Sunshine

This post is for a hike that took place on July 15th. I did the Curley and Tanner Peak Combo with my friend, Adam. We took two vehicles and dropped one off at the Tanner Peak Trailhead. We then drove up Oak Creek Grade to the East Bear Trailhead and hiked the East Bear Gulch Trail to Curley Peak. From Curley Peak, we hiked the Tanner Trail over to Tanner Peak. From the top of Tanner Peak, it was at least 6.5 miles of downhill hiking to the car. That was the worst part of the hike because of loose rocks and the sun exposure. Anyway, here are the pictures.

Looking at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from just below Curley Peak.

Meadow between Curley Peak and Tanner Peak

Short-horned Lizard

Tanner Peak

Looking back at Curley Peak and the meadow

Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the horizon and Grape Creek below.  Taken from Tanner Peak.

Adam on top of Tanner Peak

Another view from the Top of Tanner Peak.

Ring of Fire

It has been a while since I have posted anything. The pictures in this post were taken on July 7th. It was a dry Winter and Spring. So there were quite a few wildfires in Colorado during the early part of the Summer. The Quarry Fire was a small fire below Fremont Peak and the East Ridge Campground at Royal Gorge. It only got to about 8.5 acres. It was contained by the next morning. The cause of the fire was lightning. Here are some pictures of the fire that were taken in the evening from Skyline Drive area in Cañon City.

Quarry Fire - Fremont Peak on the left.

The Hogback above the Dinosaur Tracks and Skyline Drive

Smoky

Firefighting plane

Plane over the fire.

Plane dropping fire retardant

Fire retardant still in the air

Smoke over Cañon City

Helicopter dropping water

Staging area for the firefighters on the ground.

Helicopter dropping more water

Flames

The helicopter after its last drop

I was praying that it had already dropped all of its water.

Helicopter heading home

Helicopter heading east. Possibly to Fort Carson.  Just a guess

Flames becoming more visible has it gets darker and the smoke lightens up

Zoom photo of the fire

My seat for watching the fire.