Storm Clouds Above the San Juans |
Have you ever had one of those trips where poor weather seemed to follow you everywhere you went?
My trip to the San Juan Mountains this April was one of those trips. My primary objective for this outing was to shoot the starry skies above the mountains around Ouray, Colorado. Unfortunately, it rained or snowed every night of the trip. So I switched my attention to snowy landscapes, and finally went further south in search of better weather.
To see more photos from this trip, please visit the Four Corners 2017-04 location gallery here. Click on any image below to see a larger version.
For the first two days of the trip, the rain continued off-and-on throughout the day, with snow at the higher elevations. During the brief clear periods, I was able to get a couple shots of old mining structures along the Million Dollar Highway south of Ouray, and one panorama of the Uncompahgre River drainage.
Joke Mine |
Cumberland Mill |
Uncompahgre River Valley |
After two days of clouds and gray light, I checked the weather radar and decided to go further south to the northwest corner of New Mexico, where I hoped to find clearer skies. After a white knuckle drive over the snow-packed Red Mountain Pass, I found improved weather and dry roads. I continued south of Farmington to the Bisti Wilderness. Once I got to this trail-less, unsigned wilderness area, I used a GPS to hike to an area of strange hoodoos. The soft mudstone layer in these dry washes is protected by slightly harder sandstone, leading to some very precarious balanced rocks. I shot some of the formations in mid-day light, before the clouds closed in for another night of rain.
The same can be said of this trip that is often quoted about baseball games: “You win some and you lose some. And some are rained out.”
To see more photos from this trip, please visit the Four Corners 2017-04 gallery here.
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