Less Traveled Road

The sky was grumbling and growling as I made my way on the less traveled road. The wind was buffeting the truck and a gust brought the sweet scent of rain in through the window and moistened my face with its coolness. The pickup crested one hill and plunged down another before laboring up the next one. I was heading right for the churning clouds. It was time to stop and watch as the line of pines marched off into the maw of the storm.

Less Traveled Road
A black and white landscape photo of a back country dirt road in Colorado stretching toward a stormy sky with silhouettes of pines marching in the horizon.
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By the way, I have a free drawing for two photographs going on over at Facebook. If you are not yet following me on Facebook now is the time. All of my Facebook followers who RSVP the 500 Fans Celebration Event will be eligible! Good luck! Deadline is midnight August 27, 2010.

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

I-80 Road Trip: Colorado to Ohio

Some of you may remember my road trip last month from Colorado to Ohio. I thought I would share a few photos from that non-stop whirlwind tour. We started bright and early on a Saturday morning and made it to our destination by Sunday night. That is pretty good time for 1300 miles. We had a fun family visit squeezed in between our obligations before we headed home. On the return trip we had one little glitch of a spark coil going bad on our truck. Apparently, our desert rat truck did not like the humidity either. Then it was back on the road. Some of these photographs were taken in a moving vehicle at interstate speeds. That might explain some of the blur and bugs!

Glass Building
This glass church with post and beam construction is exceptionally beautiful.

Happy Face

Wind Turbines
This could be the AT&T logo. Somewhere in Iowa on I-80.

Rob's Nap
Rob takes a nap in the jump seat of the truck. He ended up in many peculiar positions trying to get comfortable but this was the cutest.

Glass Dome
A glass geodesic dome flashes by at 80 mph.

Jordan Truck
Michael Jordan's head. Just one of the unusual sights on I-80 somewhere in Indiana near Chicago.

Best Moment
My Mom is a great grandmother for the fourth time.

Worst Moment
Our truck breaks down in Iowa City. We spent the evening and next morning with repairs sitting in this parking lot.

Road Weary
After almost 2600 miles of driving within six days, we are all a bit weary.

Colorado Sunset
An exceptional Colorado sunset greets us as we return home.

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Going Home to a Warm Wood Stove

My trip down the mountain was to pick up a a perishable package that had been left at the little rural post office ten miles away. The truck plowed through the drifts that had blown across the road during the night. Unconcerned but focused, I slowly inched the truck forward and down the steep hill. Ten years of navigating this narrow twisting mountain road has taught me caution, but I know every bend by heart.

Mission accomplished. The dogs were happy to have gotten out of the house for awhile, and I was satisfied and loaded up with a box of citrus fruit. As we bumped our way back up the mountain my thoughts drifted to the warm wood stove waiting for me to warm my toes by. Our primary source of heat is our reliable Vermont Castings EPA certified wood stove. All summer long we work culling out the dead and dying trees, and improving the health of our forest. Our wood pile steadily grows all summer to provide us with high quality wood heat that wraps around you like a soft warm blanket on a cold winter day.

Going Home
A narrow mountain road disappears up into the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado on a winter day after the road has been freshly plowed.
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Fire Ripple
The heat shimmers through the glass face of the wood stove warming our home.
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For those that might be wondering, we do have several installed propane heaters and two gas fireplaces for back up heat when we are not home to stoke the wood stove. But I'll take my wood stove any day!

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Exploring Colorado's Country Roads - Part 2

A lonely dirt road wanders through a remote valley in Northern Colorado under a dramatic summer sky. The fence line stretches into the far distant mountain range. As we climb the steep hill to home in our four wheel drive truck the road becomes less defined and grassed over from the bountiful summer rains. Our weekend was drawing to a close, but the memories of the tall peaks at Long Draw linger.

Steller Ridge Road, Larimer County, Colorado

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Fence Line

Red Canyon Ranch Road, Larimer County, Colorado

Long Draw Road, Larimer County, Colorado


You may contact me for purchase information on any photograph at either of my galleries on Etsy or 1000 Markets. Thank you!

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Exploring Colorado's Country Roads - Part 1

I started to appreciate exploring country roads as a small child riding next to my father in the family sedan. We would strike out turning this way and that, never getting lost. I seem to have inherited this wanderlust and enjoy turning off on a narrow track to see where it goes. Hope you enjoy the ride today, but be forewarned, we will be taking many more of these "road trips." Let me know which road you would like to turn on and explore.

Red Canyon Ranch Road in Larimer County, Colorado

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Red Canyon Ranch Road in Larimer County, Colorado

Colorado State Forest Road in Northern Colorado

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Sunday Morning Gallery - Alpine Loop to Cinnamon Pass

Today's Sunday Morning Gallery is Part 2 of our Lake City vacation. After finding our campsite (see the April 26 blog entry in the archives) and enjoying a day of rest we packed up the 4 Runner with dogs and lunch and headed up the Alpine Loop 4WD road to Cinnamon Pass.

Cinnamon Pass Road is part of the Alpine Loop in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado. This route is opened by snowplow early in the season. Be warned though, in the summer peak season Cinnamon Pass Road is an extremely popular 4WD route. Parts of the road are a single lane rock shelf with no pull offs. Uphill traffic has the right of way in these situations and believe me when I say that you do not want to back up on some of this road! There are also a few switchbacks that a full sized SUV can not navigate without several passes. If you are squeamish about steep plunging drop offs without guard rails this may not be your cup of tea.

Like many trails/roads in Colorado, the Cinnamon Pass Road was travelled originally by Native American Indians, in this case Ute Indians. The first documented travel by white settlers was in the early 1860s when Charles Baker used Cinnamon Pass in his exploration of the San Juan mountains.

Cinnamon Pass is at 12,640 and there are signs located here explaining the tundra conditions at this altitude. By the way, this is not paid advertising for Toyota. But don't you think they should send me money for this shot?

After a fun day driving up to the pass we headed back to camp and our room with a view, popped a beer, and kicked back. Not a bad day.

Spring Snow in Colorado

I usually do a Sunday Morning Gallery post and I had one prepared for today, but because many of you know I live in the foothills of northern Colorado, and may have heard of our intense spring storm I decided to post some photos. It has been a crazy few days.

It snowed all night Thursday and all the next day and through the next night too. Our landscape became surreal as the heavy wet snow clung to everything. The giant ponderosa pines, which normally can handle heavy snows, were swaying like drunken sailors with the heavy weight.

Then the snapping and popping like a rifle shot started as the tops, branches, and whole trees came crashing down around us unable to sustain the huge weight. I started to wonder when it would stop by that time and listened for house groans, but none came. Our post and beam construction held strong.

I am very happy to get this moisture after a very dry winter here in Colorado, but when it comes all at once it can be challenging. But now the road is plowed, the fire is stoked, and dinner is cooking away. All is cozy, safe and warm on a spring day on Stellers Ridge.

Road to Town

It is an unsettled spring day in Colorado. The dark cloudy sky looks as if it is about to dump rain or snow but there is no moisture in the forecast. The dusty road winds across the top of the ridge to the saddle, a low point, where the road turns down into a steep ravine. It is always this ravine that becomes impassable when the spring snows come. This year they did not come so we hope for rain instead. It makes going to town easier when the steep road is clear of ice and snow. And there are no complaints when the plow sits idle. For now we will wait and see if the rains come. These are my thoughts as I bump down the dusty road.