Rockies top - a photo on Flickriver

Rockies top

            I stepped off the road/trail to Smith Lake to snap this during our high country autumn. I also shot this wider shot but it took some serious editing to control the range and I put it away for a while. Hey Tennessee, here is a real Rocky Mountain Rocky Top. Just because your head is hard, don't take it for granite! Regardless, this ponderosa is dead set upon splitting this Rocky Mountain granite with turgid roots, well for as long as it can survive. Autumn up here was encountering it's year-end struggle. I had to stop on my way up and down the trail for pictorial digressions. The scrub oak was giving it up while the aspen was stretching the season. I refused to let last autumn's color sleep under the coat of snow supposedly due that week, without another foray into the high country. There was a long autumn while winter was a dud on the flats. Perhaps the Koch Bros decided against a winter this year. We went over 80 on that day of Oct. 

Phil and I were sniffling the pine and aspen parfumes along the trail to Smith Lake west of Taylor Road. Smith Lake is a perennial prize up here. I can't imagine how sublime a night camp might be. Stars, satellite and jet streaks galore. We traveled the Peak to Peak Highway north toward Allenspark and turned right onto Taylor Mountain Road. The wagon road through the autumn aspen, over to Smith is nearly apparent and yet skimpy.  Here, east of Allenspark, Rock Creek and west of Taylor Road, we found semi-flat rocks for perches by the oft-used fire ring at the pond. Why the heck are those rocks never quite right; oh my buns. I had to get up and slap my buns! One car was up there and they found us to tailgate on this glorious day. Why the hell rush? 

These rocks are scattered along the old route and probably propped up the Smith lake terrain. Great views abound everywhere along the trek. Taylor Road is an access to wonderful treks in the high country to magnificent views of much higher country. We are paralleling the Rocky Mountain National Park off to the west. Atop Taylor, one should be able to spot climbers in colorful jackets on their final leg up the south pitch of Longs Peak. Sometimes climbers founder on the big notch between Meeker and Longs.

Taken on: September 29, 2016

Tags:

Rockies Top

Autumn

Rocks

Ponderosa

Pines

Aspen

Leaves

Forest

Smith

Lake

Trail

Meadow

St.

Vrain

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Taylor Road, Colorado

Peak to Peak Highway

Allenspark

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Rockies

Boulder

County

Colorado

RockyPix

Rocky

Mountain

Pix

W. Michel Kiteley

f16

1/80th/sec

56mm

24 - 70mm f/2.8G

Nikkor

Normal-Zoom

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