Winter Storm

So, it's April 17th, and I wake up - and we see this.

Never mind that it was in the '70s the week before, and the next day is also forecast in the '70s - we see this.

That, my friends, is Colorado.

As a special "bonus," here is a kind of freaky shot I took of a lunar eclipse on April 15th - tax day.

Lunar Eclipse

Well, I like it. It had that unique blood-red color which this shot actually captures quite nicely.

Garden of the Gods During Springtime

This plaque says it better than I can. I did see some mule deer (below).

It was a beautiful spring day at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, weather mild, temperature in the 60s, just enough clouds to give the backdrop an interesting patina. Not too many people visiting, even though it was a Saturday, probably because school is still in session and the tourist season really hasn't started up yet. However, there was the occasional toker out among the rocks, blithely puffing away thanks to the recent change in Colorado laws. I was visiting myself, on a quick visit from New York, just another tourist, which I kind of like.

You'll notice that many of the trees are barren, that's another thing that makes spring pictures so much fun - the view is completely different in the different seasons. By June, everything will be green, trees will block out a lot of the rock formations, and it will be crowded to boot with people speaking in interesting dialects and languages and the parking lot full of out-of-state license plates. I did see one New Jersey plate and one Florida plate even though it was out-of-season, so that's something.

I have taken a lot of pictures of Garden of the Gods over time which are scattered about here and there. This time, I went to a couple of new (for me) spots, so perhaps these will have a slightly different look if you've seen the others. I do like the green mid-summer look, but the austere rocks-on-rocks look with a snowy Pikes Peak in the background provides a primeval feel which really suits the landscape.

Some views from the Visitors Center.

"America the Beautiful" was inspired from a spot like this.

I always think that this spot looks especially primeval and always take a picture when I visit.

This really shows how all the rocks line up the same way due to the same erosion forces

Some mule deer that crossed the road and got up there before I could swing out my camera

Doesn't that formation on the upper left resemble a face?

This was from one of the many overlooks.

Some folks clambering over the rocks on the right

Sometimes simple works. Kind of interesting how Pikes Peak sort of melds into the sky

Cheyenne Mountain

Pikes Peak fairly glowed almost as if lit up separately, the pictures don't really do it justice

2014