right on the main road on our way home.
