Colorado, Summer 2007

Just like last summer, we got to spend a month in Colorado over the summer. I worked on my dissertation proposal, and Nancy worked on filing for her Colorado teacher certification, but we got to spend evenings and weekends with friends and family. This album contains miscellaneous pictures. For our trip to climb Emma Burr, go here, and for our trip to climb Handies, go here. Click any photo to go to Picasa, where you can download the full-size image.

Here are Nancy and I on the Liberty Cap Trail in the Colorado National Monument.

We went for a walk along the highline canal behind the Paradise Hills subdivision where Nancy's mom lives one evening. A storm came out of the northeast (very odd for Grand Junction) and was very electrically active. There were lightning flashes about once every 7 seconds. I set my camera to do half-second exposures and held down the shutter to continuously take pictures. I didn't have a tripod, but with the image stabilization, I was able to hold it still enough to get a couple good lightning shots. Just over the dirt hills, you can see the tops of the Bookcliffs and Mount Garfield.

Here's another lightning shot.

For the last few years, I've been trying to find a good location from which to photograph Mount Garfield in order to get a picture as the sun sets when the mountain turns red. I haven't found a spot I really like yet, and every time I go out, the light's not quite right. For this shot, a cloud sat right on the horizon, shading the Bookcliffs, but leaving the clouds lit, which isn't what I wanted, but the picture turned out okay.

Here's Sadie and me hiking on the Grand Mesa. By the end of the trip, I was tired of camping and hiking in the wind with long hair, so I had it cut off.