Category: Club Outings

On Saturday, Jan 30, I am doing an outing to the Piedra Ice Flow. This is an area where water seeps down from the cliffs above the Piedra River to form a free-standing column of ice perhaps 30 ft tall and 6 ft or more in diameter flowing from the overhanging cliff to the river itself. Continue reading “Snowshoe to the Piedra Ice Flow”

Save the Dates, for these two Photo Club outings.

On Oct 30, we are doing a gallery walk in Durango. We plan to meet for coffee in Durango around 9 AM, and then visit several photography galleries in down town Durango, including Open Shutter, Durango Arts Center (including PSPC member Linda Pampinella’s Fifth Corner gallery), Wildshots, and perhaps one or two more depending on time. Some of us are likely to gather for lunch afterwards. Let me know if you are interested by email to abutler@mac.com, more details to follow.

The next outing is more adventurous. On November 5, we will visit Bisti Badlands, south of Farmington, weather permitting. In Laurent Martrés’ book on Photographing the Southwest, he calls Bisti’s hoodoos and rock formations “wonderful, whimsical”. I will go down there in the morning, and spend some time hiking (up to 5-6 miles, relatively easy off-trail hiking). I have hiked there before and have GPS coordinates for some interesting rock formations, including the “egg factory”. The date was selected because it is the day before the full moon, so should permit interesting moonrise landscape opportunities (moonrise is around 4:40 PM; sunset 5:10 PM). I plan to camp near the parking area that evening (totally primitive camping, no facilities), but it’s also possible to photograph at Bisti, then make the hour drive back to Farmington and spend the night in a motel there. The following morning, one could either make the drive back to Bisti for sunrise, or explore Aztec ruins or other attractions in the Farmington area before returning to Pagosa Springs. Again, if you are interested in this outing, send me an email (abutler@mac.com) to stay informed as we work out the details.

—Andy Butler

The Photo Club Creede/Bachelor Loop outing will be held Saturday, June 20. Please email me directly (Andy, at abutler@mac.com) if you are interested in going. Bachelor Loop is a 17 mile drive (rough, narrow, steep, but not 4WD) which passes several old mine sites, including the Last Chance mine, the almost-gone ghost town of Bachelor, scenic vistas and the Creede cometary. We will stop at these sites and do photography from near the road, so there should not be too much walking involved. We may also visit attractions in Creede itself, including the old railroad depot housing the history museum, and other historic buildings. Let’s meet at 8:30 AM to allow for the drive over to Creede. With the drive over and time for photography, plan on this taking most of the day. I’ll send more information to those who express an interest in the trip. Let me know if you are interested; as the trip will be weather-dependent.

On May 29,  we will have a Club outing to concentrate on photographing waterfalls. First up will be Pagosa Springs’ iconic Treasure Falls. Although some photos can be taken from the parking area, there are a couple of closer vantages which are well worth hiking to. It’s about a half mile round trip on trail up to the bridge area. We will then visit a few falls along Wolf Creek, closer to the pass. These will require short off-trail walks to get to. Let’s meet at 9:30 in the old Alco parking lot at the west end of the City Market complex. Plan to wear good walking shoes and dress for the weather; include a jacket to protect you from spray from the falls. A tripod is highly recommended. Please let me know if you plan to come, as the trip will be weather dependent (abutler@mac.com).