Sketching In The Mountains

Two Saturdays ago at this time I was still in the mountains. The past two weeks have flown by! I can't tell you what exactly I've been so busy with, other than post processing photographs and filling hummingbird feeders. This is a photo I took in Colorado of my sister, Gaile. She was a wonderfully cooperative model and roadie. My thanks go out to her today for helping me with my photography journey.

Raven Spirits

Raven has long been associated with magic and ancestor spirits. On my trip out to Colorado this month, crows and ravens seemed to follow me everywhere. According to indigenous traditions, all species of crow, including raven, help us to realign our consciousness so we may better connect to the Great Mystery. I tried to portray this energy in today's drawing.

Check out my sister, Denise Bush's great photos of our trip out to Colorado here.

Colorful Colorado

The flowers in Colorado are breathtakingly beautiful. Vibrant and varied varieties dazzle my eyes and stimulate the imagination. Here are some more colorful shots taken last week in Crested Butte Colorado.

A Memorable 4th of July Week

Although my Colorado Trip has come to an end, overall it was a trip filled with wonderful times spent in beautiful country with family. Here's a picture of my dad, Big Al, putting his flag up in front of the RV at our campground in Gunnison, CO.

More Photos From Colorado

I'm sitting at the Denver Airport eating nachos with salsa and guacamole and drinking "Sweaty Betty". (It's a beer very similar to "Blue Moon", served with an orange slice.) With time to kill, I thought I'd say hello and post a few more photos from my trip.

These two photos were taken on July 5th in Rocky Mountain National park.



These second two photos are from our horseback ride up on Snodgrass yesterday of our cute little trail guide, Angie. She's a kindergarten teacher and works at Fantasy Ranch in the summer. She was a great trail guide and was full of interesting facts about the flora and fauna of the area.

Trail Ride in the Rockies

My sister, Gaile, my dad and I took a horseback ride at Fantasy Ranch, through the foothills around Mt. Crested Butte. Here are photos from our trip today.

Wilflowers and Views Around Crested Butte, Colorado

My two sisters, Denise and Gaile and my mom, Eve and I went into the town of Crested Butte yesterday morning. We took some time to stroll around the village and look at some of the yards that are on on the wildflower garden tour as part of the 2009 Crested Butte Wildflower Festival.




After a little shopping and a fine lunch on Elk Avenue, we headed up to Mt. Crested Butte to take some photos. Here are three of the many photos taken yesterday from this breathtaking area.

THE LAST OF MY COLORADO PHOTOS

OK, it's been almost three weeks since I got home from the Colorado Rockies. I've still got some photos on my desktop that I wanted to post, so here's a few more for your enjoyment!

This is Gothic Mountain, located less than a day's horseback ride from Crested Butte.

The Aspens made me feel very small beneath the canopy so high up in the sky.

We enjoyed picture perfect weather as you can see by my photos.

Sally's Natural Images of Colorado

I'm so grateful to have Sally Vennel as a friend. Her generosity really is overwhelming. She and her husband put me up in their gorgeous home for a week and took me out to all the most beautiful spots around Crested Butte. A wonderful photographer, Sally also let me download any of her photos that I wanted to use as reference for paintings. See more of her recent July Colorado shots on her blog. Here are some of my favorites. Thanks a million Sally.

I love this shot of an old fir tree stump.

Here's a shot of me in a typical Colorado pose.

Sally's quick reations get her the good shots. This one is of a
Weidemeyer's Admiral.

I love this photo of our early morning visitors as they were making their retreat back to the stable.

Last but not least, this magical shot of Crested Butte Mountain and ski slope was taken from her dining room window.

Visit Sally's blog at Natural Images by Sally Vennel. Leave her a comment and tell her Sandy sent you!

Look Deep Into Nature

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
~ Albert Einstein

NATURE GETS INTO MY SOUL

The mountain streams are still rushing with snow run off
and plentiful summer rainfall.

This is a log jam on Dollar Lake where we hiked my last day in the mountains.


"Nature gets into our souls and opens doors to hidden parts of ourselves."
~ Pamela Heyda

LOVE OF NATURE

Sally took this photo of me standing next to a dirty patch of late July snow.

The Blue Columbine were beautiful and plentiful in some elevations.

This is a shot from Lost Lake where we hiked on my last day in the Rockies.

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."
~ Frank Lloyd Wright

MAGICAL MOMENTS IN THE MOUNTAINS

SALLY AND CHUCK, the best people and hosts in Colorado!

Snow is still clinging to the land in the higher elevations.

Magnificent mountains make magical memories.

COLORADO ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

Sally told me that these mountain sunflowers always face south.

I know it wasn't there when I took the picture, but do you see the bear that I see?

The Fireweed was plentiful in some areas. Another name for this wildflower is "Blooming Sally"!

Sally takes another low angle shot in a high mountain meadow.
See more of Colorado in "Older Posts".

MORE PHOTOS FROM MY TRIP TO THE ROCKIES

The tall and short of it among the Aspen forest.

The variety of wildflowers was astounding. By the end of a day of sight seeing,
I was contentedly savoring a feeling of visual overload.

I had to get my wildflower guide out for this one. This meadow contains Silvery Lupine, Scarlet Paintbrush, Sulphur Paintbrush, Cow Parsnip, Fireweed and more.

Early Morning Visitors

Sally woke me up bight and early this morning and said; "We have visitors!" Two of the eight horses that had broken out of the field across the street were busily trimming the grass in her yard. Here's a picture of her breakfast guests. Visit Sally's blog at Natural Images by Sally Vennel.

This picture shows part of the herd that decided to stay home.
See more Colorado pictures in "older posts".

Wildflowers and Panoramic Views

We went out driving in the mountains yesterday. The wildflowers are plentiful and the views are spectacular.


Sally showed me how to get the best shots.


Six species of Paintbrush thrive in the Rocky Mountains and offer an array of beautiful color. This is a Rosy Paintbrush.

A Mountain Road in Colorado

It was cloudy and we could hear thunder and see rain off in the distance. (I used this photo as reference for my drawing demo at the Rijks Gallery in Crested Butte on Thursday.) See my sketch on www.Sketchingeveryday.com,
posted Friday, July 25th.


These two pictures were taken on the dirt road that leads to Gothic, just beyond my friends' house. Isn't the scenery just B R E A T H T A K I N G !

Home on the Range

A view from the back of the Vennel's house where I am staying.

See the stable in the background. Right across the road is a place where they rent out horses for trail rides. It is fun to watch the lines of horses going up and down the mountains in the distance. They've got over 50 horses there. I went over this morning and got my "horse fix" for the day.

These ponies stand ready to start the early morning shift.

Even the outhouse looks pretty nestled among the wildflowers.