by Lee Snipes aka Greyhawk
| With 4 major ski areas in it, I used to spend a lot of time in Summit county during the winter, but never seemed to get over there in the summer. Always made a point to stop at the quant old mining town of Breckenridge on the way home for some refeshments. I loved to hear the old wood floors squeak as you walked across them. Here was a great clientel of locals and real skiers! You know, the kind that didn't wear fancy ski fashions, but could hotdog any run plus the tough slopes and powder out of the areas. This old hawk is sorry to say those days are long gone by. With a 6 lane freeway and huge build-up of modern concrete, plastic and glass, Breckenridge now looks like a merger of California and Disney World in Florida. And it has the traffic jams to prove it. Everybody to their own thing, but how do you shoot pure &/or real nature in an area like this? This is Colorado and even in Summit County it can easily be done with just a little little skill and common sense. My brother and his wife, from Louisiana, came up last July and I spent 3 days with them in Tiger Run RV Park in Breckenridge. Shucks, this place even had rules against sleeping outdoors under the stars. But using a long lens one evening, I did shoot the image for the above banner out of this ultra modern facility. <VBG> Here is the story..... |
| Aside from elbow to elbow people, the valley was socked in and raining the 1st day there. On the morning of the second day, I got up long before sunrise in order to get up in the valley's eastern group of mountains.This is one of the many images that sunrise rewarded me with. |
| If you don't like the weather in Colorado, just go around the mountain! This is still in congested areas. It's Dillon Reservoir from an overlook shot across I-70. I did manage to out wait the sail boats and power boats that usually cover the water. As you can see, it's still cloudy and misting in the valley behind that hill.(middle of the image) |
| Ahhh, now we have got around those 14,000 footers and are on the opposite side from Breckenridge. This is at about 12-13,000 f.t in the Gold Hill area between Copper Mountain and Leadville. The un-cropped version of this image was used on the Aug. 1, 1999 Photo-graphics pages. Still haven't figured if I like this image better than the other one with my brother, the pseudo elk, in it or not? <VBG> |
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Shooting at 13,000 ft.and in the middle of the day can show the stark harsh beauty of the high country. However, if you turn and shoot the opposite direction..... |
You may get a view that is more pleasant from the same spot. Not as hash as the one above and it could be a postcard promoting the area. |
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A curious Golden-mantled ground squirrel always deserves a frame or two, no matter what you are trying to shoot that day. |
| When you get away from the concrete and crowds, there are many different varieties of wildflowers in the foothills and above. Also they are at their peak in July. |  |
Stay alert and keep your eyes open. You may find
one of
these... Fritillary! Those Spruce needles are only 1 inch long!
With another look at the socked in valley, now
breaking off and shot two hours later at
the same place as the first image of this feature, we will say goodbye to Summit County,
Colorado.... "for now, because I will return someday!" --- Lee Snipes
aka Greyhawk
In case you missed
Sept '99 Feature.. North Cascades Eagles ...Click Here
May '99 Feature.. A quick backyard lesson ...Click Here
Mar.99 Feature.. Wildflowers of Texas ...Click Here
Feb.'99 Feature.. Olympic Peninsula, Wa. ... Click Here
Dec'98 feature.. Valley of theEagles .... Click Here Nov.'98 Feature..Garden of the Gods sequel... Click Here Oct.'98 Feature..Garden of the Gods in fall ... Click Here Sept.'98 Feature..Aspen trip with Greyhawk... Click Here
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