Colorado became the 38th state to join the United States on August 1, 1876. The capital city is Denver. The highest point is Mt. Elbert at 14,433 feet.

Road Trip 2013 - Day 9 - June 19 - Grand Mesa (Previous 2013 Road Trip posts: Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines, Madison County Roads, Bridges of Madison County, White Pole Road, Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Golden Spike Tower & Union Pacific's Bailey Rail Yard, Loveland Pass, The Resting Day at Powderhorn, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Cimarron, Colorado National Monument, Fruita Rodeo, You are here!, Arches National Park, Grand Junction, Grand Mesa Creek, Arches National Park Add-On, Canyonlands National Park, The Little Big Moments of Road Tripping, Mesa Verde National Park, Santa Fe)

Heading for the Grand MesaLands End Road Experience As I kept building on the Road Trip 2013 story line and tried to keep the photos in my galleries in sync with the blog I noticed something was off. The numbered days no longer tied to the dates in June. It took me a while but I found the problem. I guess I was eager to re-live my Arches National Park experience and get to that post, skipping a fun day on the Grand Mesa.

Our Colorado base for the week was on the slope of the Grand Mesa not far from Mesa, Colorado. As such it was almost a must not to miss an opportunity to explore that mountain. The Grand Mesa is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world with an area of about 500 square miles and stretches between the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers (yes, the one that created the Black Canyon of the Gunnison). It rises to about 11,000 feet, a whole 6,000 feet above the surrounding valleys! And yes, it is flat on top. From a distance it looks like someone simply cut the top half of the mountain off. Fortunately, that is not the case like with many mountains in the Appalachia where coal mining companies did just that! (Listen to John Grisham's Gray Mountain: A Novel, visit Plundering Appalachia, or simply Google "appalachia mountaintop removal" for an extra dose of disgust). Here, the flat top is thanks to the mountain's volcanic basalt top preventing the same level of erosion as the surrounding areas.

Aspen Forest on Lands End RoadLands End Road Experience The highlight of the whole exploration certainly was the Lands End Road (aka, F S Rd). From Rte 50 it took us a little bit of map study to find its beginning but we quickly realized we missed our turn, turned around, and then turned right onto Kannah Creek Road, which quickly took us to the Lands End Road. The views were splendid right away, as it so often happens when one leaves the expressway. The mountain was right in front of us with the road disappearing somewhere at its base. If we needed any more encouragement this was it, and it just got better and better as we followed the pavement to a dirt road up the mountain side. Yes, the pavement disappeared turning into a gravel road that was getting narrower and narrower.

Drop Off on Lands End RoadLands End Road Experience Then it became an essentially single lane road climbing up switchbacks with seemingly no room to either side. A cliff up on one side, a drop-off to the other. I felt bummed out not to take any photos during those few miles but I did not feel like getting out of the car. I opened the door once and contemplated just that but decided the foot or so of space was not a good idea that day. I am pretty sure that people that use the road more often would have no problems doing that but I chickened out.

I did get a few photos as soon as the road widened. First, we passed through a beautiful aspen forest and later a beautiful view down into the valley opened up. In both occasions I felt like shooting a Honda commercial and including our CR-V in the scene. There was also one nice turn where the Lands End Road was visible behind us winding through the landscape.

Lands End Road Winding Up the Grand MesaLands End Road Experience

It was straight against the sun but I liked it for this photo. While it did not allow me to balance the brightness of the sky with the land below it added mood to this rugged scene, a fairly dry mountain slope with a dirt road heading up the hill. Can you feel the sun's heat?

Once we made it all the way up we pulled into the Grand Mesa National Forest Visitor Information Center. Not for the center itself, as it was closed at that late time of the day, but for the views back to where we just came from. One thing I was not able to capture in the last photograph of this post was the wind. Wow, was it windy! Windy and rather chilly! The late evening, the elevation, and the wind completely transformed the heat of the valley below into a whole different experience.

From here, we still had quite a bit of the Lands End Road ahead of us. It was all level though and winding through some beautiful areas of the Grand Mesa that would certainly deserve more than driving through. Picturesque lakes with hiking trails and fishing, wildlife, just beautiful every step of the way.

By the time we made it back to our base it was pitch black, so typical for our returns to the base. And so the Grand Mesa adventure ended and now this series of posts from 2013 no longer has a big hole in it.

