Garden of the Gods came through again as the perfect place to take out-of-town visitors who want to see some of Colorado's spectacular natural beauty without spending a ton of time in the car. This time it was
Danelle's brother and his family who I took on the hour drive to enjoy the Central Garden Trails.
We had some of my favorite midday conditions -- mostly sunny with just enough clouds to add some texture to the sky.
Zak took his cousin Stephen to the top of the same formation
he first climbed last year.
It can be tough to get decent light on such a bright day. So experimenting with silhouettes helps, especially when you manage to actually get color out of the silhouetted features.
The Three Graces with some pigeons coming in for a landing.
An unnamed but not uninteresting formation provided some captivating texture.
I think I saw Frodo & Sam on the trail ahead, well past the stop sign.
Nasty hobbitses.
A striking bird alighted in a tree right next to us that I didn't immediately recognize -- too big for a bluebird, but without the crest of a
Steller's Jay. Dave's wife Joanne found a sign identifying it as a
Western Scrub-Jay. I didn't want to risk not getting a shot of it at all by trying to switch to my zoom so I did the best I could with my wide angle. I've done worse. :)
We ended up meandering around for nearly two hours, tacking on a short jaunt on the Upper Loop Trail. Then we topped off the excursion with a terrific lunch at the
Phantom Canyon Brewing Company. A great taste of Colorado for our holiday guests in more ways than one!
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