More Winter Wanderings

… And Lessons In Traction Control

In my last post I wrote about some winter photography challenges here in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. We’ve been getting a good bit of snow this year and it has been just beautiful to look at. The morning after a good snow a few days ago, I decided to go out. It continued to snow lightly off and on, and I planned to stick to the county roads near home. The snow was clinging to branches and limbs, and it looked so pretty. I carefully pulled up along the snow plow pile on the side to look at a stream situated down an embankment. The road below the edge had a downward lip (invisible because of the snow) and my Forester slid down a bit into the 2 foot high, snow plow pile. (It sucked me in!) I tried to get out but with wheels spinning, not too hard. I took my ice scraper and began to dig the snow away from the front tire and called my husband for help. A man stopped and offered to push on the side when I tried to drive out. It slid in deeper! Brent came with shovels and we dug all around. When he tried to drive it out it ended up sliding in even deeper! Suddenly a nice man appeared in an F250! Like a knight in shining armor he easily pulled the car out from the rear using a strap hooked to his hitch and my frame. After that, I wondered if I should just call it quits for the day but decided … NOT! I did take a shovel and strap with me though! Later we saw a video that explained my exact situation. They recommended turning ‘traction control’ off if this happens. It is on by default every time the car starts. Lesson learned and still a good day of shooting. The images here are from that and another day of winter wandering.

‘Big & Frosty’  © Denise Bush

‘Rolling Hill In Winter’  © Denise Bush

‘Crooked Shack & Stream’  © Denise Bush

‘Retired Cabin & Tractor’  © Denise Bush

‘Ponderosa Guardian’  © Denise Bush

‘Double RL Tree’  © Denise Bush

‘Cottonwood Favorites’  © Denise Bush

‘Winter Rays’  © Denise Bush

See my previous post for more ‘Winter Wanderings‘!

Winter Wanderings

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
— J.R.R. Tolkien —

Following are some winter images I’ve collected from several different local outings. Winter is a beautiful season here and I do love snowy landscapes. You might think it’s easy to take beautiful photos in a beautiful place, but, winter here presents its own photographic challenges. High country and forest roads are closed. Highways can be icy … and you don’t want to be on the Million Dollar Highway, one of the most dangerous roads in the country, when it’s slick! With snow piled on the sides of the roads it’s hard to find a place to pull over or park. During a snowstorm distant views and the mountains are not visible. The time to get out to work the landscape is just after the storm … before the sky becomes bald blue, the snow melts or blows from the tree limbs and before it gets tracked up by the abundance of deer, cattle, and other animals, including humans! It can be tricky and it puts me on high alert for weather forecasts and sky conditions. The good news is that there are at least 2 months (or more) of winter to come. I’ll continue to get out there, looking for interesting winter images. Here’s a start to another winter of wandering!

‘Little Tree In Winter’  © Denise Bush

‘Snowy Cottonwoods’  © Denise Bush

‘Along A Winter Stream’  © Denise Bush

‘Corbett & Friends’  © Denise Bush

‘Frosty Awakening’  © Denise Bush

‘Winter Along The Border’  © Denise Bush

‘Tree & Posts In Snow’  © Denise Bush

‘Designs Over Little Mountain’  © Denise Bush

‘Winter Companions’  © Denise Bush

‘Winter Hills’  © Denise Bush

‘Winter’s Gradient’  © Denise Bush
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10 Years of Blogging!

This month marks my 10th year of blogging! Time flies by when you love what you’re doing. I do enjoy the journaling aspect of blogging which allows me to look back at what I’ve done and where I want to go with my photography. I love sharing what speaks to me with you. And I have been sharing with many of you for a long time now. I appreciate each and every visit! Other blogs, and comments on this blog have certainly helped to keep me inspired, in a big way over the years … thank YOU so very much!

‘Newspaper Rock’  © Denise Bush

I thought this photo of Native American petroglyphs would be a fun association and illustration to mark the milestone. Called ‘Newspaper Rock’ it is located in Utah.