Top of the World on Lands End RoadLands End Road Experience Top of the World on Lands End Road, Colorado

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)

References: Grand Mesa on Wikipedia - Lands End Observatory on Wikipedia - Gray Mountain: A Novel - Plundering Appalachia

If you've enjoyed this post and would like to see more of my photographs, feel free to visit my photo galleries to see more from Buffalo, Western New York, and well beyond! Do you enjoy photographs featuring roads, paved and unpaved? Then the On the Road Collection might be for you. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. I also offer ready to hang solutions like canvas gallery wraps, or matted and framed photographs. Those options are available using the "Frame It" link once you place a photo in your shopping cart.

Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small or large. Thank you!

Nickel Plate Road No. 765 Steam LocomotiveUnion Road Overpass in Cheektowaga, NY This time, I have a friend to thank to for taking care of my Saturday. Without her tip off I would have had no idea about this excellent opportunity. And excellent it was, as it combined several elements I like to photograph. The historic Nickel Plate Road Steam Engine No. 765 operated by Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society was scheduled to run a sightseeing passenger trip between Buffalo, NY and Corning, NY. Not only did I get the tip but also a nice narrative pointing out good spots along the train's route. That also helped me find the right track on Google Maps and get a better idea about where to be. I felt I was ready. Set the alarm for 7 a.m. and headed out to be ready as the train leaves the Norfolk Southern's Bison Yard in Sloan, NY.

First, I thought I would wait for the train at the Broadway crossing but in the end I decided to try the Union Road overpass in Cheektowaga. The train got under way with quite a delay on Saturday morning but by 8:30 I could see the smoke in the distance getting more intense. At 8:40, it was camera time. Unlike my normal still landscapes where I tend to employ a small aperture and a long shutter (at native ISO 100) to get as much depth of field as possible I had the camera set for more of an action mode here. I kept the aperture at f/11, raised the ISO to 200 and got myself 1/200s. With the train coming at me at less than 45 degree angle, I figured that would be a fast enough shutter to freeze the moving train and offer a good compromise with depth of field to have even the cars behind the locomotive in focus. I captured several shots of the train's approach and zoom, it was gone. It surprised me how much speed it picked up on that relatively short distance. I got worried that my plans for a chase might be futile and the worries were not unjustified.

I decided to skip the area around Erie Street thinking I had no chance to beat the train there. I managed to catch up with the train at couple more spots in the Attica, NY area, mostly thanks to the tracks circling some hills while the roads went more straight. However, on both of those occasions, I only had time to pull over, get out of the car, and the train was there. No time to pick and choose positions. After those, I decided it was time to ease off. I backtracked a bit to scout some locations for a possible Sunday outing and found a few I was happy about. By the time I decided to turn the wheel home it was well after noon and I figured I'd grab a bite first.

Nickel Plate Road No. 765 Steam LocomotiveLetchworth Upper Falls Trestle Two things happened. First, the food and drink made me feel better and second, it was so late by that time that I decided not to go home after all and make my way to Letchworth's Upper Falls and wait for the train's return trip back to Buffalo. Upon my arrival at the falls I was surprised how few people were there waiting for the train. I'd guess around 5 - 10 at the most. Contrast that with the crowds I saw along all of the roads and railroad crossings and I was not sure why. It could not have been the $8 park entrance fee, could it? Maybe at the other places people simply walked out of there house and waited at the tracks, a short and easy way to see this beauty.

And it was a long wait again, probably about two hours this time around. I guess mostly due to the delay from the morning that was now difficult to factor into estimates. While the staff of the train was posting to Twitter somewhat regularly, it was not a reliable source. First, they kept running in and out of signal and second, there was no signal in Letchworth. I knew that would be the case from previous visits so I made sure to read their last update before going dark. They were still in Corning. As such the only source of occasional information was the scanner one of the rail fans had. That was a source of frustration at first as they kept not moving out of Corning, and then the source of hope when the crew started announcing the mile markers they were passing.

And then, following a distant rumble and the engine's horn, it happened and the 765 appeared high up above the falls. One of the advantages of this old bridge for the rail fans is the limited speed the train can cross at. Unlike all the other places I watched the train rocket by me it was a nice slow pace here. I tried to quickly capture several shots, some wide and sone tighter. It turned out to be a bit of a challenge keeping my compositions as I was changing the focal length. 

Nickel Plate Road No. 765 Steam LocomotiveLetchworth Upper Falls Trestle

Nickel Plate Road No. 765 Steam Locomotive, Letchworth Upper Falls Trestle 

Once the engine disappeared on the right I took a few more shots of the passenger cars as there was a nice mix of colors in this train. Especially the white ones stood out nicely against the strong backlight.

