#TravelTuesday The Maroon Bells

There’s a pair of fourteeners just south of Aspen Colorado called collectively the Maroon Bells. Fourteeners, in high country lingo, means that the peak of the mountain is above 14,000 feet above sea level. Maroon peak reaches 14,156 feet while North Maroon peak is slightly less grand at 14,014 feet. We set out to see this popular photography scene soon after checking into our hotel in Snomass village. The nice part for lazy people, or weary travelers like ourselves, is that the hike to see the iconic view of the Bells is only about a 5 minute walk from a parking lot in the White River National Forest. Along the 15 minute drive through the park a few of the inhabitant said "Hi".

A small entrance fee grants access for a few days and we took advantage of it, twice. This was our first view of the bells overlooking Maroon Lake.


I wished for more clouds so there would be some more drama in the sky, but for the majority of our time in Aspen  we had very few “white puffies”. I tried putting the Sun in the picture for a bit more to look at and I think it works pretty nicely.

 

If you’ll notice there’s not a lot of reflections from the lake, that’s because I was using a polarizing filter to cut them down.  I think the clarity and color of the water itself created a nice aquamarine depth to Maroon Lake.

 

The Bells are maroon are mainly formed of sediment instead of the granite like most mountains in the area, that's what gives them their maroon color.

Behind us stood this small grove of Aspen trees.  I was envious of their view, for they get to watch Maroon Lake and the Bells season after season while storms, snow, fog , and sunsets transform the scene.

 

We returned to see the Bells after our second day a little later in the day after the Sun had fallen behind the cliffs to the right. I left the polarizer off the lens this time because I felt the reflection added to the calmness of the water.  

 

The Sun setting behind the ridge yielded this wonderful view.

 

Of course we did take notice of this sign as we were leaving.  We were glad we had left our unicorn at home this trip.

 

Tennis Photography

Last weekend I had the opportunity to photograph the Philadelphia Freedoms as they competed against the Orange County Breakers. I learned a lot from the experience, so I thought I would share it with you. First off, tennis balls move very quickly, especially when the person serving holds the world’s record of 163.4 miles per hour. My Nikon D4 shoots 10 frames per second, which is very fast, but trying to photograph a ball moving at 23.9 feet every 1/10 of a second means that I’m lucky if I get one frame with the ball in the picture. There were quite a few sequences where there was never a ball to be found. It took some time to get proficient at it, but I will have more chances soon.
For World Team Tennis, each team consists of four players (two male, two female) and a coach. The rules are a bit different from regular tennis, so if you want to have a look, click here. Every tournament has five match ups. Men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. The game is fast paced and fun. The crowd is encouraged to get loud and be energetic through the event. Click here for the story and click here for all my pictures. I was there for Independence Sports Magazine so my pics are on their site.

To be a Mole or an Eagle, Decisions, Decisions...

The drive from Denver to Aspen presented us with a decision. We could either take the Eisenhower Tunnel or scale the treacherous Loveland Pass. The tunnel was built in 1973, so that during the heavy snowfall that often blankets the area eighteen wheeled trucks would still be able to travel West from Denver. We decided the views would be much better from 11,990 feet above sea level, so we packed up the Kia Soul, gave a little prayer for the 138hp 4 cylinder engine and headed out.

Pano of Loveland Pass

Above is a six image panorama of the view from one of the switchbacks on the climb up the pass.  In the distance you can see cars entering the Eisenhower Tunnel.  We neared the top and someone (I’ll let you guess who) kept deciding to park and take more pictures. 

 

All the while I kept getting a headache that seemed  to increase with every mile.  After a few more brief stops I realized the altitude was really taking its toll on me.  This was something I had not expected.  Getting out of the car and walking thirty feet to an outlook became tiresome.  

Heading down the other side brought relief for both of us. Headaches and nausea receded as more beautiful vistas appeared.

 

I especially like the traffic sign that explains where you want to center your gaze to view the “SCENIC AREA”.  I guess if it were pouring rain or you were traveling at night you might want to imagine what could be there that you couldn't see.

 

Here’s us, stretching our weary legs. I knew the remote control for the camera would come in handy ;)

 

Finally a few hours later we arrived at our hamlet for the next few days,  Snowmass Village.

 

Aspen Day One

While planning the trip to Aspen, more than a few websites cautioned about the altitude of the city. At just under eight thousand feet, that’s just about eight thousand feet higher than Philadelphia (39 feet above sea level). Slow acclimation was stressed to avoid certain unpleasant side effects of visiting destinations with higher altitudes, so we landed in Denver and planned to sleep our first night in the little town of Evergreen. We picked up our Kia Soul and after a brief stop for lunch in Denver we set off. Upon leaving the city, the promise of inviting vistas presented itself just off the highway.

Arriving at our hotel, the Highland Haven Creekside Inn we were greeted by what I believe was a female mule deer and a fawn gorging themselves on the local flora. The asphalt in the picture was the driveway to our hotel, so I guess the wildlife is a bit less shy in Colorado.  

 

Check in completed, we decided to explore.  There are many hiking trails in the area around Evergreen so we ventured out for a little high altitude exercise.

 

The Aspen trees posed so nicely in front of the distant mountains showing their brilliant green leaves against the dark evergreens in the background.

 

After a long day of travel we headed out to dinner at The Bistro at Marshdale which had wonderful food and delicious cocktails. Especially my wife's Cranberry Mojito. 

Leaving the bistro just before dusk gave us some nice light to photograph on the way back to our room.  

 

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Tomorrow it's off to Aspen!