Snowshoeing...again!

Really, how often do I get to go snowshoeing two Wednesdays in a row?!

This week I went with my friend Barb, her sister Jill (visiting Durango) and Jill's funny lil' pup Sally.

Of course, we went to one of my favorite places - La Plata Canyon.

We explored a series of frozen beaver dams.

 Lead the way Sally!!

 We found mountain lion tracks.

Which didn't photograph very well.

 A beautifully constructed and still intact paper wasp nest.

 A peek at the opening, shows it to be dormant or vacant. 

I wasn't gong to knock and find out.

(I believe it was a paper wasp nest but I am no expert, if someone knows better please feel free to comment with a correction.)

 Barb and Jill

At the end, Sally was so excited with her new buddies that she hopped right in my car with them.  Sorry, Sally you can't go home with your friends.

Another peaceful day spent in the canyon!!

Oops, again my failure to be competent in computers shines through.  I compressed these photos to email to someone and now they are forever small.  I was later informed that I should make a separate file with duplicates in it , one for originals and one for altered.  Ugh!!  Live and learn.

Snowshoeing with Steve

Steve & Doug & Aspen

One of the best things about my friend Steve is that he's always up for an adventure.  One of the other great things is that he's usually available in the middle of the week!!  When everyone else is working or at school, I can count on Steve for company on a mid-week back country excursion.  Today we went snowshoeing up La Plata Canyon with the dogs.

 Me & a found mine

After following other people's trails for a while we decided to break our own through knee deep powder.  While exploring, we happened upon this mining claim.  Crazy that we still live in the "Wild Wild West" where you can claim a mine and dig for gold or silver or whatever.  According to the USGS tag (the brass colored circle on the top right corner of the gate) this mine was established in 2008. 

 Another find was this snowball that had rolled down the side of the slope.  Upon inspection, we found that it had rolled perfectly straight down the hill (not randomly tumbling) thus resulting in a "jelly-roll".  If you look closely at the middle (double click to enlarge photo) you will see a perfect spiral!  It was shaped like a tire, so we had to lay it on it's side to capture the photo.

Another wonderful day in the mountains!!

Full Moon Snowshoeing

The following pictures were taken on Wednesday the 19th of January under a brilliant full moon. No flash was used. Pictures were taken by everyone on the hike as we passed the camera around. Enjoy the views while quietly singing

"Moon shadows, moon shadow..." in your head.

Our guiding light of the night

Jim

Shan

Regina

Me

Heading home for a crock pot full of homemade road killed elk stew!!

If a picture is worth a thousand words,

I believe pictures of a full moon snowshoe are worth millions!!

Get Outside and Enjoy Nature