Down in the Valley
If you can call 8400 feet of altitude "down". I guess it's all relative...
Just got back to Carolina from a week in Colorado. Meant to get down to Santa Fe and meet up with Pauls, Labrat and Stingray but it didn't happen. I had a case of the "tired" the first of the week and we ended up sticking close to the ranch for the duration.
Anyway, a few pix:
Coming up Hard Scrabble canyon into the Valley you start to see the Sandre de Cristos in the distance.
And then you drop down into the Valley:
You come to Silver Cliff first and then Westcliffe. The towns run together and you really can't tell where one stops and the other starts unless you see the signs. Silver Cliff was the original mining town. Then the Denver & Rio Grande bought cheap land outside the town and established Westcliffe. Gradually all the business migrated to the rail head as the railroad had known they would. When the mines played out, Westcliffe became the dominate town and is now the county seat of Custer County.
And this is how the Sangre de Cristos (Blood of Christ) got their name. When the sun is just about to rise over the Wet Mountains, the Sangres turn pink.
And sometimes when the clouds are just right you get this kind of sunrise:
And conversely, this kind of sunset:
There has been enough rain in the Valley this spring so that the wild flowers are spectacular!
Now the last two aren't from this trip, but they show the Sangres in the winter.
First is Spread Eagle Peak:
And then Gibbs Peak:
Not a bad view out the back door, huh?
Just got back to Carolina from a week in Colorado. Meant to get down to Santa Fe and meet up with Pauls, Labrat and Stingray but it didn't happen. I had a case of the "tired" the first of the week and we ended up sticking close to the ranch for the duration.
Anyway, a few pix:
Coming up Hard Scrabble canyon into the Valley you start to see the Sandre de Cristos in the distance.
And then you drop down into the Valley:
You come to Silver Cliff first and then Westcliffe. The towns run together and you really can't tell where one stops and the other starts unless you see the signs. Silver Cliff was the original mining town. Then the Denver & Rio Grande bought cheap land outside the town and established Westcliffe. Gradually all the business migrated to the rail head as the railroad had known they would. When the mines played out, Westcliffe became the dominate town and is now the county seat of Custer County.
And this is how the Sangre de Cristos (Blood of Christ) got their name. When the sun is just about to rise over the Wet Mountains, the Sangres turn pink.
And sometimes when the clouds are just right you get this kind of sunrise:
And conversely, this kind of sunset:
There has been enough rain in the Valley this spring so that the wild flowers are spectacular!
Now the last two aren't from this trip, but they show the Sangres in the winter.
First is Spread Eagle Peak:
And then Gibbs Peak:
Not a bad view out the back door, huh?
Comments
Heading for the hills soon myself.
Thanks for letting me see Colorado through your lens Don.