Posts From The Road: San Juan Mountains Scenery
Ranch Land: Cattle ranching is prevalent in the San Juan Mountains north of Pagosa, Colo. Shown is a herd of cattle grazing in the high meadow grasslands surrounded by high mountain peaks in all directions. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Calm Waters: Calm waters create a mirror reflection of nearby trees at Williams Reservoir in the San Juan Mountains about 25 miles north of Pagosa, Colo. This was a small, calm inlet spotted on the south end of the reservoir but the beautiful reflections made it easy to spot. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Formerly of Los Alamos
We returned from our last extended trip around the end of July. Our next "planned" trip was scheduled for October when we would be going to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
We decided to keep it local and travel around Colorado during the two month break. We made two trips to the southwestern area of the state and one to the western slope around Grand Junction during late August and September. We enjoyed many of the backroads through the mountains of central Colorado during these excursions.
We both love the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. One of our trips in mid-September took us to the San Juan Mountains north of Pagosa Springs, Colo. We met friends from Los Alamos for a few days and camped in the Williams Creek Campground near Williams Creek Reservoir about 25 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs.
This Post From the Road features some of the sights and scenery from our explorations along the Forest Service backroads throughout this area of the San Juan Mountains.
This area of the San Juan Mountains saw mining in the 19th Century but not as extensive as the area around Silverton and Ouray, Colo. a little farther to the west.
Today, the area is prime ranching land surrounded by jagged peaks of 13,000-14,000 feet in elevation. In addition to the privately owned ranch land there are thousands of acres of public land, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management that offer visitors a variety of camping and other outdoor recreation.
We enjoyed seeing mountain streams and rivers, lakes and reservoirs, some early fall color (this trip was mid-September), and many open mountain valley ranches in addition to the beautiful scenery, which is found around every turn and curve in the road in the San Juans.
We have some longer trips planned in the near future but we will continue our exploration of the Rockies throughout Colorado when the warmer months return next year. These trips reminded us that it is nice to travel far and wide about our country but we should always make time to explore the treasures within our home state.
Editor's note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the "Posts from the Road" series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Williams Reservoir: A view of the western banks of the Williams Reservoir reveals a portion of the larger open area of the blue waters surrounded by mountain peaks. The reservoir is about 8,300 feet in elevation and just over 500 acres in size. The reservoir provides multiple campgrounds, fishing, boating and other outdoor recreational activities for visitors. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Mountain Creek: A rocky mountain creek surrounded by trees in early fall color provided a nice stop for a lunch break and a few photos. This area of the San Juans has many of these creeks which are forged by spring run off from the winter snowfall in the area. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Valley Meadow: A valley meadow, fenced for cattle grazing, provides a tranquil scene with the San Juan Mountains providing a spectacular backdrop for the view. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Reflections: Colors of the clear blue sky above and the trees and foliage create a colorful reflection in the Piedra River on an early fall afternoon. The Piedra River flows for miles through this region of the San Juan Mountains. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