Nickel Plate Road No. 765 Steam LocomotiveOpen Field by Attica, NY There's still some time for this bridge before it is replaced but theory had it that this weekend was going to be the last time for a steam engine to cross the bridge. We will see if that stays that way or if Norfolk Southern finds a reason to make it happen one more time. Either way, I was never too lucky with catching trains on this bridge, always hearing them from the Lower Falls knowing I missed them again. This evening more than made up for those missed opportunities.

I was not done yet though. Knowing I had a long way home and so did the train I wanted one more photo in a more open landscape. I decided to catch up with the train one last time in the Attica area. I left the park in a hurry realizing the train had quite a head start on me and would gain speed quickly coming of the bridge as it was at a high point there with a nice down hill ahead. I first thought I'd go to one of the spots I picked earlier but I picked most of them for the train to look nice coming from Buffalo, not returning, thinking I had selected them for Sunday. In the end, I pulled over on the main road just past Attica where the tracks were fairly close to the road in an open field. Lots of people were already parked and waiting and actually telling me right away to get moving that the train was already through Attica. Sure enough, there it was in the distance. I was only able to arrive sooner by about 2 minutes.

And yes, this was it, after about 12 hours outside it really was time to pack it up and head home. In East Aurora, I passed through a total downpour and could barely see. It was a very localized rain though as I soon drove out of it and followed the rest of the way on dry roads.

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)

If you've enjoyed this post and would like to see more of my photography, feel free to visit my photo galleries for more photographs from Buffalo, Western New York, and beyond! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. I also offer ready to hang solutions like canvas gallery wraps, or matted and framed photographs. Those options are available using the "Frame It" link once you place a photo in your shopping cart.

Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small or large. Thank you!

Field Path at SunsetMoravian Countryside A relaxing stroll through the fields today, following a web of dirt roads winding their way through the rural countryside of Southern Moravia, Czech Republic. It was a beautiful summer evening with some sun and some clouds. The light was changing frequently and rather dramatically. In this photograph one of those transitions was about to happen as the sun found an opening and was making its way to it while shooting strong beams of light through other smaller openings over the landscape below, creating a wonderful relaxing mood.

And while I thought this might have been the peak Mother Nature was far from done yet and continued to put on quite a show. The light, the drama, the mood, everything about the scenes all around was just about perfect. And everything kept changing so fast. As large shadows rolled over the land in one direction the clouds opened up and let the sun bathe another area with beautiful warm sunset light. And over, and over, and over.

Tracks to Clouds at SunsetMoravian Countryside The contrast between cold shadowy blue tones and the golden hues of sunlight was excellent and one could choose by simply turning one's head. And then there were areas like that all in one, like the tracks to the abstract painting of blues and golds in the sunset sky as if painted just for my enjoyment and to capture in a photograph. The power of photography to relive the moments otherwise stored only in our fleeting memories.

And then, not too far this family of trees popped up on the horizon perfectly positioned at the top of the gentle rolling hill right under a bright opening in the clouds to complete the scene. Well, almost. What also struck me was their ordering by hight as if to add a dose of humor. I think that's what it was that made me think of those trees as of a family. The Papa Tree leading the group, then Mama Tree, and then a little Baby Tree, trailed by their Newborn. Such a serendipitous moment!

Family of TreesMoravian Countryside After all of these gorgeous scenes I got to enjoy on a single walk I could not have asked for more. Asking or not, more I got though. Nature felt generous this evening. At the end of the walk, as we passed a crossroads, I looked to my left to follow another path with my eyes only to find it leading between a large haystack and a tree, a scene I would have liked in almost any conditions. However, sun's last touches of light and color provided quite a painted backdrop for this rural set up.

Of course I quickly raised the camera to preserve the moment forever but then I just stood there for a while and watched the light disappear. It was just minutes and the show was over.

After re-living this wonderful experience in these photographs guess where I would like to stand right now and watch if the magic is going to repeat?

Haystack at SunsetMoravian Countryside

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)

Visit my photo galleries to see more photographs from Buffalo, Western New York, and beyond! Note that I also offer ready to hang solutions like canvas gallery wraps, or matted and framed photographs. Those options are available using the "Frame It" link once you place a photo in your shopping cart.

Please, use my links to do your shopping. It keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how small or large. Thank you!